Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and head coach Mike Babcock met Tuesday regarding an extension for Babcock, but a deal doesn't appear imminent.

In fact, it might not come to be before the Wings open Oct. 9, which is when Babcock has said he no longer wants to talk about his contract situation.

A caveat to that, though: It means that neither side wants to deal with it publicly, in the media.

Discussions center on a new contract for Babcock, who is entering the final year of a deal that will mark his 10th year behind Detroit's bench. The Wings want him back, and owner Mike Ilitch doesn't skimp on salary when he wants a high-profile person in his organization, so it's largely a matter of whether Babcock wants to come back, and how much term he wants, and how much of a raise he wants on the $2 million per year he's making now.

"We've talked," Holland said today. "I think what we're going to do is -- we talked yesterday. I'm not sure when we are going to talk about it again, but we're not going to talk about it any more (in the media). Once the season starts, we don't need any more distractions. We've got enough distractions that will be created for a variety of reasons.

"He and I travel together. We can talk any time we want. It doesn't do anybody good to talk about it in the press."

Asked whether a deal will emerge in the coming week, Holland hedged.

"I hate handicapping," he said, "because you can get a deal one day and, another day, you can't. But if you said to me, 'Does it look like we'll have a deal done between now and next Thursday?' I don't think so. But we've talked and we'll continue to talk about it. But we're not going to talk about it to the press. I think it's in the best interest of the team not to do that."

Babcock would have numerous suitors if he hits the open market next summer -- and one of them almost certainly would be Toronto, the NHL's only billion-dollar franchise, one that hires (and fires) with impunity.

If a deal ultimately fails to emerge, the Wings have Jeff Blashill locked up in Grand Rapids, and there might be other attractive candidates on the market next summer, depending on how seasons go for certain NHL franchises.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.