Wings & Babcock working out a contract

[vangvace 12]

I like Babcock. I think he needs a goalie coach though, and possibly a better defensive coach.

With Howard and the young Dmen coming up through the system I can see why you would say this.

I don't have knowledge on the current staff to agree/disagree though.

[evil204 4]

fair enough, i don't agree with everything you think he should be changing but that's a matter of opinion, no point getting into it over that ... i do agree that there are times it seems like we're not the quickest to adapt, but at the same time when he has success with something i can understand why he'd have faith that it will eventually pay off and would want to stick with it ... just out of curiosity, who would you replace him with?

I have no idea who I'd replace him with. Like I said, the Wings are the only team I watch regularly. All I know is that other coaches adjust to our style to shut us down and we don't do that. Edmonton did it 2 years ago when they played a puck possession style all year long and switched to the trap in the playoffs. San Jose did it in the playoffs last year by blocking all of our shots from the blue line, and Babcock just told his players to shoot more. Some people would probably think this is a bad example because we prevailed and won the series, but I think we won because the Sharks let us back into it (twice), not so much because we "stuck with it." Am I really the only one who was extremely frustrated with the way the Wings played in that series (at least in the first 4 games)?

Ottawa adjusted to our system this season..even Toronto. They blocked our shots, kept us to the perimeter, and made sure Datsyuk and Zetterberg couldn't stickhandle into their zone.

On the positive side, Babcock might just be the best coach in the league at getting the most out of his players, motivating them, making them work hard and stick to the system. The Red Wings really aren't much better than many of the other teams in the league on paper, and Babcock's discipline is probably one of the biggest reasons we're doing so well. Maybe that puts him over the top. I really can't say how good he is relative to everyone else. All I can say is that, in my opinion, a good coach should be able to adapt when his system clearly isn't working.