The #BabWatch will go on, as the Detroit Red Wings head coach says he has not come to a decision on his future.
“If you want to be on the Mike Babcock day-to-day watch, you’re wasting your time,” Mike Babcock told reporters Friday as his team cleaned out its lockers. “I don’t know myself.
“I don’t have any idea. I’m going to go through it in a logical manner and make some decisions.”
The first step, Babcock said, will be sitting down with general manager Ken Holland sometime next week and develop a plan for his future within the next 10 days.
Neither Babcock nor management wants to allow the situation linger into the summer.
Mystery and rampant speculation has surrounded Babcock’s next contract all season as the head coach has put off signing an extension with Detroit.
His current deal expires on June 30, at which point he will become a free agent and is expected to become the game’s highest-paid coach.
While some have speculated that Babcock may be interested in pursuing a dual role of GM or vice president of hockey operations in addition to head coach, he squashed those notions Friday.
“As far as being general manager of a team, that’s not going to happen,” Babcock said. Both his interests and skill-set rests behind the bench, he assured.
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Babcock, smiling, said he brought up the topic of his future with his wife after Wednesday elimination to Tampa Bay and that the conversation got heated quickly. “Everyone thinks Ken Holland’s the boss. Actually, my wife’s the boss.”,” he joked. But it’s apparent family will play a factor here.
“He’s an unrestricted free agent in the prime of his career,” Holland told reporters of Babcock. “We’ve got exclusive negotiating rights from now until the end of June, so it will pick up next week.”
Holland explained that he and Babcock discussed an extension last summer, but when an agreement wasn’t signed, both agreed in September to put off negotiations until season’s end and focus on winning hockey games.
“I think the sales pitch is what’s gone on in the last 10 years,” Holland said. He made note of Detroit’s wealth of strong developing players, the commitment of ownership and the fact the Red Wings will play in new arena in two years. “He and I need to sit down. A solution is about making sure both sides get what they want.
“I need people who want to be here.
“I want Mike to stay. I’ve expressed that to him. Money isn’t going to be an object.”
Other notes, reported by those in Detroit:
– Jimmy Howard, paid like a No. 1 but relegated to playing backup in the playoffs, said he will not request a trade and looks forward to battling for his spot in training camp.
– Tomas Jurco and Tomas Tatar are the only Red Wings who will participate in the IIHF World Championship.
– Stephen Weiss, signed through 2017-18, is unsure about his role next year and plans to discuss it with GM Ken Holland.
– Defenceman Marek Zidlicky is suffering from concussion symptoms. He will be a free agent on July 1 but has not decided whether he wants to play anymore.
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