We knew when Ken Holland gave other teams permission to speak with the Red Wings’ expiring head coach Mike Babcock, you knew the Wings GM meant business. Perhaps Holland is willing to move on from Babcock, but either way, he wants to know who will be in charge of the Red Wings before the team gets into the thick of the offseason, and he doesn’t want to wait until Babcock’s contract expires at the end of June. Other teams and Babcock certainly would like to know their fates before then, too.
On Friday, Babcock and Holland did an interview with TSN’s Darren Dreger to discuss Babcock’s hockey future. The interview was conducted at IIHF World Championships in Prague, where Babcock is the coach of Team Canada, which will play for the Gold on May 17 against Russian.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, the rumored early favorites, and Buffalo Sabres seem to be the final two teams in the Babcock sweepstakes. Both have reportedly filed requests for permission to hire Babcock. Babcock said in his interview with Dreger that he will most likely have a decision by the middle of next week, May 20.
“There’s not a better job, there’s a different job, so you have to be careful,” Babcock said.
When Dreger asked what Babcock straight out if he was leaning toward staying, “What I’m doing is leaning to make a good decision.”
My guess is that he will move on and it will be the Maple Leafs in his native country.
What do you think?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
