RedWingsRule16's blog
Mike Babcock and other Coaching News
Wednesday June 11, 2008 @ 06:43 PM EDT
Mike Babcock loves it here in Detroit and Ken Holland saw to it that Detroit remains his home. It was announced today that Babcock signed a three year deal to remain the head coach for the Detroit Red Wings.
I am extremely happy with this announcement as Mike Babcock was the only key part of this championship team whose contract was expired. In the short time Babcock has been a head coach, he has proven that he is one of the top coaches in this league and he has the record to back it up. In the last year he was in Anaheim, he caught the attention of many by leading his team all the way to the Finals only to lose in Game 7. With the Red Wings, his record has been nothing short of stellar. His record is 162-56-28 in his first three seasons with the team. Remind you that is in THREE seasons. And now he can add his name to the Stanley Cup. Mike Babcock also has an excellent relationship with Scotty Bowman in which they have daily conversations about the team and hockey in general. One couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.
So this day is a very happy day for the Red Wings organization because Babcock has made Hockeytown his home for at least three more years where the Red Wing management, players, and fans have nothing but respect and praise for him. Aside from a few retirements that I expect including the already announced Hasek, for the most part this year’s Red Wing team will remain in tact. I am sitting pretty this summer knowing that another shot at Stanley is in the future with Babcock behind the bench and most of our key players returning in Red Wing uniform.
Also, in other coaching news, it was written today on the Detroit Free Press website (www.freep.com) that Todd McLellan will be announced as the Sharks’ new head coach tomorrow. McLellan was assistant to Babcock the past three years. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Ron Wilson has been hired as the new Toronto Maple Leaf’s coach.
So I am curious, for those fans of teams who have just hired new coaches, are you happy with the decision and why? Furthermore, if the head coaching job is still vacant for your team, who are you hoping to fill in as the new head coach?
And since we are on the topic of coaches, I thought I would close my blog out by getting your opinions on who should win the Jack Adams Award tomorrow night in Toronto. Thanks!
NHL is a registered trademark and the NHL Shield, NHL Connect and Hockey In the Home are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and their unauthorized use without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. is prohibited. 
3 Comments - 2 Replies
hunter1977
Jun 12 2008 21:16
would have much rather
seen mclellan get the maple leafs job!
HurriWing1
Jun 12 2008 12:51
Thoughts on Coaching
I am glad to see that the Wings are keeping Babcock around, although this had to be somewhat expected given his results and the close relationships he has built. Although I thought Babs did a phenomenal job coaching the Wings this year and I loved following the Wings as closely as I could from North Carolina (thank God for the Center Ice package), I would lean towards Boudreau for coach of the year. That team was truly headed nowhere when he stepped in after the season had already begun. He very quickly got the team on track and got them into the playoffs.
As for McLellan, I hear he is truly a player’s coach and he is a guy that knows the Xs and Os as well as anybody. The only question I heard regarding McLellan when it was first announced that he had some head coaching job interviews is that there’s a concern that he is too nice and will not be firm enough with the players to command their respect. That is something that cannot be overlooked. We don’t have to look outside Detroit and how that hurt Dave Lewis. Now, that we know he is in San Jose, the other concern is the expectations there. For some reason, management thinks it is their birthright to have the Stanley Cup in San Jose despite the fact they have not done anything on the ice to prove this. If the Sharks fail to get past another great team, like Dallas or Detroit next year, I hope that management can acknowledge how great the other team is instead of assuming they must have the wrong players or coaches.
k_bennett
Jun 12 2008 06:10
On McLellan...
Though we rarely hear much about him, I do believe he played a crucial role in the Detroit team’s success on the ice. It will be sad to lose him to the Sharks, especially since he will carry with him the expertise gained with the Red Wings – you know that will only make the Sharks a much better team with him as head coach… but I think we all saw this coming, anyways. My husband seems to think Toronto is the next “up and coming” team to make it to the playoffs again in the next year or two. We shall see…