Another twist in the Mike Babcock saga, the Detroit Red Wings have reportedly granted him permission to talk with other NHL teams regarding his future, and most likely, field some offers around the league to test the free agency waters.
Babcock’s contract is valid with Detroit through June 30th, and on July 1st he can sign with any team he wants. The window to talk with other teams is open through late May, so it will be interesting to see what effect the talks will have on negotiations with the Red Wings’ brass.
DET has granted Mike Babcock permission to talk to other NHL teams. Window open til late May. Doesn't mean Babcock leaving DET, window open.
— Bobby Margarita (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 8, 2015
To be clear, this does not mean that Babcock is leaving Detroit. It simply means that he has the ability to talk to other teams about what is available to him, field offers, and see if he feels he could be a good fit elsewhere. About a week ago he met with GM Ken Holland and said he’d have a plan in place in roughly 10 days’ time. So keep your eyes open for some kind of announcement from Babcock soon.
It also seems that any team that talks to Babcock during this open period must sign a compensation letter giving the Red Wings their 3rd-round draft pick if Babcock ultimately signs with them.
Holland said teams that want to talk to Babcock must sign compensation letter agreeing to give Wings' 3rd round pick if they hire him.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) May 8, 2015
