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Mike Babcock is willing to help recruit UFAs

Mike Babcock

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock shouts instructions to his players from the bench in the first period of an NHL hockey game with the Philadelphia Flyers, Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

AP

The Detroit Red Wings are gearing up for an eventful start to July.

After losing Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart, the Red Wings have a lot of cap space and a major hole in their defense. They’re hoping to get Ryan Suter to fill the void, but that won’t be the only player they target.

Detroit also frequently comes up when people talk about potential destinations for Zach Parise and they might go after some of the other big name free agents out there like Jaromir Jagr, Shane Doan, Ray Whitney, and Alexander Semin.

Whatever the case, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is ready to do his part.

“I’m in a position to fly wherever they want me to fly,” Babcock told the NHL Network. “We’re a work in progress, so we’re talking each and every day about the moves that we’re trying to make, and we kind of have an A Plan, a B Plan, a C Plan, and we’ve probably got even a D Plan. I’m just going to be ready to go.”

Babcock added that the Red Wings played significantly under the cap in 2011-12 “on purpose to kind of be set up for going ahead.”

Perhaps he means that they had their eyes on big name targets like Parise and Suter. If so, we’ll find out soon enough if their patience will pay off.