from Travis Yost of TSN,
There’s been incredible buzz following the Mike Babcock story, and for good reason. He’s one of the winningest coaches in National Hockey League history, and despite Detroit’s overtures to make him the highest paid bench boss in the league, he seems adamant about testing free agency.
And there’s plenty of discussion following Todd McLellan, too. Though McLellan’s departure from San Jose ended in less-than-stellar fashion, the numbers – just as they do with Mike Babcock – lay the foundation of a very impressive argument, one that figures to end with a considerable financial windfall.
One of the things I can’t help but notice is the company that McLellan and Babcock keep in the coaching hierarchy. If you pull out any National Hockey League head coach with at least 500 games under his belt and sort by career Point%, McLellan sits 3rd-best all time, and Babcock 5th. Among active coaches, McLellan and Babcock slide up to 2nd-best and 3rd-best, respectively.
What’s particularly intriguing to me are the pair of names who sit above McLellan and Babcock in the pecking order. Second-place is Scotty Bowman, largely considered to be the greatest coach in National Hockey League history.
First place? Go ahead, take a quick guess.
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