Babcock’s future in Detroit remains a mystery

 

By @SKubus and @MichaelCaples –

DETROIT – There were plenty of storylines to discuss at the Red Wings’ locker room clean-out day at Joe Louis Arena today, but none loomed larger than the status of Detroit’s head coach.

With their season concluded, the decision put off for nearly two years will now have to be made – will Mike Babcock stay in Detroit or will he leave for another NHL club?

On Friday, before leaving to watch his daughter graduate from the University of Michigan, Babcock said that he has yet to truly begin contemplating his future, outside of a brief conversation with his wife.

“I talked to my wife yesterday morning for the first time,” Babcock said. “Everyone thinks Ken Holland is the boss. Actually, my wife’s the boss, and that conversation didn’t go very well; it didn’t last that long, so I imagine over the next while, we’ll have some conversations about this and decide what we’re gonna do. But what I find every year, is after losing or after winning, you take some time away, you clear your head and then you make good decisions based on what’s right for you, your family and the situation you’re in.”

For general manager Ken Holland, re-signing Babcock is Plan A for his off-season coaching moves.

“Well we just talked very briefly this morning about a timeline,” Holland said. “We plan to sit down next week and, based upon that conversation, we’ll go forward. I think the biggest thing, I talked to him last summer, talked to him about an extension last summer, and both basically agreed that in September we didn’t want to talk about it during the year.

“We talked about a window of opportunity, we thought it was important for our team to try to make the playoffs and go on a playoff run. We wanted all our energy and focus to be on the team. Whenver the media asked either of us about his status or his situation, we had no comment, but we really didn’t talk about it all year, as well. Now that the season is over, we both understand that a decision has to be made, and we’ll start the process early next week.”

 

For Holland, a sales pitch of sorts for Babcock – if it comes down to that – would be reminding him of what he has experienced in Detroit for the last decade.

“I think the sales pitch is what has gone on the last ten years,” Holland said. “Mike knows the city, the passion of our fanbase, the commitment of our ownership, going into a brand-new building in two years, he knows our young players. Mike knows what goes on here. I think whenever you interview somebody that hasn’t been here, you have to talk about all that, but certainly Mike’s lived it for the last ten years.”

Babcock insists that he put his future plans on hold until the conclusion of the Red Wings’ season.

“I think some of you think there’s been this grandiose plan or something,” Babcock said. “There’s been no plan. I’ve been using my energy to try to get in the playoffs, and then to play hard and execute well in the playoffs. Now, obviously, this will be the next step.”

He did admit, however, that believing a team has a chance to win more than just a few games in the playoffs will have a great impact on his decision.

How important is winning?

“Huge, that’s huge,” Babcock said. “My family and that. Well, my wife and that.”