For selfish reasons, we want Mike Babcock, getting pushed and pulled and wined and dined across North America, to end his awkward-if-you’re-involved job search in Buffalo. It’d be interesting, and rooting for interesting things is fun.
Still, as the rumor mill surrounding one of the biggest-name coaches in the game continues to churn, the Sabres are starting to make sense for a few different reasons. The Buffalo News reports that member of the league’s “coaching fraternity” thinks he’ll pick them over the Red Wings, the team he’s coached for 10 seasons, and all the other suitors seem to be falling by the wayside. It's gotten far enough that Babcock and Sabres GM Tim Murray, according to the AP, were negotiating a contract on Tuesday.
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In any case, Babcock should say yes to Buffalo. Here’s why.
1) Money. It’s one of his major considerations for a lot of reasons, and hoo boy, the Sabres have a lot of that. Terry Pegula doesn’t just own the Sabres; he owns the Bills, too, and a large chunk of the state university of Pennsylvania. Maybe a castle and a collection of dinosaur bones, too. Who knows; he’s very rich.
Babcock’s motivation in that regard isn’t tough to understand. The Red Wings’ last reported offer would pay him $3.25 million annually. That’s a lot. Whatever the Sabres are offering, it’s going to be more. It’ll always be more. It is, according to the News, more.
The Sabres’ contract offer is far better than Detroit’s reported extension of $3.25 million per season, so much so that it will alleviate any concerns Babcock’s family has about leaving Michigan, the source told The Buffalo News on Tuesday.
So yes, making the maximum amount of money is cool. What’s also cool, and also a concern for Babcock, is raising the bar for NHL coaches salaries. If he can’t do it, right now, nobody can. Why does Gregg Popovich make $11 million to coach the San Antonio Spurs? Why is Billy Donovan getting $6 million a year with the Thunder in his first NBA coaching job? The NBA’s revenues are higher, yes, but coaches salaries aren’t capped, and the gap, Babcock argues, is larger than it should be.
Whether you agree with that or not, it’s nice that the obligation Babcock feels to his peers jibes with your own interest, and that’s writ large with the Sabres.
2) Proximity to Detroit. He was in Michigan long enough to see his youngest daughter graduate in Ann Arbor earlier this month, so the kids are less of a factor than in the past. Still …
"I talked to my wife (April 30 about changing jobs) for the first time," Babcock said on May 1, according to MLive.com. "Everyone thinks Ken Holland's the boss. Actually, my wife's the boss. That conversation didn't go very well, didn't last that long.”
Whatever Buffalo’s offer is, it’d buy a lot of flights. A Tuesday evening direct trip from Detroit to Buffalo was $500. That’s without factoring in, say, usage of a private plane. Plus, four hours is a short drive, and the offseason exists for a reason.
3) Young talent. At the start of the season, ESPN’s Corey Pronman put eight of the Sabres’ prospects in his top 100 and ranked their system as the best in the league, and that’s not changing anytime soon; the tank has been fruitful. Buffalo picks second, 21st, 31st and 51st in June. Jack Eichel, Buffalo’s soon-to-be selection at No. 2 overall, would be first in a whole bunch of other drafts. If Babcock is looking for a team built down the middle, Eichel, Sam Reinhardt and Zemgus Girgensons is as good as it gets. That’s Buffalo’s most obvious strength, but the pipeline also extends beyond them and will only grow during the summer. And that’s without considering Evander Kane.
That’s not to discount the presence, aging or otherwise, of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, or Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, et al. It’s to say that the Sabres’ group is better and completely future-focused. If he’s willing to wait out another lean season or two, the payoff could be gigantic.
4) Glory. Babcock deserves credit for what he’s done in Detroit, particularly for incorporating younger players into an aging core over the last two seasons. Still, bringing a Cup to Buffalo would put him in another stratosphere. If Babcock is as good as we all think he is, and if Buffalo’s rebuild continues as planned, it’d be a distinct possibility.
And if it happens, fans in Buffalo will bypass the “give him credit” stage for statue-building. Plus, again, it’d be interesting. Time to make it happen.