Babcock’s new job: elevate Wings

DETROIT – The new-look Detroit Red Wings will have a new-look coach.

Mike Babcock, who led the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals two years ago, agreed to terms Thursday and will replace Dave Lewis in a time of transition for both the National Hockey League and the Red Wings.

For the past decade, Detroit has been a team of future Hall of Famers with hefty paychecks. Now they will be vastly different after the agreement reached Wednesday to end the league’s lockout, which features a salary cap with a ceiling of $39 million.

Babcock, 42, the former Spokane Chiefs coach (1994-2000), will be asked to develop youthful stars while putting a charge into the remaining veterans – a group that might include longtime captain Steve Yzerman and forward Brendan Shanahan.

Under the new labor agreement, which still must be ratified, they are subject to a 24 percent cut on their existing contracts. But further changes are almost certain on a team that expected to have a $60 million payroll during the canceled 2004-2005 season.

Detroit is expected to look to younger players such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Hudler, Jiri Fischer and Niklas Kronwall. Veteran defensemen Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios could be on the way out.

Babcock, 69-76-19 in two years with Anaheim, has plenty of experience with young players. He led the Ducks and then 26-year-old goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the Stanley Cup finals two years ago during his first season in Anaheim.

Before being hired as the Ducks’ coach, Babcock coached at Cincinnati of the AHL, an affiliate of Anaheim and Detroit. He guided the team to the playoffs both years there and to a franchise-high 41 wins in 2000-01.