Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews were not happy with Mike Babcock

As the stories continue to roll in from Leafs land with the departure of Mike Babcock from behind the bench, we begin to wonder what exactly went on in Toronto and where did the fun go in playing hockey for a living? Mitch Marner has enough personality to light up an entire room, and what Mike Babcock forced Mitch to do his rookie year, was absolutely brutal. It turns out there is more.

Last season Marner started drawing a 'happy face' on his gloves and when asked about it, Marner responded:

It's important to remember hockey is supposed to be fun

Turns out Auston Matthews began to follow suit as, a smiley face was spotted on the inside of his gloves as well, when asked about it:

I followed suit from Mitchy as it's a reminder we're lucky to play this game and this game should be fun to play every night we come to the rink

Turns out there was more to the story, as the 'tough love' coaching from Mike Babcock was wearing on the players. With the embarrassing story from Marner's rookie year, there was a continued clash between the stars of the team and the coach. So much so, Babcock had to travel to Matthews condo in Scottsdale the past couple off-seasons, just to try and mend the relationship on and off the ice.

Now, it's being reported that most of the Maple Leafs were not fans of Mike Babcock and even defenseman, Travis Dermott was quoted during a pre-game interview:

They definitely made the right call, the boys will love playing for Sheldon Keefe

Mike Babcock will have to look himself in the mirror and make some philosophical changes if he wants to be handed the keys to an NHL team in 2020. Times are changing, the coach/player relationship is changing, and if Babs doesn't change some of his ways, he may need to change sports to find a coaching job.

One thing that hasn't changed since Babcock was fired - the smile on Matthews and Marner's faces.