BabWatch: The top 5 destinations for Mike Babcock.

Earlier today we reported that two teams had seemingly stepped out of the race for Mike Babcock so here is our top 5 most likely destinations for him to land in. #5 The Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs for a long time were the rumored frontrunner to acquire  Bacock and it honestly made a lot of sense. Brendan Shanahan is President of Hockey Operations in Toronto, Toronto can offer a massive payc heck, and they also have an opening at GM, and Babcock is Canadian.  Toronto is rumored to be one of two teams willing to pay upward of $5 million per year, the money alone could make this a reality. Babcock was rumored to want more control over player personnel decisions so the lack of a current GM is a great fit, and as a Canadian he knows if he brings any level of success to Toronto he will be remembered as a god in that city, and across the country. However it's clear Toronto is in a rebuild, so unless Babcockc plans to be extremely patient Toronto seems less than likely. #4 The San Jose Sharks. The San Jose Sharks missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2002-2003 season and just parted ways with another highly respect coach in Todd McLellan. Many blame Shark general manager Doug Wilson for that departure, and Wilson's public dispute with former San Jose Sharks' captain Joe Thornton didn't win him many friends in San Jose. Many believe Wilson needs to make a big impact next season and hiring a man like Babcock could allow him to improve his team enough to secure his job. While San Jose isn't much more likely than Toronto, they are more of a contender than the Maple LEafs. #3 The Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit Red Wings have one major advantage over every other team in this free agency negotiation for Mike Babcock, their team is a known quantity. Not only does Babcock know what he has in his players, but he's familiar with the front office staff and perhaps most important of all his family is comfortably settled in. With that said however Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet does not believe the Red Wings can'r or won't match the financial offers of other major clubs, #2 The Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo Sabres are probably the next closest thing to home for Mike Babcock. Buffalo is only an hour by plane from Detroit and one can easily see why any head coach would be attracted to that city. Sabres owner Terry Pegula just cut a big check to hire a premier head coach for his football team the Buffalo Bills, and there's a strong belief he's willing to do the same for his Hockey Club. There's t the the Buffalo Sabres now have Evander Kane and most likely Jack Eichel on their roster as well as a GM in Tim Murray who is rumored to have played a major role in getting Babcock his first NHL head coaching job with the Ducks. Money, young talent, a familiar face at GM, and close proximity to home could make Buffalo the right fit. #1 The Philadelphia Flyers Like the Maple Leafs the Flyers are rumored to be the team willing to spend massive dollars, reportedly in excess of $5 million per season, to acquire Mike Babcock. Owner Ed Snider has one of the highest paid teams in the league, and the results this past season have been unacceptable. With the termination of Craig Berube as the Flyers head coach, Ron Hextall gets to make his first coaching hire as a general manager and the biggest possible hire would be Mike Babcock. Add to that the fact that, unlike the Leafs, the Flyers have the talent to win now and they could come out the winners in the race for Babcock. The prospect of immediately coaching a roster that includes the likes of Claude Giroux, Jacub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and goaltender Steve Mason along with the money involved could be enough to lure Babcock to Philadelphia.