- Terry Jones of the Edmonton Journal: Todd McLellan said that he was interviewed by Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli while over in Prague, Czech Republic at the World Championships.
“Edmonton has always been an interesting spot for many people, I think,” said the coach, who much like what happened to the new general manager in Boston, made the playoffs every year until he missed for the first time this year, only to find himself out the door.
“It’s a team with a rich history and they have some good players there. Now you add in McDavid, Bob taking over and Peter coming in. I really do think there were good people there before. What job descriptions they end up in, I’m not sure. But there will be a very strong team and group of people there.
“For any coach to consider all of that, it has to be a positive. It has to be exciting, not just for myself but for anybody. With all those good players there, it will eventually get going the right way. I think some of the changes and the No. 1 draft pick on Connor McDavid’s year make it enticing.”
- Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press: Darren Dreger on an Edmonton radio station on Mike Babcock.
“It’s interesting, isn’t it?” Dreger told an Edmonton radio station. “You know, they had conversation on the weekend … I was told by Babcock it was good conversation but there’s more to come. No timeline on when he intends on making a decision or what have you, but the more that these guys spend time together … ”
But Dreger continued: “You know, Babcock’s not going to the world championships because he purely wants to scout and all of that. And if he were going, wouldn’t he go alone? He’s going as a representative of the Detroit Red Wings. So he’s still invested and, frankly, he’s still under contract. But if this relationship was straining because of an ongoing negotiation, I would think that Babcock would want to lay low, stay back in North America. …
“This is clearly a sign for me — doesn’t mean that there’s any inside information here — it just optically tells me that he’s still very much invested with Ken Holland and the Red Wings.”
If he doesn’t re-sign with the Red Wings, the Oilers will be interested.
But Dreger continued: “You know, Babcock’s not going to the world championships because he purely wants to scout and all of that. And if he were going, wouldn’t he go alone? He’s going as a representative of the Detroit Red Wings. So he’s still invested and, frankly, he’s still under contract. But if this relationship was straining because of an ongoing negotiation, I would think that Babcock would want to lay low, stay back in North America. …
“This is clearly a sign for me — doesn’t mean that there’s any inside information here — it just optically tells me that he’s still very much invested with Ken Holland and the Red Wings.”