On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Mike Babcock, formerly of the Detroit Red Wings, to become the team’s next head coach. Babcock signed for eight years at approximately $50 million. He becomes the club’s 39th head coach and the highest paid coach currently in the NHL.

There’s a small portion of NHL fans who think that the signing of Babcock by the Maple Leafs is foolish. These fans believe that while the team is not projected to be good this fall, they should get a coach with far less credentials than Babcock. They believe that the Leafs have the money to burn, but this money was not well spent. Their theory is that when the team becomes good, then you go get the prized coach equivalent to Babcock.

The majority of fans love Babcock’s hiring. He took the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals in 2003 before losing to the New Jersey Devils. He took the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup championship against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has also won a gold medal coaching Team Canada’s men at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He is a proven winner, and no former Leafs head coach has better credentials than Babcock over the past 25 years.

No matter how the upcoming season goes down for the Maple Leafs, this is a great move for the fans in Toronto! Luring and hiring Babcock away from Detroit is Toronto’s Stanley Cup victory.

Babcock is a great coach, but he is not a magician and cannot turn water into wine. This is a poor organization right now. They have to continue to strip the roster and build from within by acquiring draft picks before this Babcock signing will pay off.

It is proven that to be a successful team and win a Stanley Cup, you have to win via the draft. The Chicago Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups since the 2009-10 season by building via the draft. The same method worked for the recent Stanley Cup winners Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins and Penguins. If Toronto copies that model, they could join their ranks.