Nazem Kadri reveals how he forced Mike Babcock to fess up in his version of the Mitch Marner incident!

Nazem Kadri reveals how he forced Mike Babcock to fess up in his version of the Mitch Marner incident!

In his book, Kadri rips into the former Leafs head coach Mike Babcock for what he did to Marner and the entire team.

Veteran forward Nazem Kadri’s new book ‘Dreamer: My Life on the Edge’ is out and a lot of it is being exposed by fans who love to get the truth out. It was reported last month how, in the book, the Calgary Flames forward explains that he was backstabbed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 trade to the Colorado Avalanche.

Kadri also tackles the infamous Mitch Marner incident in Toronto, in which it was reported that then head coach Mike Babcock forced the young player during his 2016-17 rookie season to rank his teammates in a list based on work ethic and then shared that list with the rest of the team.

In the book, Kadri reveals how he and then teammate Tyler Bozak confronted Babcock and forced it to apologize to Marner for his actions. He recalls how he and Bozak ‘stormed into Babcock’s office and laid into him.’

Nazem Kadri Shares Details Of Standing Up To Mike Babcock Over Mitch Marner Incident In Toronto | Yardbarker
‘He tried to defend what he’d done, to explain the thought process behind the exercise.’

‘There wasn’t much he could say, and in the end I think he realized he’s made a mistake. After that he apologized to Mitch. We’d pretty much made him.’

‘You just don’t do that to a rookie.’

A fan on Reddit shared the pages about the incident and how Kadri took care of business.

Kadri also reveals how Babcock had Maple Leafs’ trainers access each player’s effort in the gym and, once again, that list was discussed in the open in the Leafs’ dressing room.

“The whole point was to embarrass guys, and it made for some awkward conversations between the players and the training staff,” Kadri wrote.

“Once you break that trust, it’s hard to come back.”

The veteran forward claims that, after that incident, Babcock and he had a good relationship seeing that the head coach had realized Kadri ‘wasn’t a player he could bully.’ Babcock was behind Toronto’s bench from 2015 until he was fired early in the 2019-20 season.

Things did not get any better for Babcock as he was hired as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 only to have to resign two months later after he had asked to see players’ personal photos on their cellphones in order to get to know them better.

Kadri is now in his third season with the Flames and won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022 after getting traded by Toronto. I bet his book and its success is just icing on the cake.