His name wins a Jack Adams trophy in my book.

Just sounds destined to kick ass behind the bench down the line.

Posted by Huss from Sarasota, FL on 07/21/08 at 03:50 PM ET

Good hire reuniting him with Hossa.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 07/21/08 at 03:56 PM ET

McCrimmon was a popular assistant in Atlanta, where Ilya Kovalchuk, Bobby Holik, Marian Hossa and Mark Recchi all made pitches for him to get the head job after Bob Hartley was fired at the beginning of the 2007-08 season.

As SYF says, this is a good hire. Maybe even a great hire. Hossa obviously likes McCrimmon. McCrimmon will probably still be a Red Wings coach next year. Therefore…

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/21/08 at 04:27 PM ET

The consensus among many people who’ve watched the Thrashers is that he, well, wasn’t all that good of a coach. He’s a defense first kind of guy, and ... you all did see how bad Atlanta’s defense was last year, right? It wasn’t all that great the year before, either.

I’m happy to see him somewhere, but I’m not happy to see him signed with the Wings. To me, this signing makes the Wings weaker.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 07/21/08 at 04:44 PM ET

I don’t know anything about the guy, but the fact that he wants to be back in Detroit is worth something.

Posted by Nate A from the Church of Babcock on 07/21/08 at 04:55 PM ET

So, have all of Babcock’s assistants been “Mc"-something?

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/21/08 at 05:13 PM ET

But Alan, he’s replacing the guy who ran the special teams and offensive game for the Wings.  I think Paul MacLean remains at the helm for defense for the Wings.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 07/21/08 at 05:30 PM ET

The consensus among many people who’ve watched the Thrashers is that he, well, wasn’t all that good of a coach.

I suspect a feral monkey could do that job with the Wings’ braintrust watching over him. He’ll be fine.

Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 07/21/08 at 05:46 PM ET

But Alan, he’s replacing the guy who ran the special teams and offensive game for the Wings.

I know who he’s replacing. I also know what McCrimmon is all about. I don’t think he will be of any help to the Wings, and may inevitably hurt them in the long run.

I suspect a feral monkey could do that job with the Wings’ braintrust watching over him.

This is most certainly true. Maybe his coaching skills will improve under the watchful eyes of Babcock & Co. For the Wings, I certainly hope that is the case.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 07/21/08 at 05:59 PM ET

the guy was Nik Lidstrom’s 1st defense partner…

weird how these things work out.

Wouldn’t suprise me to see Paul MacLean switch to PP, since it’s not as if the Detroit defense needs much coaching.

Posted by Pharazon from England on 07/21/08 at 06:46 PM ET

I’m happy to see him somewhere, but I’m not happy to see him signed with the Wings. To me, this signing makes the Wings weaker.

Other than the Bertuzzi trade, name one thing Ken & Company (which includes Babcock) have done to make the Wings weaker since Babs came aboard. Any problem with McCrimmon in Atlanta more than likely wasn’t because of the man but because of the team.

With all of the people who must have been clammoring for that job, Babs wouldn’t have chosen McCrimmon if he wasn’t absolutely sure he was the right man for the job. I don’t mean to belittle your opinion, Alan, but I think I’ll put my faith in Babcock on this one.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/21/08 at 06:53 PM ET

I don’t mean to belittle your opinion, Alan, but I think I’ll put my faith in Babcock on this one.

Belittle away, my friend. They’re only opinions, after all. At the end of the day, we’re both Wings fans. I trust Babcock, no question, but I hope he’s made the right decision here.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 07/21/08 at 06:56 PM ET

So on one hand we have some Atlanta fans who didn’t think much of him.  On the other hand we have some Atlanta players who thought highly of him. 

Plus, on one hand we have Custance who says in his blog Brad turned down the Thrashers head coaching job when it was only apparently an interim position.  On the other hand the team doesn’t offer him the permanent position after the season.

Also, on one hand I, too, trust Babcock and the Detroit management team.  But on the other hand I know everybody makes mistakes.

Then on one hand I know Babcock has been doing his homework meticulously for his entire career, if not longer.  But on the other hand…

Oh, just damn it all, anyway!  How long til October???

Posted by BobTheZee on 07/21/08 at 07:35 PM ET

October can’t come soon enough. I’m excited for this coming season.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 07/21/08 at 08:45 PM ET

BobTheZee has eight hands!

Octopus genes?

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/21/08 at 09:17 PM ET

How can you pin the downfalls of Atlanta’s defense on him?

He is a defensive guy.  Atlanta is a Godawfully inept franchise.  Do you even know who their #1 defenseman is?  Noone knows.  Science is still looking into it.

His effect on this team will be minimal, good or bad.  To suggest Detroit gets weaker with his presence is laughable.

Posted by Huss from Sarasota, FL on 07/21/08 at 09:40 PM ET

To suggest Detroit gets weaker with his presence is laughable.

No, I think Alan has a valid observation to bring. Todd was in charge of PP last year and, as Chief noted our PP wasn’t all that great considering the weaponry. Since our style essentially calls for creativity on offense, I’m curious to see what he’ll implement. MacLean stays on defense because that’s far more important to our system and #1 priority for Babs.

As long as The Scowl is in charge, we’ll be cool.

Posted by Osrt on 07/21/08 at 10:24 PM ET

It looks as if MacLean will run the offense, McCrimmon the D:

Mike’s wish list after Todd McLellan left was to get a former NHL defenseman with NHL assistant coaching experience. Brad McCrimmon really fits the bill.”
http://www.theolympian.com/nationworld/story/514662.html

Posted by w2j2 on 07/21/08 at 10:45 PM ET

I never did understand why MacLean of all people was working with the defence, but that was just me...He did a great job, but he was also much more willing to shake things up than McLellan was on the PP.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 07/21/08 at 11:40 PM ET

How can you pin the downfalls of Atlanta’s defense on him?

He is a defensive guy.  Atlanta is a Godawfully inept franchise.

It’s fairly easy to, when you live in the city the team plays in and you have the power of observation. As much as I’d love to be back in Detroit, I’m not there (yet), so I can’t exactly say I have observed McLellan’s style first hand, for example.

However, I am in Atlanta, and I have observed McCrimmon first hand. On top of being Atlanta’s defensive coach and assistant coach under Bob Hartley, he also ran practices. While Waddell - Atlanta’s GM, and former Detroit Asst. GM - was behind the bench during the games, that was the most he was involved with the team.

It would be disingenuous for me to blame the entire season on McCrimmon. However, I would think his inability to get the most out of players like Holik, Zhitnik, Klee, McCarthy, and Slater would speak volumes about his coaching ability, as it stands today.

Like I said above, I trust Babcock - and I hope he can make McCrimmon a top notch coach one day - but I also have to hope Babcock made the right decision here.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 07/22/08 at 10:16 AM ET