Rumors swirled at the outset of this NHL season that the Detroit Red Wings were set to lose head coach Mike Babcock after the year. Then it was rumored that the two sides were closing in on an extension.
Babcock and GM Ken Holland debunked the extension rumors in short order and the Wings have since played well above expectation, but the notion that Babcock may be heading elsewhere this coming offseason persists.
Should Babcock in fact hit the open market, the Buffalo Sabres could be one of the first teams to come calling.
"Here's another name for you and I know that Mike Babcock isn't looking for that project. Right? But, you know, if the Buffalo Sabres were to win the lottery and land Connor McDavid, could that be enough to lure a top-notch coach like a Mike Babcock into the equation," said TSN NHL Insider Darren Dreger while appearing on Ottawa's TSN 1200, per NicholsOnHockey.com.
"And then to balance it all off, you obviously have the deep, deep, deep pockets of the Pegulas. I know they're not going to be afraid to spend money on a head coach and if you're trying to lure someone like Mike Babcock, maybe that ticket comes in at 4, 4.5, upwards of $5 million. And if it does, they could afford to pay that and the Detroit Red Wings aren't likely going to match."
Of course the Sabres still employ head coach Ted Nolan and there's no guarantee whatsoever at this point that Buffalo will wind up with the first-overall selection in the looming 2015 NHL Draft, but that being said, both of those situations seem to be headed in specific, if as-of-yet unconfirmed, directions.
"It's long been rumored that Ted Nolan could be fired at season's end by the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres as GM Tim Murray gets to hire his first coach. There have been rumors about whether Murray likes Luke Richardson as his next guy given his former ties to the Ottawa Senators organization. But who knows if Richardson even wants to leave his AHL gig. He's said to be very happy there," writes Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.
"But you also have to ask yourself after seeing Sabres owner Terry Pegula shell out big bucks to lure Rex Ryan to coach his football team whether the Sabres wouldn't want to take a similar approach with the hockey team's coaching position -- Babcock, for example. Keep in mind that Murray had a hand in giving Babcock his first NHL coaching job in Anaheim way back."
If the Sabres - currently leading the pack in the Connor McDavid-Jack Eichel failure sweepstakes - are able to land the Erie Otters star and the Pegulas are willing to open their pocket book far enough to offer Babcock a contract that pays him somewhere in the vicinity of $4 or $5 million per season, it could potentially prove a potent enough combination to lure the notoriously Cup-hungry Babcock away from the Red Wings and to the comfy confines of the First Niagara Center in upstate New York.
