Frank Seravalli

Either the Red Wings are stewing over a situation that's gone public, or Steve Eiserman is already just dealing with

the teams that are on the list and trying to make something happen.

So will the rest of those teams sit idle and wait and hope that Dylan Larkin becomes available to them?

I doubt it.

They got to move on.

It's kind of like the Oilers arriving at this situation.

Hey, Bruce Cassidy may or not be coming at any point.

Got to figure out who's going to be coaching our team next year because we got to get moving.

I don't think it's a sign of desperation.

What I would say is that, at least in the short term, if they're as locked in on Babcock as some of the reports suggest, is that it's a tactical error.

Now, why I don't believe it...

a panic move is you're still talking about, even though he hasn't coached in a league in six years was unquestionably one of the most accomplished coaches of his generation, two Olympic golds, Sterling record Stanley cup in 2008, two other Stanley cup final appearances with Detroit and Anaheim.

This is someone who is widely recognized as, you know, for a while as the best coach in the game.

So to think that this Oiler team has one year to get it right, and if your qualification for it was an experienced guy who's been there and won before, well, your list includes Bruce Cassidy, who's contractually unavailable, Peter Laviolette, who is now in Los Angeles, Barry Trotz, who's retiring in Nashville as general manager, and Craig Berube.

That's it.

other than Mike Babcock.

So the list gets short in a hurry.

But the reason why I think it's a tactical error is if they're going to go ahead and make the hire on Babcock, there's only one other team left in the coaching market right now, and that's the Toronto Maple Leafs.

You know Mike Babcock isn't going back there.

So you're the only team left with an opening.