From Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press:
Mike Babcock on his future with #RedWings: "I don't think it's going to be my final year here. If it is, it is."
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) September 29, 2014
Mike Babcock on his future with #RedWings: "My relationship with my general manager is such that the grass isn't greener on the other side."
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) September 29, 2014
Per MLive’s Ansar Khan, Babcock is expected to meet with GM Ken Holland this week, at which point the club is “expected to make a formal offer, after ownership gives final approval on the term and salary.”
If no extension is agreed upon, there aren’t expected to be any contract talks during the season.
For Babcock, like anyone who’s negotiating a contract for themselves, money and term will be important factors. But so too, we presume, will be Holland’s plan for the team. The Wings barely made the playoffs last year, and this year’s roster looks awfully similar to last year’s. For example, there’s still no right-shooting defensemen, something Babcock has said he wants more of.
Babcock has used the “grass isn’t greener” line before when it comes to his current situation. And it’s true that he’s had a pretty good thing going in Detroit.
Then again, the Wings have won just a single playoff series in the last three years, and the team’s star forwards, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, are getting older and becoming more injury prone. Does Babcock see a Stanley Cup in his future if he stays in Detroit? That may be the biggest question in all this.
Related: Babcock says coaching Detroit is ‘pretty hard to beat’