We know we’ve talked a lot about this summer’s other free agent saga. You know, the one involving a 40 year-old future hall of famer, not the Russian mega-star on the brink of supreme financial freedom. I’m talking, of course, about Mike Modano. Today, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock poured some gasoline on the fires that stoke the rumor mill by saying what he thought Mike Modano was going to do.
“This is a no brainer for Mike Modano -- the highest scoring American player of all time to come back to your hometown, play in Hockeytown,” Babcock told NHL.com Friday. “It’s not about the cash, it’s about the legacy and the fit. He’ll fit and he’ll be excited to play. I look forward to him signing. I think that’s inevitable. I think that’s what is going to happen.”
Babcock, of course, was smart enough to leave himself an out, just in case.
“I think this is all going to work out; I’m pretty certain of that for us, but I’ve been around before and if you would have told me Jiri Hudler was leaving for Russia, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said. “I’ve been wrong. Some people think I have the market cornered on being wrong.”
He doesn’t expect Modano to decide until Aug. 1 -- at the earliest.
“I think we’re a good fit for him and I think he knows it,” Babcock said. “I know the veteran players we have dealt with over the years, so I’m a big believer if Mike Modano comes to Detroit he won’t be here for one year, he’ll play for two.”
The catch here is that while the Red Wings are jockeying very hard to get Modano, they’ve still got a couple of restricted free agents to get back into the fold and not a ton of cap space to get it taken care of. Forwards Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm still await new deals, and if there’s a player that other teams in need of a fast, defensive forward to play third line minutes might be after it’s Helm. Not that another team would make Helm an offer that would cause the Wings to not match it, nor would Helm command that sort of money anyhow but it is a concern nonetheless.
Obviously there’s still time to see how this will play out, but Babcock’s insistence is rather telling of how their meetings with Modano went.