After 25 hours from door to door, I'm back in Vancouver—where the sun is shining and the internet is reliable and lightning-fast.
Thanks again for your patience through my erratic posting schedule while I was in Prague. The wifi at the O2 Arena was pretty solid, but my hotel was definitely hit-and-miss.
I couldn't get online at all during my three-hour layover at Pearson in Toronto yesterday—which I hope is not a sign of the unexpected frustrations that Mike Babcock might face when he takes over behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Colour me surprised. I guess Babcock does have the pre-existing relationship with Brendan Shanahan—and that money is insane. Dreger is reporting that Detroit was willing to go well above-and-beyond a typical NHL coach's contract, but this number pales in comparison to what Toronto was offering:
Dreger was on my first two flights home from Prague yesterday—to Frankfurt, then on to Toronto. When I spoke with him briefly in the departure lounge in Frankfurt, he said he really didn't know what was going to happen, but that the situation where Babcock and Detroit general manager Ken Holland had been touring in tandem was certainly unique.
He also mentioned that the interview that he conducted in Prague was supposed to be with Babcock only. It was Babcock who suggested that Holland sit in, in order to make sure that he knew first-hand exactly what was being said.
After the news today, I wondered if Holland might follow Babcock to Toronto, since the two are so close and the Leafs still have a vacant GM position. But Holland signed a four-year contract extension with the Red Wings just last summer, so that seems unlikely.
Dreger indicates that Mark Hunter was likely the member of the Leafs staff who played the biggest role in reeling in Babcock. He was hired as director of player personnel last season, and he and young Kyle Dubas have been working as "co-interim-general-managers" since Dave Nonis was let go back in April, so maybe there won't be another outside hire for that position.
Anyway—this story's only Canucks-related in terms of how it affects the landscape of Canada's teams. Babcock's introductory press conference is scheduled for Thursday.
Seventh Heaven in Utica
A little closer to home, the Utica Comets will play for a chance to face the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL Western Conference Final tonight when they host the Oklahoma City Barons in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.
Game time is 4 p.m. Pacific.
For $9.95 U.S., you can stream the game from AHL Live
here. Or, try
this link for the local radio feed.
Our No. 1 scout will be watching:
2015 Training Camp to Be Held in Prince George
Looking even further ahead, the Canucks announced today that training camp 2015 will be headed north to Prince George.
This is the latest date to be added to the team's summer tour, which will reach virtually every corner of the province:
Prospects Development camp: July 3-9, Shawnigan Lake
YoungStars Tourmanent: September 11-14, Penticton
Training Camp: September 17-20, Price George
Kraft HockeyVille Exhibition Game vs. San Jose Sharks: September 21, North Saanich
A couple of other quick notes to wrap up today:
A well-deserved honour for Cassels. Can't wait to see him in the Memorial Cup—his Oshawa Generals start off their tournament on Saturday afternoon against Rimouski, with live coverage on Sportsnet.
Finally, Brad Ziemer reports on Canucks' 2010 fourth-rounder Patrick McNally, a defenceman who has just graduated from Harvard.
McNally needs to be signed by August 15, otherwise he'll become a free agent.
McNally has pretty good size at 6'2" and 190 pounds, but there are questions about his defensive prowess despite his offensive upside.
“We have talked about it, but we haven’t decided what direction we are going to go in yet,” Benning said. “That’s why I really don’t want to comment on it. I want to talk to the agent next week. We are undecided on him right now.”
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