[News] Detroit grants permission to Babcock to talk to other teams

[ReinhartonD]

Lots of media speculation about Babcock's Canada connections with new Oilers brain trust (weird to say "Oilers brain trust" in non-ironic way) plus McDavid means he'll be their next coach, but I think ultimately Edmonton's being played to drive up Toronto's offer. McClellan's my bet to be behind the Coil bench this fall.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't know if I agree with blaming Holland. Flames fans should know all well that the 24 year playoff streak in this day and age is nothing short of remarkable and to continue making the playoffs without the aid of top 10 draft picks tells me quite frankly that Holland is without a doubt the best GM of all time. The success was there long before Babcock and I'm willing to bet they continue to be a competitive organization after he leaves. The one flaw as you highlighted is that the lack of top picks has robbed them the opportunity to find the difference makers come playoff time but when I look at how hard the Flames had to scratch and claw to make the playoffs this year and think the Wings have been doing it for 24 years it's honestly one of those streaks that doesn't get enough attention for how incredible that organization has been run. Just think that some young adults have never seen the Wings miss the playoffs in their entire lifetime.

He is a great GM. But I'd be shocked if the Wings make the playoffs next year. The sands have run out of the hourglass. I think we're seeing that the lose-to-win cycle may be inevitable, even for the best-managed NHL franchises. I'm really curious to how Holland rebuilds the team.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Yoho

Edmonton looks like they're trying to reunite the Olympic dream team coaching/management staff.

Unfortunately for them, they don't have $149 million in cap space to fit Canada's Olympic roster: http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/ca...avy-price-tag/

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

He is a great GM. But I'd be shocked if the Wings make the playoffs next year. The sands have run out of the hourglass. I think we're seeing that the lose-to-win cycle may be inevitable, even for the best-managed NHL franchises. I'm really curious to how Holland rebuilds the team.

I bet you could find similar sentiment posted in message boards or from pundits on pre-season specials every year for the last 10 years.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

He is a great GM. But I'd be shocked if the Wings make the playoffs next year. The sands have run out of the hourglass. I think we're seeing that the lose-to-win cycle may be inevitable, even for the best-managed NHL franchises. I'm really curious to how Holland rebuilds the team.

Possibly, but I will believe it when I see it.

[Boreal]

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index....k_not_lea.html

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock cautioned not to read too much into his request to speak with other teams.

"As soon as people heard that the first thing they think is 'He's long gone,' " Babcock said on Friday. "That's so far from the truth it's not even funny."

Babcock said he doesn't know what he will do and isn't leaning one way or another. He appreciates general manager Ken Holland allowing him the chance to see what other opportunities are available and is in the process of gathering information.

"I've got a good GM, a great owner; they offered me an opportunity (to speak to other clubs). I'm going to take advantage of that," Babcock said.

"To be honest with you, my family wants to stay here, my wife and kids."

Babcock reiterated his priorities are winning and his family, not money and personnel control.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index....k_not_lea.html

Those quotes should rule out edmonton. No-one who cares about their family takes them to edmonton. No-one who cares about winning goes to edmonton.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

He is a great GM. But I'd be shocked if the Wings make the playoffs next year. The sands have run out of the hourglass. I think we're seeing that the lose-to-win cycle may be inevitable, even for the best-managed NHL franchises. I'm really curious to how Holland rebuilds the team.

You're not familiar with the prospect pool that Detroit possesses. It's almost as good as ours is. They have better D, we have better G, and forwards are about the same (Doesn't count Bennett, Gaudreau or Monahan as they're in the NHL)

Pulkkinen is going to be awesome, Tatar and Nyquist are already legit top 6 forwards, Athanasiou is very good, Mantha has a lot of skill, Jurco is decent, Sheahan, Larkin, Tvrdon, Frk, Ferraro.

They have a lot of quality. There is no reason why they couldn't shuffle some chairs around (Get a legit goalie instead of Howard) and continue to roll right along.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

You're not familiar with the prospect pool that Detroit possesses. It's almost as good as ours is. They have better D, we have better G, and forwards are about the same (Doesn't count Bennett, Gaudreau or Monahan as they're in the NHL)



Pulkkinen is going to be awesome, Tatar and Nyquist are already legit top 6 forwards, Athanasiou is very good, Mantha has a lot of skill, Jurco is decent, Sheahan, Larkin, Tvrdon, Frk, Ferraro.



They have a lot of quality. There is no reason why they couldn't shuffle some chairs around (Get a legit goalie instead of Howard) and continue to roll right along.

So, you eliminate Monahan, Gaudreau, and Bennett from this inventory because they are already NHLers, and then go ahead and include Tatar and Nyquist. That doesn't add up.

[Textcritic]

I have seen a bunch of posters suggest that SJ is a great place to go in order to win, which is nuts to me. Yes, they have a small handful of nice young players/prospects, but that room is a hot mess. Most of their top end talent is old and reticent to move on, and this is a team that finished outside the playoffs this year while looking consistently average.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not sure why you think this as he has no ties to Peter Chiarelli or the Oilers organization and with Chiarelli newly hired and not going anywhere soon he would have to have a really good feeling about them being able to work together. IMO Edmonton is a dark horse. No impossible but unlikely.

Babcock is very close with Bob Nicholson and Peter Chiarelli through Hockey Canada.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

You're not familiar with the prospect pool that Detroit possesses. It's almost as good as ours is. They have better D, we have better G, and forwards are about the same (Doesn't count Bennett, Gaudreau or Monahan as they're in the NHL)

Pulkkinen is going to be awesome, Tatar and Nyquist are already legit top 6 forwards, Athanasiou is very good, Mantha has a lot of skill, Jurco is decent, Sheahan, Larkin, Tvrdon, Frk, Ferraro.

They have a lot of quality. There is no reason why they couldn't shuffle some chairs around (Get a legit goalie instead of Howard) and continue to roll right along.

Any of those forward prospects likely to be as good as Zetterberg and Datsyuk? Any of the defencemen of the calibre of a Kronwall?

[sureLoss]

According to Friedman, the front runners are Detroit, Buffalo and Philly. Says the Oilers are going to go after McLellan while everyone is after Babcock.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/3...-mike-babcock/

[JohnnySkittles]

Philly would be interesting, and would love to see it.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Babcock is very close with Bob Nicholson and Peter Chiarelli through Hockey Canada.

He's worked with them but close would be Yzerman or Shanahan. You can argue he's closer with Crosby than Chiarelli.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

According to Friedman, the front runners are Detroit, Buffalo and Philly. Says the Oilers are going to go after McLellan while everyone is after Babcock.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/3...-mike-babcock/

Poor McLellan. After a less than gracious exit in San Jose he is going to be tested like he's never been tested before. I still recall the media fawning over the hiring of established guys like Pat Quinn and Tom Renney saying they would bring respectability and stability to the organization. Hall and Co. chewed them up and spit them out.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He's worked with them but close would be Yzerman or Shanahan. You can argue he's closer with Crosby than Chiarelli.

Now you're just arguing the definition of close.

You said he had no ties to the guys in Edmonton and he clearly does as transplant pointed out. Just learnt to admit when you're wrong dude.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index....k_not_lea.html

Thanks for this link.

This quote above shows one more time why Detroit is such a classy high-end organization. They know they have the best coach in Babcock, they know they can loose him to a better contract/better fame/better market/better city, they know his family is comfortable in Detroit. Yet, rather than sitting tight and hope that Babcock's family talks him into staying, they seemingly WANT Mike to get a good taste of what could be out there for him and to make a well-informed and well-thought decision. If he decides to leave, there still will be no bridges burnt; if he decides to stay, his new contract would be signed at a comparable market amount and the relationship would be even stronger... I used to work with a general manager who wanted people to check the job market and even bring offers from other companies prior to their annual review in order to have a good understanding of each others options. He had the lowest staff turnover in the group.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Any of those forward prospects likely to be as good as Zetterberg and Datsyuk? Any of the defencemen of the calibre of a Kronwall?

Nyquist, Tatar and Pulkkinen have the best shot at becoming the next stars for the Red Wings. Calgary has a larger amount of good prospects on forward, but the top tiers of both systems are comparable. Nyquist, Tatar, Gaudreau, Monahan and Bennett have all shown 1st/2nd line abilities already, while Pulkkinen has a spectacular shot and I think he will become a 35+ goal scorer in the NHL, there are only a few guys in the NHL with a better shot.

On Defense, they don't have a sure fire prospect, just a few above average prospects. Dekeyser, Sproul and Oullet have top 4 upside but how far up that goes is still questionable, just like Wotherspoon and Morrison here, although I would take each of the Detroit 3 above either Spoon or Morrison.

Between the pipes, Mrazek is about on par with Ortio, but the Flames have Gillies and McDonald where the Wings have........... a whole lot of nothing.

[JohnnySkittles]

I'd say Mrazek would be more like a Gilles type prospect, but proven. Kid's a stud.