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Mike Babcock | Center

Team: Detroit Red Wings
Age / DOB:  (50) / 4/29/1963
Ht / Wt:   / 0
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The Philadelphia Flyers decision to acquire the rights to defenseman Mark Streit hurts the Detroit Red Wings.
Streit was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but will now probably be inked by the Flyers. The other would-be big name blueliner in this year's free agent market, Sergei Gonchar, has already been inked by the Dallas Stars after they acquired his rights from Ottawa. After those two, the pickings are slim for the Red Wings, who were looking to sign a top blueliner. Ryan Whitney, Marek Zidlicky, and Joe Corvo are among the best of what's left. Jun 13 - 8:47 AM

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Pierre LeBrun of ESPN is reporting that Mike Babcock will coach Team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Babcock coached Canada to the Gold Medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games and with former Detroit star player and current Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman in charge of Team Canada for the Olympics, Babcock seemed like a no-brainer to return.
Jun 9 - 7:07 AM

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is proud of what his team accomplished this season.

They weren't seen as a safe bet to even make the playoffs this season, but Detroit ended up taking the Presidents' Trophy winners to seven games in the second round. "I thought our guys hung in there and battled hard, just like they have all year long," Mike Babcock said. "From the start to the end, I think we're a team that just got better and better and better. Obviously they're a real talented group and I thought we played them real hard and had a lot of fun doing it. But in those dreams you have as a kid, in Game 7, you always score — the other team doesn't score." This represented something of a transitional season for Detroit following several key departures and retirements over the past few years. The Red Wings are in a good position to make the playoffs yet again in 2013-14 and perhaps even go further in the postseason.
May 30 - 10:01 AM

Mike Babcock thinks the Detroit Red Wings' youth played a part in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

"You can't give away gifts. We had frustration on the back end, some frustration from Howie, and that's just a waste of energy and time. Make a mistake and play. It's all part of having young guys," Babcock said. The Wings gave up three goals in the third and each score featured a tactical or mental error by a young Detroit player. Rookie defenseman Brendan Smith was at the forefront of two of the goals, leaving Michal Handzus alone in front on one and not getting position on Bryan Bickell in front of the net on another.
May 28 - 9:40 AM

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock wants his team to have fun in Game 6 despite what's on the line.

If Detroit loses this contest, they'll have to play Game 7 in Chicago. "We talk about it all the time," Babcock said. "Do you want to be tight and tentative, or do you want to be loose and driving? Which one sounds like fun to you? Let’s play. There’s six teams left in hockey. Play. Let’s have some fun. The better you play, the longer you get to play. If you don’t play good, you get to go home." Babcock added that Detroit's effort has surprised him. They certainly have surpassed a lot of people's preseason predictions, regardless of the outcome of this series.
May 27 - 2:45 PM

The Detroit Red Wings won't make lineup changes for Game 6 against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, Mike Babcock admits.

The Red Wings surely want to avoid a Game 7. Having home ice advantage tomorrow could be the advantage the team needs to close out a series that has gotten serious all of a sudden.
May 26 - 2:00 PM

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was not reluctant to knock his team after a 4-1 playoff loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago Saturday night.

It was all Blackhawks in this game and the Wings' lead in the series was cut to 3-2. "I thought we were tentative at the start, and I don't know if it was the situation or whatever," Babcock said. "You have an opportunity to close out, you should be comfortable. We're ahead, let's get out and play. I didn't think we were on our toes at all. We were on our heels for most of it."
May 26 - 11:05 AM

Detroit has killed 11 of Chicago's 12 power-play opportunities in the second round.

Chicago was 0-for-3 with the man advantage in Detroit's 2-0 victory on Thursday. "It's gotten better and better and tonight it was huge for us," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. Getting Drew Miller back from a broken thumb has certainly helped. Detroit has done a superb job of silencing Chicago's offense in general and consequently have a 3-1 series lead.
May 24 - 10:17 AM

The Detroit Red Wings have won more faceoffs than the Chicago Blackhawks in every game of their second-round series.

That's certainly been a boost for Detroit and played a role in them taking a 2-1 series lead. "It's definitely a factor," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville admitted. "We've got to get better in that area. It's definitely an area that is a point of emphasis moving forward. All (zones are) critical, special teams, PK (penalty kill), offensive … We've given up a couple of goals the last two games (because of lost faceoffs)." Overall, the Red Wings have a 52.6% success rate on the draw in the playoffs, but they've won 54.6% of their faceoffs in the second round.
May 23 - 10:00 AM

The Detroit Red Wings had a familiar refrain after Monday's Game 3 win, telling reporters "we haven't done anything yet."

It's the sound of a team with veteran leadership and a weathered coach who's seen far too much to think anything is assured beyond Detroit's 2-1 series lead. Still, it's impressive that a Red Wings team that had to win out the last week of the season just to make the playoffs has put the rival Blackhawks on their heels for probably the first time all year. "Let's be honest, we haven't done anything yet," coach Mike Babcock said. "As the year has gone one we've gotten better. You have to play good enough and long enough to get some confidence."
May 21 - 9:33 AM

The Red Wings aren't expected to make any changes to their lineup entering Game 3 Monday night.

That means that Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson will probably remain as healthy scratches. The two teams have each won one game with the semifinal series shifting to Detroit. "Now it's a best-of-five," coach Mike Babcock said. "Not much to pick between the two teams the first two games. They were better than us in Game 1. We were better than them in Game 2. Series starts all over here today, and I imagine you'll have to up the ante to win here today. We're excited to play at home, as usual. We have good fan support."
May 20 - 2:45 PM

Mike Babcock is having a great time coaching the Detroit Red Wings in the 2013 playoffs.

"It’s fun, it's the most fun I've had coaching in a couple of years, by far," Babcock said. "Just because we've got an enthusiastic group. Not that we didn't before, but we've got a really enthusiastic group. We've got good leadership. At the start of the year, we weren't a good team, but we understand that. We buckled down and we got better. The coaching staff is fun, the players are fun, it's been a fun year for us." The Red Wings hope the fun continues tonight as they meet the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals.
May 20 - 7:56 AM

The Detroit Red Wings have been outscored 15-5 in the third period during the 2013 playoffs.

That is not a good recipe for winning games and series and the Red Wings will need to figure out how to hold off the Blackhawks in the final stanza while increasing their production. The good thing is that the Red Wings scored enough in their opening round series to defeat the Ducks in seven games and move into the second round against the top-seed Chicago Blackhawks.
May 18 - 7:01 AM

The Detroit Red Wings are looking to come out stronger in Game 2 after getting a couple days off.

Detroit suffered a 4-1 loss on Wednesday and will play again on Saturday. "The way this series is set up, we have no reason not to be very good next game (Saturday)," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We have to get up to speed." Fatigue seemed to be a factor for Detroit following their seven-game first-round series against Anaheim. That series naturally involved a lot of traveling and it seemed to take its toll on the Red Wings.
May 17 - 9:39 AM

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock thinks fatigue was a factor in Detroit's 4-1 loss.

That's not surprising given that Detroit had to make several cross-country trips in their first-round series against Anaheim. "We did a lot of traveling last series, back and forth," Babcock said. "I saw us yesterday in practice and I wasn't surprised when I saw us today. I didn't think we were very quick." Detroit will get a few days to rest before playing Game 2 on Saturday.
May 16 - 9:44 AM

Depth Charts

All Positions
PosRoleName
C1Pavel Datsyuk
2Valtteri Filppula
3Cory Emmerton
4Darren Helm
LW1Henrik Zetterberg
2Daniel Cleary
3Drew Miller
4Todd Bertuzzi
5Jordin Tootoo
RW1Justin Abdelkader
2Johan Franzen
3Damien Brunner
4Patrick Eaves
5Mikael Samuelsson
D1Niklas Kronwall
2Jonathan Ericsson
3Brendan Smith
4Kyle Quincey
5Jakub Kindl
6Ian White
7Carlo Colaiacovo
G1Jimmy Howard
2Jonas Gustavsson
3Jared Coreau