Mike Babcock

So pretty thrilled and pretty grateful.

Well, we're going to pressure like crazy is what I can tell.

And the biggest thing to have success in D zone coverage and D zone is to have numbers at your line.

So this is all going to be determined by how we play in the O zone and how we're not going to lose people and how we're going to be fresh coming back in the D zone.

And then we have not worked out and will not have it worked out exactly how we're going to play in D zone until we do a study on what worked best in the National Hockey League in the last three years in the playoffs.

We'll look at it all and then we'll look at our group and say what can our group do the best and be successful at it and then we'll move ahead with that.

Now

I have a lot of things that I'm a stickler about and that I like.

That doesn't mean there's other parts that can't be adjusted.

So we're going to look at the whole thing now.

And that's what we're doing.

We're doing projects now for the rest of the summer.

And a month before camp, we'll have our full plan.

Once I get to know the roster better, and I'm talking the individual guys and their tendencies and what we can do to help them, that will help me with the defensive structure.

But the number one thing, if you want to play without the puck and not give up goals,

is to be organized, coming out of the offensive zone, to be fresh, and to not let them make the zone big, make it small quick.

You know what, the goaltending has no chance when they don't know where it's coming from.

When they know where it's coming from, they can be there and be square.

So the first thing we gotta look after is that.

So no different than D zone coverage.