• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Detroit Red Wings

Mike Babcock seals Hall of Fame potential with 400th win

By Marc Girard January 13th, 2012

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
Mike Babcock 400 wins

Mike Babcock (Icon SMI)

On Jan. 12, the Detroit Red Wings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 in a shootout. To most, it would appear as just another win for the Red Wings and another game in the grand scheme of things in the NHL.

In fact, it meant a lot more than that. Not only did it allow the Red Wings to maintain pace with the Blackhawks and Blues at but it allowed their head coach, Mike Babcock, to get his 400th career win. The only thing missing was a player being traded mid-game!

There are a lot of people out there who will attribute Babcock’s success to being a coach that’s simply in the right place at the right time. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. His coaching career started in the Western League with the Moose Jaw Warriors, for two years, then he moved to the Spokane Chiefs, for six seasons, then up to the American League with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, then to the big show with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, then over to the Red Wings, where he is currently in his seventh season behind the bench.

His stat line is pretty incredible over his career. Only five of his 18 seasons, coaching in either junior or pros, were below .500 and he’s made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons behind an NHL bench. His first four seasons with the Wings were 50-win seasons, including a Stanley Cup win in 2007-08.

Before he even came to the Red Wings, he coached the Ducks. In his rookie season, he beat the very same Red Wings, riding a wave all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where he and the Ducks lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils. He took a team that, outside of Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora and Adam Oates, was a relative gang of nobodies and led them as close as you can come to the Cup without winning it.

Here’s some of the titles he’s won:

  • 2007-08 Stanley Cup
  • 2010 Olympics (with Canada)
  • 2004 World Hockey Championships (with Canada)
  • 1997 World Junior Hockey Championships (with Canada)
  • 1994 CIS Championships (with University of Lethbridge)

There are people out there that will trash Babcock but I look at these titles and think to myself “This guy is a very likely candidate to enter the Hall of Fame as a coach when he retires.” As of right now, he’s the only coach that’s a member of the Triple Gold Club, which is a hockey player who’s won the Cup, World Championships and the Olympics. Go down a list of the Hall of Fame coaches and NONE of them have that on their resumes.

For a coach who’s only 49, that’s a pretty staggering group to be alone in.

  • Tags
  • Hockey Hall of Fame
  • Mike Babcock
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 16th 6:10 PM
Hockey History

25 Best Senators’ Memories From 25 Years at Canadian Tire Centre

Jan 16th 6:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Colangelo, Andersson, Drew & More

Jan 16th 5:50 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Need Taxi Squad to Drive Better Results in Net

Jan 16th 5:40 PM
Women's Hockey

Toronto Six 2021 Season Preview

Jan 16th 5:30 PM
Winnipeg Jets

Jets Have a lot of Options to Deal With Laine

Jan 16th 5:20 PM
Dallas Stars

Stars’ COVID-19 Cases Could Cost Them

Jan 16th 4:25 PM
Column

Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Campbell, Andersen, Tavares & Robertson

Jan 16th 4:15 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning Look to Benefit From Week Off

Jan 16th 3:05 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Josh Anderson’s Canadiens Debut Should Make Marc Bergevin Proud

Jan 16th 2:55 PM
Other Leagues

OHL Would Benefit From 24-Game Season

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information