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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 8, 2009

Mike Babcock

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Practice Day

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Babcock.

Q. I'm sure you were, when you were looking ahead during the season, you thought of the possibility that Helm and Ericsson would play a role in the playoffs. But one, did you anticipate they would play this big a role? And where is Helm's game now compared to where it was when he helped you last year in the postseason?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, you're right, I envisioned that maybe both guys would be here and never really thought about Big E playing so much just because we thought we'd have Lils. And, you know, that wouldn't have worked out that way, probably, because he wouldn't have been given the opportunity like he was in the regular season.
Helmer was very comfortable with, I mean, he made our team in training camp. With the salary cap we just thought this was better for him. And I never could have thought that he'd be this good. There's no way. We brought him up in the regular season. We played him in the three hole on purpose. He was good, but not like this. And he's been very good for us.
With the way things happened for us with Kopecky getting injured, he's a physical guy for us. He's getting six finish checks a game and we needed more of that.
So with Pavel injured, what happens is you move someone else up who normally finishes checks for you. Now you become a different looking hockey club. So Helmer has done a real good job to provide puck pressure, physicality, and give us a good face-off presence in the three hole. He's been good on the penalty kill. So all in all he's been excellent. The two of them have been great. When you look at Abby and Leino, they did a good job for us, too.

Q. I guess regardless of what's over the next couple of games, this is an organization that once again has some difficult decisions to make this summer, and will almost certainly result in some of the guys that are there now not being here next year. I wonder if that crosses your mind at all that this is the last sort of couple of games that as a group these guys will play together?
COACH BABCOCK: You know what, I never thought about that that much. That's a great point. In saying all that, since I've been here, a number of players have left. Brendan Shanahan left, Schneider left, Langer left. They were all real good players who would have been good Red Wings without a Cap. They just would have been.
But what happened when they left is other people got to come to the forefront. I think that's what will happen going ahead as well. In saying that, we don't want to lose players. So I don't know how Kenny's going to work his magic there, but he usually comes up with some theory to keep as many as he can. And we try not to lose any of the players that we think are corner stones to our organization.
The other thing that happens, and Pittsburgh, the same thing will be going on there right now, they've played well enough and done long enough, people don't want to leave there. People want to come. This is your advertising time, if that's the way to look at it, you're recruiting time of college. The best recruiter is winning.
The season is ten times as long if you lose all the time. If you win all the time, you just go and you just play, and you have fun. So to me that's the greatest thing.
Now if you look at the whole league and the 30 teams and say who has the best weather? Whose tax rate is the best? Maybe you get a different look at it. But if you're about being a hockey player, you want to be around winning and that is what Detroit's about.

Q. Can you talk about the evolution of Mike Babcock behind an NHL bench from the first game to today? Things that you've learned that you feel you do better now?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, sometimes it's hard to believe just how dumb you were. It's like unbelievable. I tell this story all the time. When I coached, and it was probably way worse before that, when I first got my first job ever as a coach after being a player, was at college, and I went to the Under 17 camp just so I could get some drills in Alberta. No one knew who he was, I just bunkered down so I'd get some drills, so I had something to do at training camp. Because as much as you did as a player, you didn't have any idea.
I remember coaching the World Junior in '97, and the system we played at the World Junior, it's a good thing the players didn't have a voice, because they would have thought, my God, what are we doing? So that constantly happens.
When I first got to the NHL, I remember I tell this story quite a bit. We went to Minnesota, and I watched them practice. This was an exhibition or something. We might have gone, I don't know how it worked out, but saw them practicing. And thought in the pregame skate they were going twice as fast, twice as organized and twice as good. I snuck into one of the practices to try to watch and get up to speed.
I think that happens all the way along as a coach. I think what happens is you end up forgetting how bad you were. You just keep evolving. But the gift of hanging out with Scotty for a while was understanding and not picking his brain as much as understanding he was always a work in progress even after he retired. What I mean by that is he was interested in knowledge and pursuing it and trying to get better. So I think that's important.
The other thing that I've learned since coming here especially is guys like Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan, I've learned lot about match-ups from Shanahan one day when we talked. Chelios, Nick Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, they all teach you games in the game you never knew about because you never had anybody that could do what they did before. So now you come up with why wouldn't we all be doing what they're doing?
So I'd like to think I'm a work in progress. Every time we bring in new coaches. Todd McLellan made us better, Paul McClain made us better, they all teach you something you don't know. We brought in Curt Fraser to help out on the farm. Dave King helps me all the time. I talk to Kinger all the time about hockey. Because he's another guys pursuing knowledge.
So that's a long, long answer to a short question. Usually it's the other way around. Usually it's you guys.

Q. What do you typically see from a team in an elimination game when you face the net of an opponent?
COACH BABCOCK: Desperation. The other thing that happens in the playoffs when you lose a game and you don't play the way you want, you beat yourself up for a couple of days. Probably not hurt, but you want to be better. You want to be the best you can be. You analyze what you did wrong.
Well, we try to do the same thing by being even keel all the time. So we're preparing the same way. Whether it's a Game 7 attitude for them, it has to be for us.
So the sense of urgency you need, and yet urgency without poise and calm is crazy. I mean, you've just got to do what you do. I said this the other day. In the biggest events, the best players just do what they do. They're just calm and they play. Some of us get too over activated and do nothing. I think that's really critical in these situations here.
The other thing about it, and I say this all the time, can you imagine how much fun it's going to be? Just think about it. We're on a Game 114 coming up. 114. We've played 113 last year. Like, uncle already. These are the ones that are fun. Not the one in February, and certainly not the exhibition games we have to play.

Q. I don't know how superstitious you are, Mike, but after the way your team played, is it going to be hard not to go back to the McGill tie for Game 6?
COACH BABCOCK: I'm not going back. I'm not beating that dead horse. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not wearing that for sure. I'm probably superstitious the other way. I haven't found a restaurant in Pittsburgh that works yet though. That's the problem for me, so. McCormick and Schmick's, and the Capital Grille are done now, so. (Laughing).

Q. How did Pavel look to you today? Could you see him more at center?
COACH BABCOCK: He looked really good. But I like the way they looked together. He's starting that way. We'll see what happens. We'll let it go as time goes on. I was really impressed with Pavel out there today. The other day when he was practicing and he was going to play, I didn't think he looked great. As the game went on I thought he got more confident, and it's pretty apparent now.

Q. Is Cleary okay for tomorrow and is Abdelkader sick?
COACH BABCOCK: Abby's sick, Cleary's good for tomorrow, too. It's just kind of like Rafi, this is the first time Rafi practiced since, I think, if I'm not mistaken. Well, you're trying to heal up, why would you practice?

Q. When you came to the Wings compared to how you are now, are you different? Maybe a little kinder, gentler? What is it about coaching that just drives you? Is it just simply winning? Or what is it about coaching that is so special for you?
COACH BABCOCK: Those are good questions. Let's start with the first one, kinder gentler. I think there's two parts. I think they're more used to me. My kids would tell you that there's two guys. There's the guy at the rink and the guy at home. Yet I'm a big believer in you've got to make them do it right. Sometimes that's not what he -- you know sometimes they don't want to hear that. But also you cross the line sometimes as a coach. Flat out you cross the line. You say something in a way that the message sent ended up being hurtful or wasn't about getting better.
I think I've done a better job as I've gotten older of going to the guy and saying to him I crossed the line. To me, I love the players, I really do. I want to make them better and I want us to win. In order to do that we've all got to be on the same page.
Now sometimes as you can imagine everything isn't warm and fuzzy. Especially at times during the regular season. At this time of the year they're more tolerant of you, and you're more tolerant of them. And they know you're trying to win, and they're trying to win. So you're doing everything you can.
So I think understanding what a player is going through, being around more mature guys for a longer period of time. Understanding you don't have to be all over them every second. They're going to look after a lot of the stuff. Even here I get guys in my office who say are you looking after this or am I? In other words they're saying get it looked after, that's what they're telling me.
So I think you learn how to be a better coach as time goes on. And the second question about what drives you is, like I said, I love the players, the greatest thing about being around players is you're around the best, the brightest, the hardest working, the most determined people there is. And you get to be around them every day. And they're getting better. To me that keeps you young and keeps you enthusiastic and fired up. And I like winning. I've got to admit it. Just a little bit.
So some people are different that way. I've always been like that, and probably to a fault, but I love to win. Love to compete. That's what's great about the group we have here is winning is more important in that room than any personal stat, any ego, any attention. It's an amazing group that way. They want to win bad. It doesn't mean you're going to win, but it gives you a chance.

Q. The other day you talked about how valuable the day off would be for this team. Now that they've had that day off, and you had a pretty spirited practice, how much do you think it did help them?
COACH BABCOCK: Oh, it's been huge for them. The guys playing the huge minutes and carrying the wear and tear just nice to not think about hockey for one day. Because you've got to get ready now. You've got to get thinking. It's just a day to breathe.
Just like all of you, I don't want to take a shot at you. You can't tell me some of you guys ain't worn out. Like honest to God. Uncle. Let's go home kind of thing is what you're thinking. So it's the same for these athletes. Game 114? It's crazy.

Q. Can you talk about the unique challenge for when your coach is expected to win and go into the playoffs and people expect to win. How do you walk the fine line between driving players that have won before, but understanding they know what they're doing, too?
COACH BABCOCK: That's not what I thought. I didn't think we were expected to win, and I didn't he think the players did that. I think the players and I both thought we better make the playoffs.
When you win last year and do what we're doing this year, I think it's phenomenal. This is the hardest year I've ever had in coaching. And I think it's one of the hardest years for the players. Ozzie battled like crazy. These are good, good people. Want to be great to get Ozzie to be Ozzie. I mean, Z, I can remember one time, this guy's like the energizing bunny. He always has a way to give more, to give more, to give more. One time this year he said I can't get myself going. Like I can't even believe I heard that. That's because of year after year after year.
So this was a year that you had to be real careful, especially early, to leave them alone. You know, by having a guy like Scotty to talk to, I talked to Hitch, I talked to Kinger about it. I talked to lots of guys about it who have been through the process. Veteran people that understand that ideally it's going to come around.
Now as a coach you don't want it to get bad. We were able to win enough games that we were able to leave them alone more. I think if we weren't, it could have been a disaster.

End of FastScripts

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