DETROIT -- Mike Babcock can start testing the open market.
The Red Wings say they have granted a request from the highly respected coach for permission to speak with other teams. Babcock's contract will expire this offseason.
Babcock and general manager Ken Holland have agreed to a soft deadline of May 25 for the coach to pursue his options.
After the Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs, Holland said that although the team had exclusive negotiating rights with Babcock until the end of June, it wasn't in anyone's best interest for the process to linger that long.
"We have a lot of respect for Mike. What he has done here over 10 years has earned him the right," Holland told ESPN.com on Friday.
Now Babcock can get a better sense of what his options are.
Toronto, Philadelphia, Buffalo and San Jose are all without coaches at the moment. Edmonton, which owns the No. 1 pick in the next draft, could be an option if the Oilers decide to move on from interim coach Todd Nelson.
A person familiar with the Sabres' coaching search told The Associated Press that the team is interested in talking to Babcock. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Sabres are not commenting during their search to replace Ted Nolan, who was fired last month.
The person didn't have a timeline on when the Sabres might make a formal request to the Red Wings but noted that a meeting could occur at the world hockey championships currently taking place in the Czech Republic.
Babcock has ties to Sabres general manager Tim Murray going back to Anaheim in 2002. Babcock coached the Ducks from 2002 to 2004, when Murray served as the team's player personnel director.
Babcock has coached Detroit for 10 seasons, guiding the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup in 2008 and another finals appearance the following year. But this season was Detroit's third first-round exit in the past four years.
The Red Wings have made two previous contract offers to the head coach in the past year -- one in June 2014 and the other in January.
Holland said that if another team hires Babcock, it would have to give Detroit a third-round pick at some point over the next three seasons per the new NHL compensation rule.
If Babcock leaves the Red Wings, the franchise has a coaching prospect, Jeff Blashill, the coach of the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.
ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun and The Associated Press contributed to this report.