DET has granted Mike Babcock permission to talk to other NHL teams. Window open til late May. Doesn't mean Babcock leaving DET, window open.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 8, 2015This didn’t take very long at all. The fact is that despite his contract running until June it makes no sense for the Red Wings to make Babcock wait until then to start hearing from other clubs. All it will do is push him out the door.
At the same time, the fact that Mike Babcock will be talking to other teams makes the likelihood of him sticking around in Detroit fall dramatically.
Holland says RedWingshave made two offers to Mike Babcock, over past week, Babcock said he would like to explore possibilities.
Ken Holland: "Ifthere is better situation out there for Mike Babcock, he's earned right to" explore that. Wings still interested.
The Red Wings have made two offers to Babcock and he still wants to see what the market can offer, and that’s his right. If I was universally praised for the job I do and knew 100% that I would find a job no matter what I would explore all my options too.
Detroit is playing the role of a class act in this situation and that’s about all they can do in addition to the offers they’ve made to prove to Babcock that they are still a great fit for him, his family, and his ambitions in hockey.
However, the Edmonton Oilers are now going to get to make their pitch. This is why Bob Nicholson was made CEO. This is why Peter Chiarelli was named the GM and President of Hockey Operations. They’ve put the people in place to make this offer a reality. They have a stable of young forwards who are headlined by players leading a stacked Canada team in scoring. They have 22 year old RNH and Nail Yakupov. They have Klefbom and Nurse. And, they have the right to select Connor McDavid at this upcoming draft.
Beyond that, they have an owner with pockets deeper than Ilya Bryzgalov’s understanding of the cosmos. Daryl Katz will be at or near the top of the offers when it’s sorted by dollars. He has the cash, the kids, and a shiny new downtown arena that needs to be broken in after next season. I am unquestionably biased, but I still don’t see a situation more attractive than Edmonton’s right now.
Here’s the downside.
NHL teams would have to sign compensation letter to talk to Babcock. If hire him, would owe Wings draft pick.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) May 8, 2015This rules is easily becoming the dumbest thing to happen to the NHL since the glowing puck. The Oilers already apparently owe the Bruins a 2nd (!) Round pick for the audacity of hiring a guy they fired. Now the Red Wings are apparently asking for compensation if a team hires a man whose contract expires in 6 weeks and whom they are allowing to speak to other teams.
This compensation rule was created so teams wouldn’t pick apart active executives. I truly don’t imagine the spirit of the rule was to allow teams to reap picks after managers or coaches are done and gone. And even if it were, the fact that Edmonton can owe a pick in the 31-60 range for hiring an unemployed man is absurd.
I believe Detroit would get a 3rd if he signs somewhere now, but if they kept him until July they wouldn’t get a thing. The problem is that Coaches are generally fired after the regular season, not July, and hired starting about now. Most GMs express that they want their Coaching situations sorted before the Draft.
That means that this compensation rule is gaming the common practice of hiring and firing coaches. It should be a very common practice for teams to now give up picks since most hired coaches are fired before their last contract ends and are indeed still on contract. And for people like Babcock who want new jobs, the market for jobs closes before his actual “Free Agency… begins.
That system works out great if you are a team that fires a good coach and has a good internal replacement. You can gain a pick for firing a coveted coach. Alternatively, it works poorly if you are a coach that wants to get a job but NHL clubs arent willing to risk Draft picks (the life blood for the franchise) to hire you because maybe your resume isn’t as sterling as Mike Babcock’s.
It is a system that makes it difficult for coaches or managers who lose their jobs or just want to move on to actually find meaningful employment. Frankly, if any other industry than sports had these rules in place there would be lawsuits. Imagine being stuck at your job and unable to take a better offer because if the competing employer did hire you for the more money/better position they could offer then they would also be forced to give your old company extra concessions. So instead of getting that better job closer to home for more money you stay in your current job that you hate, or worse, you stay at home looking for jobs because no one will hire you just because you signed a deal 3 years ago with your last company.
Long story short, this new trend is completely bogus, but the Oilers are going to meet with Babcock soon.
Chiarellito meet with Todd Nelson in Edmonton this wkndand will also reach out to Babcock...perhaps speak to him before he goes overseas.
Very soon.
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