Dreger on Babcock's future with Red Wings; Possibility of Oilers, Ducks, Penguins, Leafs

Darren Dreger was on Edmonton’s TSN 1260 on Thursday morning.

On the possibility of Mike Babcock coaching the Edmonton Oilers for a ton of money:

“Well, I think it’s a longshot at best. Given what Babcock has in Detroit, there are some who believe that it’s more likely that he ultimately does sign and stays in Detroit. I’m not in that camp. I think he’s waited this long that he’s going to go to the open market.

“But this isn’t just about chasing the money. I mean, he feels some level of responsibility to bump up the coaches’ salaries to whatever he can get on the open market. But the balance in this is where does he have the best chance of winning his next Stanley Cup ASAP. And so while it might be a romantic idea that the Oilers could pay out the big dough, and there’s history with Bob Nicholson, Hockey Canada, all of those things connecting Mike Babcock to the Oilers, I think that he’s going to have other options that can push him closer to that Stanley Cup line than the Oilers will as early as next year.”

On how a team with multiple early playoff exits might be interested in Babcock; Or on how a team might be willing to hire Babcock, even if they’re not really disappointed with their coach:

“I think that’s fair, but what you said is the most likely scenario for me, and that’s a contending team that we view as a contending team that maybe loses out in the first or second round. And ownership puts some heat on management to say, ‘Alright, this guy is going to be available, obviously he hasn’t signed yet. Let’s take a hard run at him.’

“And so it’s a bit uncomfortable throwing out teams’ names as to who that might be.

“I look at Anaheim. Bruce Boudreau has had a couple of cracks at it here. That team continues to do very well. And who knows? They might battle all the way to the Stanley Cup Final and then it becomes a dead issue because they’ve reached their level of success, win or lose. To get to the Stanley Cup Final takes a great deal of talent, luck, and perseverance.

“And Pittsburgh might be another one. I know they’ve just hired a new coach. Mike Johnston is doing an excellent job there. How the Penguins are managing to get through their list of injuries, and now the mumps epidemic, and on and on it goes, is remarkable. And Johnston deserves and needs some credit for that. But he also signed a relatively short contract. And that’s the type of team, I think, from the outside someone like Babcock might be thinking about.”

We’ve mentioned the money is going to be key for him as far as making his decision. But how much of it is also about status. He has won Stanley Cups. He’s won Olympic gold medals. His place in the game in that category is already enshrined. But you do get a sense this guy wants to be remembered as the greatest ever. And to me there’s really only two teams where you can achieve that – Toronto and Montreal:

“Yeah. Well, hey - both of those cities would appeal to Mike Babcock for the reasons that you just outlined. But there are also some detractors. Babcock spent enough time recently in Toronto and around Toronto early in the season when things weren’t going well and the noose was around Carlyle’s neck to get a taste of the circus-like atmosphere, and you guys know what that’s like in Edmonton. Not that he’s afraid of any environment. He’s not. This guy has a wealth of experience and he’s seen and he’s done it all. But when you’re choosing and you have the luxury of choice – regardless of the mighty brand of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Man, do you really want to be in that day in and day out? I think that might be a detractor.

“But, and this is a big but, the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing incredibly well this year. And maybe they sustain this and they qualify for the post-season. And who knows once they get in there. But then what happens? Does Randy Carlyle, a Stanley Cup winner in his own right, not get rewarded for turning this organization around? And if he doesn’t, does the fact that this team maybe showed Mike Babcock something that he maybe didn’t think was there change his mindset?

“So there are still way more questions than answers at this stage.”

Source: TSN 1260/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

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