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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 6, 2008

Mike Babcock

DAVID KEON: Now we have with us Detroit head coach Mike Babcock, who has lead the Red Wings to an 8-2 record in this year's playoffs, defeating Nashville 4-2 and Colorado in four straight. Thanks to Mike for joining us. We'll open it up for questions now.

Q. Could you talk about this run that Franzen is on. Have you ever seen anyone take over a series like he did against Colorado?
MIKE BABCOCK: Obviously he's been on a run for a good period of time. We're fortunate to have him. He's really come into his own over the three years he's been here from basically going from a guy we thought was going to play in our minor league team to now being a significant factor on our team offensively, defensively, on the power play and the penalty kill.
Obviously in the playoffs you see guys like Brenden Morrow having a huge impact or Umberger having a huge impact or the Mule having an impact. Size and grit help out in offensive and defensive situations at this time of the year.

Q. When he's as hot as he is right now, how much pressure does that take off guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk?
MIKE BABCOCK: I think it's real important in all the teams that are continuing to play. Every team is real good and every team is deep. You can't do it with one group picking you up. Everyone's got to pick you up. You got to spread the scoring out a little bit.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the chemistry that the Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom line have? Sometimes great players don't mesh well together. But right from the beginning Zetterberg and Datsyuk have worked well. When they're going right, what is each of their roles on that line?
MIKE BABCOCK: That's a good question. They like playing together because they got to back-check half as much. They always abuse each other all the.
The bottom line is they're both real good offensively, both good defensively, great hockey sense, make plays, give-and-go, play with high pace. They're real effective apart, when we play them apart and play them both in the middle. They're real effective together. Whoever is winning faceoffs plays in the middle. The other guy plays on the left wing. They're exciting players.
The thing we like about them is they're so usable in all situations: up a goal, down a goal, last minute, first minute, power play, penalty kill. But they definitely share I guess hockey sense in the fact that they see it happening before most people do and they play, like I said, with pace.

Q. Has Datsyuk come the farthest in terms of his defensive play than any player that you've seen? When he first came up, nobody was talking about him as a great defensive player. Now it's just a given.
MIKE BABCOCK: It's just one of those things we believe in here. Your best player has to be good. You can't be hiding him. I'm not interested in that. I want my best players on the ice. So we partway through last year made a point of making sure Z had the matchup some nights, then Pavel had the matchups some nights and Draper did. So we said they all had to be responsible. They all had to be able to kill penalties five-on-three and they all had to take big faceoffs. We just think that's the way to go.
We're going to do the same with Filppula. You have to be able to play against the best people. The same with the Mule. That's our philosophy here. Scotty had that philosophy when he came here with Yzerman. That will continue to be our philosophy.
We don't believe that you can play - well, you can - but if you're playing against Ribeiro all night long and he's not worried about your ability to score, he doesn't have to play defense. When you play against these guys, he's got to worry about playing both sides of the puck.

Q. Seems likes all four teams left now have faced adversity at some point during the course of the season. Do you believe that in order to appreciate success and maybe gain further success a team must go through its share of adversity?
MIKE BABCOCK: I'm a big believer in adversity makes you better in life in general, never mind just sport. To me I just look back at my first year in Detroit. We had none. We couldn't lose even when we played bad enough to lose. Got in the first round of the playoffs, faced adversity, didn't respond. To me when you've gone through it, you've had to respond, you've had to pull together...
The first thing I think when adversity hits, it's so easy to always point the finger at someone else, not take responsibility. But when you're in it and you pull together and you stick together as a team and you believe in one another and you find a way to make it happen on a positive side, that sets you up to handle it in the future. And I think that's why adversity is such a great teacher.

Q. Is it possible to evaluate a team's chemistry, for instance, whether it be a line, a team in general? How do you manage that chemistry?
MIKE BABCOCK: That's a real good question. I think chemistry's huge. But I also think sometimes we get involved with chemistry. Chemistry is a bunch of good guys that go for a beer together. I don't buy any of that.
Chemistry in my mind is developed through paying the price for one another, sacrificing so you win. And the best chemistry is on the teams that win.
Now, maybe that's why they win. Chicken or the egg. But the reality is you have to want to go to war for one another, you want to want to pick each other up. I believe the culture in our dressing room and in our organization is as good as anyplace in hockey. And I believe the leadership and the ability for them to look after each other on and off the ice is something we're really blessed with here and something Ken Holland works at a lot. If you don't fit, you're not here any more. Maybe it doesn't happen overnight, but over a year or two he'll find a way to get you to play for someone else.

Q. Mike, why do you think it is that even now that you're in the Stanley Cup semifinals that the Wings still don't seem to get everyone's level of respect? Some people picking Dallas. Do you think it's because of the division you played in all year?
MIKE BABCOCK: I don't know. Our division we played in all year, we were .500 in and we spanked the rest of league. So I think we should throw that out.
I think Dallas has got a heck of a team. I watched them play last round. I think you got two teams that are committed to playing with and without the puck, got good goaltending, can move the puck, have good forwards. You know, I don't know if there's much to pick between the teams.
You know, as far as respect goes, I think we get the right amount. I think we got great fan support. We are appreciated all over the league. We got people wearing our jersey all over. To me the experts, that's the ones that work in Detroit, we always pick Detroit (laughter).

Q. Jose Theodore was a pretty hot goalie when you got your hands on him. He wasn't after you were done with him. Marty Turco has been terrific for Dallas. What is your read on him?
MIKE BABCOCK: I think he's really good, athletic, committed, growing up, calm, professional. What I mean by "growing up," he's been through it. You want to talk about adversity, this guy's been through it. Their team's been through it.
Tipp is a great coach. Been coaching in the league the same amount as me. I've coached against him many times. Their team is always prepared. And yet they've had some playoff years that didn't go the way they wanted, much like we did my first year in Detroit.
To me they've grown through that and now they got to be feeling pretty good about themselves. Every team playing now, when you're in the final four of hockey, you've done something. Every team feels good about themselves. Every coaching staff has done a real good job. Every management group has done a good job. We all have an opportunity to win. And that's what makes it exciting, is we all believe we have a chance. And we're close enough that we can taste it a little bit, yet it's a long, long way away, as you know.

Q. Mike, curious. You alluded to your first playoff year in Detroit a couple times. How are you different? How are you a different coach this spring than you were then?
MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I think the first year, without any question, I had no idea when I got to playoff time how things were going to be different. What I mean by that is I've been in the playoffs in the NHL, but I didn't know the expectations of the past were going to haunt us. And I couldn't believe how we were paralyzed. I had no idea. I didn't understand that.
A thing about our team, we weren't, in our opinion, hard enough and we weren't quick enough. We weren't good enough. We had more points than any team I coached since, but we weren't anywhere near as good as the next two years' teams. I think it was a real eye-opener for all of us. Maybe not for all of us. I think Ken Holland knew what was coming. I didn't.
And so I thought through the next year and even this year we've made adjustments as a team. We're much younger, we're much quicker, we're much harder. That gives us a chance to play at this time of year.
As far as myself goes, I've learned a ton since I've been here. I've learned from Steve Yzerman, from Brendan Shanahan, from Nicklas Lidstrom, from all the players. But I learned a ton from Scotty, Jimmy and Kenny. I think when you're around really good players and when you're around winning and what's right, you grow as a coach. And I believe in life to have success, you have to embrace lifelong learning. You have to get better in our business. If you don't get better, I think someone's got your job.
I think Scotty Bowman has been the best example of that in the NHL. So, you know, if you don't grow, like I said, you don't work. To me, I think we've all changed together and we've all gotten better.

Q. I remember last year at this time going into the third round your defense core was extremely depleted in terms of injuries. You almost kind of ran out of bodies. Looks like you're healthier this time around. How much of a factor could you see that being going forward for the second month of playoffs?
MIKE BABCOCK: I think it's huge. I mean, last year when we lost Kronwall, Lundqvist hit him just near the end of the season, and I remember just thinking, My God, there's our playoff opportunity. Then when we lost Schneider, you didn't even know if we'd win another game. But our guys really battled. We're fortunate this year. We're much healthier in the back end.
You know, no team is totally healthy. I had to laugh the other day when everyone is saying how healthy we are. They don't see the ice packs and they don't see the other stuff you're doing pain killer-wise to get through.
But the bottom line is we're in a better situation this year than we were last year. That doesn't guarantee success. How much will and how much determination we have and how relentless we are is going to determine how long we play.
DAVID KEON: Thanks very much, Mike.
MIKE BABCOCK: Sure.

End of FastScripts

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