The weeks-long saga that was Babcock Watch came to an end Wednesday when the Maple Leafs announced that they had hired the sought-after Mike Babcock as their next coach, beating out the Sabres and his former team, the Red Wings, for his services.
And when news broke -- first that Babcock would not be returning to Detroit, then that Buffalo was out and then, finally, that Toronto would be the destination -- the hockey world did what the hockey world does best by reacting on Twitter.
What follows are some of the most noteworthy or amusing Twitter reactions observed Wednesday to what might turn out to be the biggest move of the NHL offseason (an offseason that hasn't even technically begun yet).
Photo credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Toronto Maple #Leafs have named Mike Babcock the 30th head coach in club history. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/oEAqTs0VEI
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 20, 2015
Leafs President Brendan Shanahan threw more money at Mike Babcock than anyone else. What vision. #leafs
— Sid Seixeiro (@Sid_Seixeiro) May 20, 2015
The Babcock Lottery Winners? The Toronto Maple Leafs! pic.twitter.com/WJMxOHRTyJ
— TMLeafsaholics (@TMLeafsaholics) May 20, 2015
Babcock is a piece of the puzzle, great piece to start with, hope in Dec I am not reading the fire Babcock msgs here #TMLtalk
— RichmondHillSam (@RichmondHillSam) May 20, 2015
The "Babchelor" chooses Toronto over Buffalo. @jacobdearlove http://t.co/8D1FSAk29n pic.twitter.com/hkuRT2kZ9C
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 21, 2015
I made a GIF real quick. pic.twitter.com/HzfvkB0Qxo
— DJ ΞPIK (@DJEP1K) May 20, 2015
The big question remains, will Babcock manage to vanquish the former coach's nemesis? pic.twitter.com/aR3Tab9r4p
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) May 20, 2015
This is your daily reminder that the Leafs players are bad, and a coach can't change that. #Babwatch
— Byron Hackett (@byronhackett1) May 20, 2015
My ENTIRE Twitter timeline is basically just "Mike Babcock!!11!!!!1!!!" pic.twitter.com/R9QvWQP7oL
— Hannah Bevis (@Hannah_Bevis1) May 20, 2015
