obviously you have never been to detroit lol....
I've never been to Detroit, but was told that it's a total mess. Which isn't surprising to learn since many Red Wings players live across the bridge in Windsor, Ontario.
By the way, even though i'm 100% certain that Babcock won't be going back to Detroit (which i've been telling everyone over the past year), i'm not sure anymore that he'll wind up in Toronto. I never expected there'd be so many teams looking for a coach. San Jose, Toronto, Buffalo, Philadelphia & Edmonton are currently looking for a coach. I expect Boston to eventually fire Claude Julien, and even they claim they won't, i believe Pittsburgh will fire Mike Johnston. I'm also uncertain about Ken Hitchcock's status in St-Louis, Darryl Sutter in LA & even Joel Quenneville's status in Chicago if they can't get past Minnesota.
Want to know whom i think would be the best fit for the Leafs? Not Babcock. I believe the perfect fit for that group would be Todd McLellan, formerly of the Sharks.
The best fit for Babcock? A contending team like San Jose. It's hard for me to imagine him being happy on a rebuilding team. Among that group i include Toronto, Buffalo and Edmonton. Boston will likely have to consider rebuilding and that'll start with unloading players such as Chara, Marchand, Lucic, Bergeron and possibly Tukka Rask. They didn't draft Malcom Subban for nothing. Plus, they need to clear up a lot of cap space in order to seriously become a contending team again.
One thing is certain: Mike Babcock will be the league's highest paid coach next season. For the first time ever, a coach will be the most sought-after free agent. He has always felt that coaches are way underpaid and by becoming a free agent and shopping his services around, he knows that this will mean a salary increase in the long run for his fellow NHL coaches. It was strongly believed that Detroit offered him a $2 milllon per year contract back in the fall, which was flatly rejected by Babcock. Babcock was looking at something in the $4 million range to remain in Detroit at the time, and now word is that he's upped his ante to $5 million because he firmly believes that there is a team out there that will pay him that kind of money. Many have also speculated that GM Ken Holland will never pay any of his coaches more than he makes himself.
Babcock has also made it no secret to those close to him that he'd want to go to a team which gives him more control over player personnel. Something similar to what Patrick Roy has in Colorado. However, he's been quite vocal about the fact he isn't interested in any GM job. He loves coaching and that's all he wants to do.