GLENDALE, Ariz. — There was no thank you to Brendan Shanahan in the farewell note. Or Kyle Dubas.



Only the owner and, notably, the former GM, Lou Lamoriello, who helped him “set franchise records” in Toronto.



That makes sense, as the Maple Leafs president and GM played the decisive role in Mike Babcock’s firing Wednesday afternoon here in Arizona. Not everyone is going to thank the man who summons him to his hotel room to be let go, 4 1/2 years into an eight-year contract.



But the reality is Babcock did a poor job of making allies the past few years. It was clear how Dubas felt after the Leafs’ first-round exit in April, as he left his coach’s return wide open to speculation for nearly two weeks before giving a short statement to TSN’s Bob McKenzie that they were on the same page.



That was either reckless or intentional. I believe in option No. 2.



Firing Babcock was always going to be a complicated...