Red Wings and Babcock agree to three year contract

[irishtemper14+25 11]

Yea lol i do miss kocur throwing chairs onto the ice haha

Great News though

[redwings1914 18]

Great News

[Vilmer 0]

Congrats Babs. Joey would be a perfect fit behind the bench with you

Edited June 11, 2008 by Vilmer

[Reds4Life 51]

Great news

Babs is awesome!

[Gordie Howe hat trick 110]

Yeah good to see Babs coming back behind the bench.

[Happy Pancake 6]

I approve.

[Yemack 1]

[Opie 308]

ANOTHER great move by Holland, yeah sure this was a no brainer, but still great coach got to keep him around!

[Frozen-Man 144]

Great job by Kenny and I am so glad that we will have Babs around for another 3 years. I think that he has done so much for this team and am deeply impressed with the way that he conducts himself in public. :clap:

[hillbillywingsfan 794]

is it just me or is the live press conf not working good?

[JayUp88 1]

is it just me or is the live press conf not working good?

didn't really work for me

[Opie 308]

DETROIT (AP)—Mike Babcock helped bring the Stanley Cup back to Detroit.

In turn, Red Wings ownership is bringing Babcock back for three more years.

The team announced Wednesday that the Cup-winning coach has agreed to a three-year contract.

“For me, this place has been fantastic,” Babcock said during a morning news conference at Joe Louis Arena. “I love where I live. I love coming to work.”

Babcock led Detroit to a title in his third season. During that time, the Wings twice have had the most points in the regular season.

Babcock and the team had been expected to reach an agreement shortly after the season ended last week with Detroit’s win at Pittsburgh, where the team hoisted the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons.

“Mike’s got a tremendous amount of passion, a tremendous work ethic and he loves the game,” said Detroit general manager Ken Holland. “I think he’s found that fine line between really pushing our players and at the same time having the relationship where he can talk to the players.”

Babcock is a finalist for the Adams Award, which goes to the coach recognized as best in the NHL each season.

He was hired from Anaheim to replace Dave Lewis, who was not offered a new contract when NHL play resumed three years ago following the lockout. The third season of Babcock’s new deal will coincide with his oldest child’s senior year in high school.

Babcock said he appreciates the strong support he’s received from the team’s owners and front office.

“They care about hockey, they like players, they get you players,” Babcock said. “For a coach, your best friend is the people that acquire the players. The better players you have, the better coach you are.”

Babcock’s coaching style has proven to be a good fit for the Red Wings, who have learned to drive to the net, compete for pucks in the corners and finish checks all over the ice.

The Wings are 162-56-28 under Babcock, who is the first coach in NHL history to lead a team to three consecutive 50-win seasons. Detroit earned 58 victories and a President’s Trophy in 2005-06, 50 wins in 2006-07 and 54 wins, a President’s Trophy and a Stanley Cup this past season.

Since his first year as an NHL head coach in 2003, Babcock leads all head coaches in postseason wins with 43.

“We’ve done a lot of winning under Mike’s watch,” Holland said.

[Bender 0]

This is not a surprise, but welcome news nevertheless.

3 consecutive 50 win seasons, and now, Lord Stanley's Cup.

Now that's what I call coaching!

[Texas Wingnut 0]

I was hoping for a little longer. How does the length stack up with other coaches??

[FUUFNF 1]

sweet.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Only 3 years?

My thoughts exactly. This guy is a keeper.

Congrats Babs!

[wingslogo19 281]

Great news. Glad to have him back

[octopusonice 0]

Barry is head coach and director of operations for St. Petersburg in the Russian elite league...

Yep. Here's the site of the team:

http://hc-ska.ru

If you can read Russian it will all make sense to you. Former Red Wing Maxim Kuznetsov is on the team.

Edit: Actually Kuznetsov WAS on this team.

Edited June 11, 2008 by octopusonice

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Sweet! Good work by Holland, as usual, to get Babcock signed.

I think Babcock is the best coach in the NHL hands-down. How can you argue with three straight 50-win seasons, two Presidents Trophies (tied for a third), and now a championship? Babcock has really transformed the Red Wings into "his team" since taking over.

Congrats to Babcock, you deserve it!

[ben_usmc 253]

if they brought back kocur as the assitant I doubt you would ever see Grando yelling at any of our coaching staff again. Also wouldn't mind seeing what he would if someone ran a player.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

I suppose Kocur would be the most likely choice for filling in the assistant coaching void, but I'm sure Babcock has a list of suitors in mind as well.

[Guest redwingsfan04]

the babCOCK has been resigned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not a suprise though heres to three more stanleys!

[hillbillywingsfan 794]

three-year deal worth about $4.5 million.