Mike Babcock shares heartfelt comments on the passing of his friend Ted Lindsay.

The hockey world is mourning the passing of a true titan of the sport today with the news that Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay has passed away at the age of 93 years old.

As you would expect given the impact that Lindsay had on the game both in and off the ice there has been an outpouring of support from the hockey community today with people from just about every era of the sport taking the time to stop and pay tribute to Lindsay on this sad day. Most of those offering their condolences today are unsurprisingly linked to the Detroit Red Wings organization, the team with whom Lindsay made a name for himself as "Terrible Ted," and now one more former Red Wings has stepped forward and shared some very nice words about the late Mr. Lindsay.

Head coach Mike Babcock may be a Toronto Maple Leafs these days but prior to becoming the head coach of the Leafs he spent the better part of a decade becoming one of the most respected head coaches in the league behind the bench in Detroit. Babcock was not only an extremely successful coach with the Red Wings but was also very well liked and very well respected so it's no surprise that he would, during his many years in that organization, have had several encounters with Mr. Lindsay.

"Mr. Lindsay is..." began Babcock as per TSN before sadly correcting himself, "was a real good friend of mine and an example to all of us. He made me want to be a better man and made our players in Detroit want to compete harder, was around all the time and was an absolute gentlemen. So for his family here today we are praying and thinking of you and I'm honored to consider a man of that quality my friend."

It was obvious that Babcock was emotional while discussing Mr. Lindsay, keeping his eyes turned to the ground and avoiding looking at the camera directly, but he maintained his composure and spoke nothing but praise for the late Hall of Famer.

"Obviously no one respected the players more, no one did more for the players' association and he was just a quality quality man."

You've left a mark on some of the most respected men in the game today, sleep well Mr. Lindsay.