Report: Nothing close in contract talks between Red Wings, Babcock
On the eve of their season opener, the Detroit Red Wings are still trying to negotiate a contract extension with head coach Mike Babcock. But, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the two sides aren't close to an agreement.
"I don't think Mike Babcock will have a contract when the puck drops on the season for the Red Wings," LeBrun said Wednesday night on TSN. "(Babcock and Red Wings general manager Ken Holland) met last week, talked about Babcock's future, but at this point there's nothing close ... The dialogue will have to play itself out throughout the year."
The two-time Olympic gold medal-winning coach, a consensus pick for the best active coach in the game, is currently signed to a contract that expires following this season. It's generally pretty rare - although not entirely unheard of - for an NHL coach to enter his lame-duck season without a new deal, particularly when they have as much job security as Babcock apparently enjoys in Detroit.
The uncertainty surrounding Babcock's status has led to intense speculation about an impending divorce between the Red Wings and their long-tenured bench boss. That speculation reached fever pitch this week when Babcock seemed to publicly complain about Holland's decision to leave young defender Xavier Ouellet off the opening-night roster.
From Bob Duff of the Windsor Star:
"What did I say yesterday?" Babcock snapped when asked about the decision to send defenceman Xavier Ouellet to AHL Grand Rapids. "You’re talking to the wrong guy. What’s next?"
... Babcock suggested he’d been voted down when the decision came to send Ouellet back to the minor leagues.
"I got my two cents in, so I get one vote," Babcock said. "He (Holland) gets two, so he can win, 2-1.
"It’s almost exactly like at home: I get one vote and my wife gets two, and I lose 2-1 lots."
On Wednesday, in an appearance on Detroit Sports 105.1, Babcock claimed that the reported tiff between him and Holland was much ado about nothing, though he admitted that the decision to reassign Ouellet frustrated him.
"Last year when we sent (Gustav) Nyquist down I wasn't happy," Babcock said. "This year we send Xavier down I wasn't happy ..."
When asked about his contract status, Babcock said the right things about wanting to remain in Detroit and tried to put the issue to bed.
"I'm not talking about (my contract status) after tomorrow," Babcock said. "I assume we're going to find a way to work things out. I think that because I want to be here, and I think he wants me to be here. Over time we'll work something out. I'm not spending much time worried about it and I'm going to spend no time talking about."
Babcock may not want to talk about his next contract, but rest assured the hockey world will be.