EDMONTON - If anybody can fathom the firestorm of interest in where Mike Babcock was going to wind up coaching, it would be Scotty Bowman, who created a frenzy over 35 years ago when he left the comfort of all those Stanley Cups in Montreal for Buffalo.
While Babcock signed an eight-year, $50-million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday after 10 years in Detroit, Bowman could flash back to his leaving the Canadiens. He was romanced by Washington Capitals owner Abe Pollin and talked to Harold Ballard with the Maple Leafs in 1979 before opting to move to the Sabres, with owner Seymour Knox, to be the coach and general manager of a team that was nowhere near as good as the Habs.