May 9, 2015
Thumbs to a bad call and Babcock's options
Thumbs down to a bad call. Thumbs up to the proper reaction. The Washington Capitals were denied a 1-0 lead because it was ruled that Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist was involved in contact and was not allowed to play his position. And thumbs up to the numerous job opportunities head coach Mike Babcock has before him.
By Dave Hodge
Thumbs down to a bad call. Thumbs up to the proper reaction.
The Washington Capitals were denied a 1-0 lead because it was ruled that Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist was involved in contact and was not allowed to play his position.
Thus, it would follow that the actions of Washington's Joel Ward were responsible for not allowing Lundqvist to stop the puck.
However, the actions of Lundqvist himself and his teammate Derek Stepan caused the contact that ensued after Ward went to the net, fully outside the crease, as he is supposed to do and as he is allowed to do.
It must have been awfully hard for Washington to accept a ruling that effectively said a goal would have been awarded had players from the Rangers acted differently.
But Washington coach Barry Trotz wasn't about to dwell on the call in the wake of the Caps' 2-1 overtime loss. He didn't bemoan the fact that his team's 1-0 lead mid-way through the third period should have been 2-0, and how nice would that have been--in that series, a two-goal lead would bring a pillow and a foot rest.
Trotz took his lumps, realizing that the disallowed goal was only part of what went wrong for the Capitals, and he pointed to game six as all that mattered now.
He might have said his team needed to find a different way to go up by two goals.
Thumbs up to the most employment opportunities an NHL coach has ever had. That coach is Mike Babcock, of course.
We can count as many as eight or nine teams that might have Babcock behind their bench next season.
There are vacancies in Edmonton, Buffalo, Toronto, Philadelphia, San Jose and New Jersey and it is possible that jobs could be open in St. Louis and Boston.
I guess Detroit could be mentioned as well, although anyone who thinks Babcock will remain where he is would have a hard time explaining why.
I won't pretend to guess where he might land, but I will tell you what I'd say if he asked for my advice.
If his main aim was to sign the most lucrative contract possible, I'd tell him to interview in Toronto in the morning and Buffalo in the afternoon and see which of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and Terry Pegula would be willing to make him almost as rich as they are.
If he liked the challenge of re-making a dynasty and coaching hockey's next great superstar and working with people he knew well, I'd tell him to go to Edmonton.
And if he wanted to find the quickest way to win another Stanley Cup, he'd be advised to wait and see what happens with Ken Hitchcock in St. Louis before doing anything else.
How green are Babcock's pastures? He could dismiss all of those suggestions and still have four or five other teams from which to choose. Free agent frenzy, of a different sort.