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Several NHL sources are indicating that coach Mike Babcock and the Detroit Red Wings will soon agree on a new contract that will keep Babcock behind the Red Wings bench for the next four to five years and make him the highest-paid coach in the NHL.
An announcement of the new deal is imminent, perhaps as early as within the next few days.
Early in the season, Babcock and Detroit general manager Ken Holland both declared media questions regarding his contract talks to be out of bounds. When the topic was brought up after he recently earned his 500th NHL victory, Babcock pointed this out.
“I thought we talked about not talking about this,” Babcock said.
But when discussion turn to whose bench he might be working when he wins his 600th game, Babcock sounded like a guy who didn’t plan on going anywhere.
“I’m real happy in Detroit and doing everything I can to do a good job so I can stay where I’m at as long as I can,” he said.
It’s clear the Wings, 2-1 shootout losers to the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena, are pleased with Babcock’s performance.
He led a young, injury-riddled club to the playoffs last season. This year, guiding a healthier version of virtually the same group, they sit atop the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
“We haven’t changed too many pieces, but we don’t have too many injuries right now and we’re humming along,” Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey said.
“Everyone’s playing their role, not trying to do too much. Guys are just doing their job and Babs has got us going with a pretty good system.”
For his players, Babcock is a stern taskmaster.
“Demanding,” was the way Detroit left-winger Tomas Tatar described Babcock. “It’s just the way how he is and I respect that.
“He’s been a good coach and we’ve had success under him.”
Detroit players will tell you that Babcock asks more of them than any coach they’ve played for in their careers.
To play for him, you must first win his trust.
“It’s a lot different than other teams,” said second-year Detroit forward Stephen Weiss, who played his first 11 NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers. “You have to be accountable in all three zones and I had a tough time with that last year.
“I’m starting to get more comfortable.”
While earning his coach’s faith in the process?
“I’m still waiting for it,” Weiss said. “That’s a tough one.
“He’s putting me in, so that gives me confidence that I must be doing something right, but I’ve still got work to do.
“I’m not taking anything for granted, that’s for sure.”
At the start of this season, you couldn’t take Babcock staying put for granted. He was uncertain about what type of team he had at his disposal.
Tuesday, he declared this his best Detroit team since the 2008-09 Wings who reached the Stanley Cup final.
“I still think we have lots of growth and potential in this group,” Babcock said. “That’s our job, to turn these young kids into good pros. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“It’s important that Tatar becomes a good pro, (right-winger Gustav) Nyquist becomes a good pro, (center Luke) Glendening becomes a good pro the same with (defensemen Brendan) Smith and (Danny) DeKeyser.
“It’s not just younger guys it’s the veterans as well. They’ve been here through the good times and the slower times and now they see our team on the climb again.”
Shootout Woes
The good news for the Wings Wednesday was that the point they earned moved them into the Eastern Conference lead with 40 points.
The bad news is that they failed miserably yet again in the shootout.
Pavel Datsyuk was the only of the three Detroit shooters to score, while goalie Jimmy Howard foiled just one of three Toronto shooters. For the season the Wings are now 1-4 in shootouts, with three goals scored on 14 shots.
“You guys come and watch practice, you see that we do work on it,” Howard said. “It's frustrating, it really, really is.”
Babcock was equally flummoxed why his talented squad which has scored 89 times in 29 games can’t find the net when offered free opportunities at the opposing goalie.
“We’ve got to be better at it,” Babcock said. “We’ve got to score for Howie and Howie’s got to make saves for us. That’s the reality of the situation.
“We try to treat it like a specialty team, try to go through it and be as prepared as we can. No one did anything that surprised us.
Bottom line is you’ve got to find ways to score goals in those situations and you’ve got to find ways to stop them.”
Bottom line is the coach would prefer the game’s outcome never got to that point.
“For me, let’s just win the game,” Babcock said. “That’s what I focus on. Win the game.
“We played lots of time until the shootout, but let’s just win the game.”
Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg preferred to look at the big picture.
“Getting points is good when you can get them,” Zetterberg said. “Obviously we wanted two here at home, but one point is better than no points.
“If you look how the game ended (in overtime) with a three-on-four (shorthanded situation with Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall in the penalty box) there for almost a minute, I think we’re going to be OK with this tomorrow and move on.”
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