It was probably the most eagerly awaited post-defeat news conference in recent Red Wings history after Detroit lost 2-0 to Tampa Bay in Game 7 of its first round series.

Would coach Mike Babcock, the biggest name in the free agent market this offseason, announce his desire to return to Detroit next season?

Would he say he won’t come back?

Would he go non-committal – as most expected.

Babcock, who was interestingly color coded with a red shirt/tie combo, didn’t exactly say much when directly queried about his future. He said “I‘ll be happy to talk about that crap then,” referring to his team’s locker room cleanout day.

Babcock referred to a lot of his top players as guys who are in their mid-to-late 30s,

“I thought we gave that team a really good run for their money, to say the least. Some of our best players are 34, 35, 37, so when you look at it, we’re a team that has changed a ton of players and we’re a team that has added a lot of youth to our lineup, but right now, on the outside, they don’t pick us as a Stanley Cup contender.”

Nope, unless you’re a maniacal filmmaker, not a lot of people did.

And of course, probably the most important question for a coach who wants to have good players.

“But who’s going to replace Pav?” meaning center Pavel Dastyuk, who is 36 years old.

Granted, Datsyuk was as good as ever last season, and asking who is going to replace Datsyuk is like asking who will replace Jonathan Toews when the latter is nearing the end of his time in the NHL. Some guys are one of a kind.

But Detroit really doesn’t have anyone who can jump in and simply be Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, or Niklas Kronwall, the other guys Babcock was probably referencing.

Babcock got a lot out of this Detroit team this series. Without Kronwall and Marek Zidlicky in Game 7, and with Zetterberg off his game, Detroit was the better team. Petr Mrazek almost beat the Lightning. Let that soak in for a second. And two years ago, the Red Wings ousted the high-flying second-seeded Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs.

Even though the Red Wings haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs since 2009, how much of Detroit’s success since its players hit the wrong side of 30 has to do with Babcock vs. the personnel?

These are all questions Babcock (or his ego) probably has answers for, but is waiting to make something official.

As of now we wait, we wonder, we parse his words – which don’t sound great if the Red Wings or their fans had any hope that he would return.

He’ll get a king’s ransom in coaching free agency, or if he decides to come back. The future looks great … if you’re Mike Babcock. He could coach Connor McDavid in Edmonton. He can coach Jack Eichel in Buffalo. He can go to Toronto and try to turn around the Maple Leafs. Most NHL teams would probably give their guy the boot if Babs came to them and said he wanted to coach their squad.

Mike Babcock, sorry about the loss, the world is your oyster.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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