The two longest-serving NHL coaches, Barry Trotz and Lindy Ruff, have said their goodbyes in Nashville and Buffalo, respectively, and moved on to Washington and Dallas.
Trotz’s contract was not extended; Ruff was fired.
That leaves the Detroit Red Wings’ Mike Babcock as the coach who has been in one place the longest. It’ll be 10 years next season.
Babcock has one year left on his current four-year deal. If Red Wings general manager GM Ken Holland can’t work out a new four- or five-year package this summer, Babcock can become the best free agent on the market next July.
“I don’t believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence … I believe he’s happy in Detroit, but there are options,” said Holland, whose contract is also up next July, but will certainly get a new one from owner Mike Ilitch.
Holland has got the Red Wings into the playoffs in each of his 17 seasons. There were three Stanley Cup championships in 1998, 2002 and 2008, plus a Game 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
Late-season rallies were required to keep a 23-year playoff streak alive while the Red Wings integrated lots of young players — Gustav Nyquist, Riley Sheahan, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurko, Danny DeKeyser — into the lineup each of the last two years.
“Two years ago, we won our last four games to get into the playoffs. This year, we got in again (despite a terrible run of injuries),” said Holland. “Mike’s a tremendous coach, if not the best coach in the league, then one of the best.”
The rumours of Toronto keeping the seat warm for Babcock are out there because Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan used to play for Babcock. Pittsburgh might like him, too. Holland isn’t immune to the different scenarios, but he believes in stability and he likes seeing Babcock behind his bench.
For his part, Babcock likes Detroit, too. He’s not clamouring for a longer deal. If it comes, great; if not, he’ll play out the final year. He’ll always find work.
If teams signing free-agent players can give them seven-year deals, Babcock could get one, too, for maybe $20 million.
Holland isn’t letting any NHL teams interview his top farm team coach, Jeff Blashill of the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, for any coaching vacancies this summer. He’d like Babcock back, but if that doesn’t happen, Blashill is the heir apparent.
“In this day and age, everything is a story … after our team picture, some media guy asked about Mike’s contract. I wasn’t going to talk to Mike about it during the playoffs or on the plane home (after losing to the Boston Bruins),” said Holland.
“We just haven’t got together. He went to Montreal. I went to Grand Rapids to watch our farm team (in the playoffs). He’s out west. We haven’t been in the same city, but we’ll sit down in June. I’d like to talk to him about an extension.
“We work well together,” Holland continued. “I challenge Mike, he challenges me. We’ll argue, but we’ll come back the next day and start over.
“He pushes our players. Sometimes they don’t like it, but the players respond. I believe there’s respect between the coach and the players.”
The only sure thing about Detroit’s coaching situation right now is Babcock’s right-hand man, Tom Renney, a head coach with the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, is getting interest from other teams. The Florida Panthers may be one of the clubs inquiring about him.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m happy with Tom. He’s done a great job for us, he’s a really positive influence on our team. But he’s like other people who want to be a head coach. If somebody has interest in talking to him, he’s earned that right,” said Holland.
If Renney were to get another head-coaching job, would Holland and Babcock ring up former Oilers coach Ralph Krueger in England, where he’s running the Southampton Football Club, to see if he’d be interested. They worked together during the Olympics at Sochi.
Mantha likely to start on farm team
Holland has an interesting situation on his hands with 2013 draft pick Anthony Mantha. Can the big winger make the Red Wings next season without the usual indoctrination at Grand Rapids?
“He had a fabulous year. Eighty goals in, what, 80 games. I don’t know if there was a player in junior as dominant. Doesn’t matter what league you play in, that’s a lot of goals. He’s six-five with a great scoring touch,” Holland said of the Val-d’Or Foreurs forward, who was limited in the Memorial Cup, especially by Edmonton Oil Kings captain Griffin Reinhart.
“My philosophy is you go to the American League. There’s no entitlement (for Mantha), but if he can beat out guys … we’ll see how he is at (training) camp. I wouldn’t put him in a checking role, but we haven’t had a player like him. We did have (defenceman) Ryan Sproul, who was CHL defenceman of the year, but he went to Grand Rapids. There’s no trouble with his size; physically, he’s more prepared, but there’s still the mental aspect.”
The Red Wings got Mantha at No. 20 in last year’s NHL entry draft.
“The knock on him was his (competitive) level, but he’s improved in that area and we’ll have to work with him on his shift lengths,” said Holland, who was aware that Mantha was on the ice for 90 seconds at times against the Oil Kings.
Detroit will choose 15th overall this year, the highest they’ve been in the draft order since 1991, when they took Martin Lapointe at No. 10.
Hossa the ultimate two-way player
If Trotz, the new Washington Capitals coach, wants to educate Alex Ovechkin into playing a 200-foot game, he should be digging up video of Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa at work. Hossa has tons of skill, but he’s the ultimate two-way player.
“Hossa realized very early that if I play hard without the puck, I’ll get it back,” said longtime NHL assistant Perry Pearn, who was in Ottawa when Hossa was with the Senators.
“Goals don’t come off the cycle now, it’s all transition. Ovechkin used to be that way when he first started and was scoring. You come back hard and, boom, you get the puck and you’re going the other way against people who aren’t ready.”
