Report: Babcock explains why he chooses Polak over Carrick

Mike Babcock has drawn the ire of fans as of late, choosing the veteran Roman Polak over puck moving defenseman Connor Carrick to play in the Leafs' top six.

Kristen Shilton of TSN reported that when asked why he makes this decision, Babcock explained that "he plays safe and the coach plays him. That’s a big part of it too, if you feel safe with a guy out on the ice and you’re willing to play him, guy is more likely to play."

Ultimately, Babcock is choosing the safe, reliable choice over the "sexy" riskier player. Clearly Babcock prefers low risk, low to mid-level reward over high risk, high reward.

Production-wise, it must be admitted that Carrick hasn't outperformed Polak - with 3 points in 17 games to Polak's 2 in 9, his usefulness hasn't shown up on the scoresheet. Polak has also had a better Corsi percentage than Carrick, for what that's worth.

How do you feel about Babcock's usage of Polak over Carrick?