Should The Red Wings Fire Mike Babcock?

May 27, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock (center) in the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks in game six of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Now that the dust settles it is time to play the game all Detroit Sports fans love to play! The Blame game.  First up in the blame game is Mike Babcock.  Mike Babcock led the Red Wings in a strike shortened season on an improbable playoff run knocking of the number #2 seeded Anaheim Ducks in the first round and nearly taking out the #1 seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Lets look at the Babcock positives and negatives

Negatives

• Last Stanley Cup win was in 2008.
• His team lost in this years Western Conference Semi-finals to Chicago after having a 3-1 series lead
• The Wings are moving to the Eastern Conference next season.  Babcock has never coached in the Eastern Conference.
• The Red Wings have a winning front office system and you can plug any coach into the system and get a winner.

Positives

• Babcock is 352- 154-68 as Red Wings head coach.
• He became the third fastest coach to reach 400 career wins,  he did it in 699 games. The other two are Scotty Bowman (690) and Glen Sather (694).
• Since the 2005-2006, Babcock’s first season, the Red Wings have more regular season wins (352) and more playoff wins (56) than any other team.
• He ranks 10th all-time in postseason wins (71)
• 2008 Coach of the Year.

Although Wings fans may feel burned by this years playoff failure, they dig a little deeper than blaming the head coach. It almost make me wonder if fans would have been less disappointed if they failed to make the playoffs in the first place. The team was struggling so mightily during the regular season the fans were almost expecting it. But they did make the playoffs. They did it in large part because of Mike Babcocks adjustments down the stretch.  The defeated Anaheim in game 7 based on Babcocks coaching ability.

As a matter of fact 2013 may be one of the best seasons of Mike Babcock’s illustrious career.  He took a team of rookies deep into the Western Conference Semi-finals. That is a reason for Red Wings fans to embrace Babcock. But still some fans would like to see him go.

What do you think?