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AHL coach Blashill eyeing Red Wings opening following Babcock's departure

Ron Chenoy / Reuters

Jeff Blashill knows what he wants.

The current head coach of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins hopes to succeed Mike Babcock as bench boss for the Detroit Red Wings.

"Yes, I want to be the next head coach of the Detroit Red Wings," Blashill told the Detroit Free Press. "An ultimate goal of mine was to become an NHL head coach; obviously, within this organization, it's a great organization to be part of."

With Babcock departing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Red Wings will need to fill the void. Blashill, a former assistant of Babcock's, is a serious candidate.

"(General manager) Ken (Holland) and I had a real short conversation (Wednesday)," Blashill said. "It was alerting me to Mike's decision, which I knew about. He was saying, 'Let's take a time to talk, face to face,' which we have never done, regarding any potential (job). He was living in a day-to-day world, as I'm living in a day-to-day world. We don't know when that date will be. That's all we have talked about; that's our next step."

The 41-year-old, who has been with the Griffins since 2012, has worked with a number of Detroit's young core including Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan, Tomas Jurco and Gustav Nyquist, so the transition would likely be a smooth one.

"The agreement we made last year was to stay on as the coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins and for me not to talk to other teams," Blashill said. "I was very happy to be able to do that. As I've said before, my long-term goal was to become an NHL coach, but I also understand that you have to do a great job in the job you are in. That's been the only focus I've had."

Blashill guided Grand Rapids to a Calder Cup championship in 2012-13. The Griffins have advanced to this year's AHL Western Conference Finals, which begin Sunday against the Utica Comets.

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