Red Wings' new coach Jeff Blashill the right man for Detroit's transition

The hiring of Jeff Blashill as the next coach of the Red Wings gives Detroit a worthy successor to the departed Mike Babcock.

With the long-expected introduction of Jeff Blashill as their new head coach on Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings have set themselves up for what may be the most seamless transition in recent memory.

In every way that matters, Blashill is the spitting image of Mike Babcock, the man he’ll replace behind the bench at Joe Louis Arena. The way he talks. The way he carries himself. The way he approaches the game. And most important, his dedication to preparation.

“I’m sure there’s lots of similarities," Blashill admitted at his introductory press conference. “I coach similar in a lot of ways to how Babs had coached here and a lot of the same approaches in terms of how we play.

“[But] I’ll have my own approach and with my own approach will come change. I’m my own person.”

Fair enough. Babcock earned the respect of his players, but he wore out more than a few of them along the way. Blashill might be more of a nurturer, or least he was in his role with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.

Mike Babcock's contract with Maple Leafs a game-changer for coaches

The 41-year-old Blashill spent the past three seasons guiding Detroit’s top farm team, where he helped develop 16 players who suited up for the big club this season including Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening. He’s also familiar with the team’s veteran core, having served one season as Babcock’s assistant back in 2011-12.

Like Babcock, he focuses on the process and execution. He puts in the work and he expects nothing less from his players. He’s demanding, but respectful. He has a knack for getting the best out of them as individuals and as a group.

And so, like Babcock, he’s a winner. Blashill captured the AHL championship in his first season with Grand Rapids in 2013. Before that, he won the USHL’s Clark Cup with the Indiana Ice in 2009. “He seems to have something,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “He wins wherever he goes.”

He won’t be expected to win with this lineup, at least not yet. With a yawning age gap between top stars Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk and young guns like Nyquist and goaltender Petr Mrazek, the Wings are a team in transition. But with a proven approach and more young talent on the way—look for the brilliant two-way forward Dylan Larkin to push hard for a spot next season-—Blashill has a group that should extend the organization’s playoff streak to 25 years in 2015-16.

They took their time getting around to it, but the Wings made the smart call.

Highest paid NHL coaches compared to NFL

Highest paid coaches in the NHL compared to the NFL

Mike Babcock ($8M) — Pete Carroll ($8M+)

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Babcock's new five-year deal with the Maple Leafs is reportedly front-loaded, making him the NHL's new No. 1 by a wide margin. In April 2014, Carroll signed an extension with the Seahawks through 2016 that was widely expected, by virtue of owner Paul Allen's deep pockets, to vault him over Saints head coach Sean Payton into the NFL's top spot although their respective salaries are reportedly the same.

Todd McLellan ($3M) — Sean Payton ($8M)

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Ex-Sharks bench boss McLellan became the NHL's new No. 2 thanks to his five-year deal with the Oilers. In January 2013, the Saints gave Payton a five-year extension that was contested by the NFL due to some of its terms but was frequently cited as making him the NFL's best paid coach.

Joel Quenneville ($2.75M) — Bill Belichick ($7.5M+)

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Quenneville, the Blackhawks bench boss, was the NHL's No. 1 until Babcock and McLellan inked their new deals in May 2015. Belichick is a mystery man. Many media outlets that purport to track salary information admit there's no way to know short of a subpoena exactly what he makes per season, but given Patriots owner Robert Kraft's fondness for Belichick it's likely more than $7.5 million and he's the NFL's top guy in the mad stacks department.

Claude Julien ($2.5M) — Andy Reid ($7.5M)

Gene J. Puskar/AP; George Gojkovich/Getty Images

The Bruins signed Julien to a three-year extension in Nov. 2014 that reportedly lifted him above the $2 million per season mark. Reid was given his reported five-year, $37.5 million deal by the Chiefs in January 2013.

Darryl Sutter ($2.25M) — John Harbaugh ($7M)

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Sutter was given a new "multi-year" deal by the Kings according to a team media release in January 2013 and recent reports have put his annual paycheck at $2.25 million. Harbaugh was signed to an extension by the Ravens in March 2014 that bumped his yearly pay from $4 million per to the $7 million neighborhood.

Michel Therrien ($2M) — Tom Coughlin ($7M)

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Therrien, the Canadiens bench boss, is just one member of the NHL's reported $2 million club. In March 2015, Coughlin, forever on the hot seat in New York, was given a one-year extension through 2016 that is widely believed to be in line with his currently cited $7 million per season.

Alain Vigneault ($2M) — Chip Kelly ($6.5M)

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The well-off Rangers signed ex-Canucks bench boss Vigneault in June 2013 to a reported five-year, $10 million deal that was supposedly fat enough to keep him from landing with the Dallas Stars. Kelly has to be feeling pretty sunny in Philadelphia after inking his five-year, $32.5 million deal with the Eagles in January 2013.

Lindy Ruff ($2M) — Jason Garrett ($6M)

Gene J. Puskar/AP; Carlos M. Saavedra for SI

Ruff, the longtime coach of the Sabres, moved on to the Stars in June 2013 and received a four-year deal that reportedly gave him a spot in the $2 million club. Garrett's new five-year contract with the Cowboys, signed in January 2015, was said by NFL.com to be worth a total of $30 million.

Peter Laviolette ($2M) — Bruce Arians ($6M)

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The Predators made Laviolette, a veteran of 12 seasons with the Islanders, Hurricanes, and Flyers (with whom he was reportedly paid between $1-$2 million), the second head coach in Nashville's franchise history with a multi-year deal in May 2014. The Toronto Sun says he as well as Therrien, Vigneault, and Ruff are members of the $2 million club. Arians, the former offensive coordinator of the Colts, signed on with the Cardinals in January 2013 for four years at $6 million per according to NFL.com.

Dave Tippett ($2M) — Mike Tomlin ($5.75M)

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In June 2013, the highly regarded Tippett signed a five-year extension with the financially struggling Coyotes before entertaining offers from other teams, so his reported $2 million per doesn't seem far-fetched given that the team has new ownership and he likes coaching in Arizona. Tomlin was rewarded by the Steelers with a three-year extension through 2016 in July of 2012 that Forbes reported was worth $5.75 million per season.