Mike Babcock reportedly takes Maple Leafs 8-year 5

Mike Babcock will coach the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to from some of hockey's best newsmen.Wednesday was the on his coaching future. And amid a wild flurry of reports and outright fantasy, it appearshe will leave the Detroit Red Wings for an eight-year contract that pays $50 million.MORE: | | | If true, that would be the highest amount  https://www.steelersside.com/Pittsburgh … ats-Jersey paid to an NHL coach. It triples the salary of Joel Quenneville, a two-time Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks. It quadruples the amount Babcock was paid by the Wings.According to , Babcock will have a say in personnel decisions and has an out clause in his contract, which is front-loaded. The Wings had told him they weren't willing to go longer than a five-year deal. Now, they will get a third-round NHL Draft pick in one of the next three years as compensation.The Leafs appearently outbid at least a half-dozen teams, including the Wings, for Babcock's services. It was believed the were a top contender until today, and the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks also were said to be in the running.MORE: A news conference was to confirm the agreement. Babcock, 52, will take over a team that has been an abject failure in recent seasons, mi sing the Stanley Cup playoffs, falling near the bottom of the league standings and not coming  https://www.steelersside.com/Pittsburgh … ake-Jersey close to its first Stanley Cup since 1967  the last season the NHL was a six-team league.Babcock coached the Red Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup and a return visit in 2009, when the Wings lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before his 10-year run with the Wings, he coach the Anaheim Ducks to the finals, losing in seven games in 2003 to the New Jersey Devils.His Wings made the playoffs all 10 seasons.Now, Babcock becomes the on-ice architect of the Leafs and the man responsible for getting results from the ma sive overhaul under team president Brendan Shanahan. In hiring arguably the best coach available, for the franchise. , president of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, was quoted as saying: "We landed the big whale."MORE: | Playoffs: | Speaking at a news conference to  https://www.steelersside.com/Pittsburgh … ell-Jersey announce the sale of another MLSE property, the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts, Leiweke was asked about the Babcock news."So if I'm a Leafs fan today, I'm feeling awfully good about the leadership of this organization. One: I think because  https://www.steelersside.com/Pittsburgh … vis-Jersey we got one of the best coaches in the National Hockey League to come to Toronto, and he had a lot of choices," Leiweke said, via ."Two: More importantly to me, I think Brendan Shanahan just showed us how great he is going to be as a leader, and the commitment and the pa sion and the vision he has for winning championships here. I'd feel good about that team."The Leafs must cull wasteful salaries, find serviceable players and a semble a roster to satisfy their rabid fan base.The Wings are believed ready to elevate Jeff Blashill to replace Babcock. As coach of the team's AHL Grand Rapids affiliate and a former Babcock aide, Blashill is the heir apparent and knows not only veterans including Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, but the youngsters in the lineup that were being worked into the mix after season.Babcock and Wings GM Ken Holland were open to continuing their relationship. But Babcock rebuffed efforts to extend his contract in recent months, and Holland granted him permi sion to meet with other teams.Those discu sions, in Buffalo, Toronto, San Jose and in the Czech Republic during the IIHF world championships led to Wednesday's chaos. In the final hours before he agreed to the Leafs' ma sive offer, Babcock turned down the Sabres and saw  https://www.steelersside.com/Pittsburgh … ton-Jersey the Wings raise their offer to $4 million a year for five years.