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Babcock ambivalent on if he’ll sign extension in Detroit

Florida Panthers v Detroit Red Wings

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 26: Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock watches the warms ups prior to the start of the game against the Florida Panthers at Joe Louis Arena on January 26, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. The Panthers defeated the Wings 5-4 in a shootout. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

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If there’s a major free agent to be had next summer, it’s likely it will be a superstar coach rather than a player.

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is headed into the final year of his contract with the team and there’s already been a lot of speculation about his future. After the job he’s done in Detroit and his masterful work behind the bench with Team Canada during the 2014 Winter Olympics, it’s clear he’s one of the best coaches around.

If Babcock were to become available, it would surely affect how teams decided to handle their own coaching situations. Will he be there to be had in the summer though?

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press asked the coach how contract talks with the Wings were going and he was his usual elusive self.

There’s no doubt the Wings would love to get it done before the season, but that’s likely up to Babcock whether he wants to stick around or not. If he were to make it to next summer he’d have a host of teams likely begging him to help turn their fortunes around. It’d be a great spot for the 51-year-old to be in as he’d likely become the highest-paid coach in the league and have his choice of where he’d like to be most.

Then again, if the place he wants to be most is Detroit, other teams may not stand a chance. As it is, he’s said plenty of great things about working in Detroit already. Perhaps the coach is just having fun messing with everyone covering this potential big story.

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