Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
According to Sportsnet's Elliott Friedman, the Buffalo Sabres will move on from the Mike Babcock saga by interviewing former Pittsburgh Penguins benchboss, Dan Bylsma later this week.
Ironically enough, it was Penguins that walked away with a Stanley Cup split versus Babcock's Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 and 2009 Finals. Babcock took the first meeting with Conn Smythe-winner Henrik Zetterberg and a host of playoff-hardened Red Wings veterans defeating a young, upstart Penguins club while Bylsma would take the rematch as Evgeni Malkin along with first overall picks Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury would take the hard-fought seven-game series.
Neither coach would reach the Stanley Cup Finals again. Babcock would go 23-30 in six playoff seasons thereafter never making it past the second round while Bylsma would post a 27-27 record in five seasons before getting fired by the Pens on June 6, 2014 while reaching the conference finals once.
Other contrasts between the two coaches are Babcock's Canadian and now the coach of an iconic franchise in Toronto while Bylsma is American. Babcock never played in the NHL while Bylsma played in 429 NHL games. And, of course, Babcock moved on after 10 years in Detroit while Bylsma was shown the door by new Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford after 5 1/2 seasons coaching the Penguins.
Said Friedman, "The expectation is that [Bylsma] will visit the Buffalo Sabres this week."
Bylsma just recently returned from Prague, Czech Republic with a bronze medal as an assistant coach for a US National team that overachieved at the tournament. And as Friedman pointed out, Bylsma was part of a staff that oversaw presumed 2nd-overall pick Jack Eichel. "The one thing I think that will be very interesting about [Bylsma interviewing with the Sabres]," said Friedman, "is how much stock the Sabres put in to that relationship (at the Worlds.)"
Eichel was outstanding. So much so that Sabres GM Tim Murray could hardly refrain from gushing. When WGR550's Mike Schopp asked Murray what the thought about the 18 yr. old Eichel's performance at the world's on his radio show, Murray came right out and said, "I thought he was great."
Murray continued, "I mean...expectations aren't extremely high for me because I know how young he is and where he's coming from. Any glimmer of above average play let along spectacular play I get excited about...and he was exciting.
"As a scout, watching on TV he was above and beyond."
The Sabres had immediately moved on from missing out on Babcock by requesting permission from the Penguins to talk to Babcock and to Murray's credit, he's not putting the coaching search on display for public consumption. When asked by Schopp to confirm he asked said permission Murray said, "I'm not going to confirm that.
"This is a job search," he told Schopp. "I guess it's a public job search, but it's a job search. We're looking for the best candidate for our needs and his needs. I'd try to do it privately and I get that things get out there and I can live with that. We talk to people every day, so to say that I got permission from one guy and leave out three other guys...I just don't like making the list public. That's all."
It's out there now.
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