In hindsight, we likely should have seen it coming all along. Long time Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was nearing the end of his contract and there wasn't a whole lot the Wings' front office (see Ken Holland) could do that they hadn't already tried to keep him.
It's tough to feel sorry for a guy making $2 million a year like Babcock had recently in Detroit, and the Wings obviously wanted to re-sign him. Or did they? I'll get back to that. *
Holland had publicly stated he would allow other teams to approach Babcock while he was still under contract and the coach was free to listen to any and all such offers. This was hardly a magnanimous move on the part of the GM. Babcock's contract with the Red Wings officially expires on June 30, a little over a month from now. Given Babs had already turned down two previous contract extension offers from the Wings, at a hefty pay raise to boot, it was apparent he wished to see what the "market" had to offer and consider other options. Fair enough. It happens all the time in professional sports with athletes and coaches. Such is the nature of the biz. For Holland to have denied Babcock and other interested teams from communicating for only a few weeks would have been perceived as not only mean-spirited, but merely delaying the inevitable. It was going to happen anyway. Might as well look like a nice guy to the suckers that believe "nice" has anything to do with running a professional sports franchise. It doesn't.
It was interesting to read how "experts" broke down Babcock's future landing spot and only 5 teams were mentioned.
Returning to the Wings, of course. Plus there were four other potential suitors. Toronto, St. Louis, Buffalo, and San Jose.
Toronto seems to be in forever "rebuilding" mode. When's the last time the Leafs were Cup competitors? The gurus said this scenario seemed highly unlikely. I'll get back to that too. **
They said while St. Louis is a pretty good upcoming team, Babcock would be loath to replace their last coach Ken Hitchcock, a dear friend of his. This was nonsense, of course. Ken Hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock, Wild Bill Hitchcock, close enough, what's the difference when it comes to the ruthless world of what have you done for me lately and the good ole boys coaching carousel so prevalent in sports today? Loyalty? Pshaw. Throw a box car load of money on the table and these folks would send their own mothers off to an orphanage somewhere. Who's kidding who?
The San Jose Sharks were said to be facing the same plight as the Red Wings. Their best players were getting old. Their future was more likely down than up.
Buffalo was an interesting choice. They've been bad for a long time, but also stocked up on premier draft choices along the way. If it all comes together, the Sabres could be a serious Cup contender in a couple years. Maybe. In fact, some AP reporter stated that Babs had already entered into contract negotiations with the Sabres. It was quickly denied by Babcock himself, and the report was obvious wrong. Just another media pundit taking an "educated guess" hoping to be the first to break a big story without knowing what the hell he was talking about.
*Did the Red Wings really want to keep Babcock? Though they had offered him a significant raise, they also gave a huge bonus to the head coach of their top farm club in Grand Rapids, one Jeff Blashill. Other NHL teams had inquired as to his availability for head coaching jobs and the Red Wings were adamant in not allowing them to speak with JB. You don't give a minor league coach major league money and wall him off from potential suitors unless you have plans to bring him up to the parent club pretty quick. Now that Babcock is gone, that's exactly what's going to happen.
** The reason nobody ever bothered to consider. Babcock himself is a native Canadian. He's coached the Canadian Olympic team to Olympic gold medals. Like a New Yorker, Texan, or upper-Michigan Yooper, one may travel a lot in the search of fame and fortune, but those home-ties never go away. Given a choice of where to ply one's trade, remember LeBron recently returning to Cleveland, it should come as no great surprise Babcock wound up with the Leafs. He was born and raised in Manitouwadge, Ontario and, last time I looked Toronto was in the same Province. Granted, Manitouwadge is up in the northwest boonies and it's almost 500 miles to Toronto in the far southeast region, but still, a Province is a Province, and home is home. Sort of.
There's one other tiny little reason Babock likely went to Toronto. While the Wings had offered him a 4 year deal at $3.25 million a year, the Leafs came up with an 8 year deal estimated at about $50 million. Do the math. That's twice as long at double the money every year. Plus he'll be returning to his home country. If you were Mike Babcock, what would YOU have done? It's a no brainer, whether the Leafs turn out to be any good or not.
Besides, Babcock, no fool, surely saw the handwriting on the wall when it came to Blashill. The Grand Rapids coach has been wildly successful and is 10 years younger than Babcock. Truth is, while many praise Babcock as one of the best coaches in the NHL, his Red Wings teams have barely snuck into the playoffs in recent years and were quickly eliminated once they got there. Sometimes perception isn't necessarily reality. Further, the Wings can probably lock Blashill in for several years for millions of dollars less than it would have cost to keep a coach they didn't appear overly eager to retain anyway. Ken Holland's no fool either. When he's playing with pizza baron owner Mike Ilitch's assets, it's probably a good idea not to start giving away too much free pepperoni else Mr. H might find himself in Manitouwadge running a high school team and wondering how everything could go so horribly wrong so fast.
Tough business, that NHL.
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