Toronto Radio: Illitch is selling everything and Babs will be Leafs GM

[kliq 3,755]

I dont know why people think Babcock would make a great GM, a coach and a GM are two completely different jobs. Being a good coach would not increase the likelihood of him being a good GM, other then maybe his ability to evaluate players.

I could easily be wrong, but I see Babcock as more of a guy who wants to be in the trenches with his players, worrying about how they are going to beat their next opponent, and working hard at getting the most out of all the players he has, not someone I see sitting in a board room talking about profit margins, salary cap projections, handling negotiations etc.

[Ekmanc 586]

I don't know why babs would ever want to coach the leafs, if he left for anywhere it seems more probable that he'd leave for an actual contender.

[kliq 3,755]

I don't know why babs would ever want to coach the leafs, if he left for anywhere it seems more probable that he'd leave for an actual contender.

You very well could be right, but if I am Babcock, at this point I am thinking about my legacy. Going to a team like lets say Pittsburgh and winning a cup I believe does nothing for him. Staying with a team like Detroit and essentially winning a cup with a completely different generation of players, I believe does much more.

Even Toronto I believe would do more then going to a contender. Taking a team that hasn't won since '67 and winning them a cup would turn him into a hockey god in TO.

I would like to see Babcock take over Holland's position as GM in Detroit and Blashill be the coach some day.

If the day did come where Holland stepped down, I would rather see Detroit bring back Stevie Y to fill his shoes, not Babcock.

Edited October 18, 2014 by kliq

[Ekmanc 586]

Even Toronto I believe would do more then going to a contender. Taking a team that hasn't won since '67 and winning them a cup would turn him into a hockey god in TO.

The only problem with this is that Toronto is nowhere close to winning a cup in the next 5years

[evilmrt 636]

I dont know why people think Babcock would make a great GM, a coach and a GM are two completely different jobs. Being a good coach would not increase the likelihood of him being a good GM, other then maybe his ability to evaluate players.

I could easily be wrong, but I see Babcock as more of a guy who wants to be in the trenches with his players, worrying about how they are going to beat their next opponent, and working hard at getting the most out of all the players he has, not someone I see sitting in a board room talking about profit margins, salary cap projections, handling negotiations etc.

I don't think Babs wants full GM responsibilities, but the idea is that he would like more say in roster management. This is extremely unlikely to happen with our existing KH at the helm. Powers won't be stripped away from him, and rightly so (even if I do disagree with him). This leaves Babs with the option of seeking a fresh new deal with a team that is willing to share GM powers, to some extent, with him and a new GM that he had a say in picking. This just can't happen with Holland in town.

[VM1138 1,921]

Babcock always struck me as pretty wise. I think he even warned against having the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. He knows going into any other situation is a huge gamble. If he wants more control he's not 100% likely to get it anywhere else even if he's promised it. Whereas if this team makes some noise this year the prospect of coaching an almost entirely new, very young team to greatness on an Original 6 team has got to be convincing.

He'll never coach Toronto because of the cluster-you-know-what that is ownership.

[TheXym 2,606]

I think Babs is going to do 1 year deals like Bowman did and laugh at the press rumors.

[Guest Playmaker]

He may be trying to get rid of Denise for a low draft pick and a player to be named later. Or maybe for a dollar like Kris Draper.

[VM1138 1,921]

Who is Denise?

[gcom007 1,465]

The part about the Illitches selling the teams and Little Caesars wouldn't shock me in some ways, but considering the source and the idea of Babcock magically swooping in to be Toronto's GM, all I can do is laugh. I've wondered as of late what would happen with the teams as Illitch is getting up there. Is his family going to stick with it and run the show? Would he sell them off to the right buyer? These are just questions that I've had in light of Mike's age and health problems though; I'm not going to go on the radio and pretend I know something that I don't. Pathetic, though it's typical for those jokers. And what about Olympia Entertainment, Bob? Seems like that would make it into the mix if there were any truth to this.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Hasn't Chris Ilitch slowly been taken over for his old man? Wouldn't you think that the ownership of the Wings, Tigers and Little Caesars would be handed down to him and the rest of their children? I doubt Mike or Marian want any of it to leave the family name.

[Guest Praying Mantha]

Hasn't Chris Ilitch slowly been taken over for his old man? Wouldn't you think that the ownership of the Wings, Tigers and Little Caesars would be handed down to him and the rest of their children? I doubt Mike or Marian want any of it to leave the family name.

Mike said Commodus could not have it.

[Seraph 240]

Funny what Leafs fans need to do to stay entertained. Apparently it's not watching hockey.

[gcom007 1,465]

Hasn't Chris Ilitch slowly been taken over for his old man? Wouldn't you think that the ownership of the Wings, Tigers and Little Caesars would be handed down to him and the rest of their children? I doubt Mike or Marian want any of it to leave the family name.

It seems that way in some ways, but I don't really know that for certain. It's hard to imagine Mike letting them go as long as he has a say in things though.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

HAHA!! Leafs are a joke.

[ben_usmc 253]

No chace Mike Illitch is selling the team while his son is taking over day to day operations of Olympia Ent. Think about this; Illitch is known for being a loyalty/family man. You really think he'd sell the team out from under his own son? That would be a huge slap in the face. I would possibly believe it somewhat if it said Chris Illitch were to be selling the team. I doubt that to be the case as well. If he did that it would be removing a large part of the legacy the Illitchs have provided for Detroit and the family is much to intrenched in the city for something like that to occur.

Edited October 20, 2014 by ben_usmc

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

No chace Mike Illitch is selling the team while his son is taking over day to day operations of Olympia Ent. Think about this; Illitch is known for being a loyalty/family man. You really think he'd sell the team out from under his own son? That would be a huge slap in the face. I would possibly believe it somewhat if it said Chris Illitch were to be selling the team. I doubt that to be the case as well. If he did that it would be removing a large part of the legacy the Illitchs have provided for Detroit and the family is much to intrenched in the city for something like that to occur.

Amen brother.

And right after ground breaking on the new arena, and "district Detroit," there's no way.

[kliq 3,755]

I've noticed Kris Draper in the booth with Holland numerous times these past few years.....Any chance Drapes finds himself managing the Red Wings someday?

Yes. His role currently is special assistant to the general manager, which seems to be leading in that direction as long as he proves he knows what he is doing. He is being groomed by the greatest organization in hockey. If he doesn't end up being a GM here, he will likely be a GM somewhere.

http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=73337

[BadgerBob 297]

Yes. His role currently is special assistant to the general manager, which seems to be leading in that direction as long as he proves he knows what he is doing. He is being groomed by the greatest organization in hockey. If he doesn't end up being a GM here, he will likely be a GM somewhere.

http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=73337

He's a good ol' Tronna boy, gonna be joining the Leafs coalition with Shanny, Babcock, Yzerman, and the Bowmans.

[Ekmanc 586]

I'd honestly rather Draper didn't become our GM, give me Nill or Yzerman please. Draper always came off as a bit of a doorknob.

[Euro_Twins 4,475]

I'd honestly rather Draper didn't become our GM, give me Nill or Yzerman please. Draper always came off as a bit of a doorknob.

Neither nill or yzerman have proven they are a good gm yet. Everyone is just fascinated cause one is the captain and the other shook things up when he was given a terrible terrible team.

[Ekmanc 586]

Neither nill or yzerman have proven they are a good gm yet. Everyone is just fascinated cause one is the captain and the other shook things up when he was given a terrible terrible team.

Of course I didn't say that they were fantastic GMs, I just have a better impression of them than Draper who has proved even less thus far.

[kliq 3,755]

Neither nill or yzerman have proven they are a good gm yet. Everyone is just fascinated cause one is the captain and the other shook things up when he was given a terrible terrible team.

Agreed with Nill. It appears he is doing great things, but it is truly to early to tell. The Seguin trade makes him look like a genius, but I think that trade is more about being the right GM at the right time.

I disagree regarding Yzerman. He hasn't showed he is one of the best in the business but he brought TB out of the basement and got them to the final 4, and now they are borderline contenders.

[toby91_ca 620]

I'm not ready to give Yzerman too much credit yet for any of Tampa's success. He's been there for 4 years, the first year they went to the conference finals, but not much of that was due to anything Yzerman did, it was mostly due to the play of St. Louis and Stamkos. The second year he was there they missed the playoffs. The third year he was there they missed the playoffs. The fourth year he was there they were eliminated in the first round.

I think they are starting to come around now, but again, that's more to do with Stamkos' maturation as well as Hedman starting to come into his own as well (both of whom were drafted before Yzerman came around).

[amato 3,210]

I'm not ready to give Yzerman too much credit yet for any of Tampa's success. He's been there for 4 years, the first year they went to the conference finals, but not much of that was due to anything Yzerman did, it was mostly due to the play of St. Louis and Stamkos. The second year he was there they missed the playoffs. The third year he was there they missed the playoffs. The fourth year he was there they were eliminated in the first round.

I think they are starting to come around now, but again, that's more to do with Stamkos' maturation as well as Hedman starting to come into his own as well (both of whom were drafted before Yzerman came around).

true but yzerman did add a lot of depth to their defense imo and make that trade for ben bishop (who's been pretty great for them).

If bishop were healthy last playoff, they may have won a playoff series or more.

He has found some good you guys in the draft too.. a couple examples being drouin of course, who was not necessarily "found" by yzerman but, should be a great player.. he also drafted palat in the 7th round a few years back (59 points last year).

He's not 100% responsible for their recent years, sure. And it's too early to tell if they'll be a great team under Yzerman.. but I think he's doing a good job and has them trending in the right direction.

Edited October 21, 2014 by amato