Moments after the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs, head coach Mike Babcock was asked about his future in the city that he has called home for the past 10 years.
On the age of the current roster: “Three of our best players (Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datysuk) are 34, 35, 37.”
On the quality of the organization’s prospects: “We’ve got lots of good young players, no question about it, and ideally we’ve got some good ones coming. But who’s going to replace Pav?”
For a coach who did not want to talk about his future, Babcock sure sounded like a coach who will not be returning to Detroit.