Mike Babcock signed a precedent-setting deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In doing so, he joins a progressive front office that is looking to build a group of top young assets into a contending team. Babcock leaves a perennial contender in Detroit -- a team with an aging core group of players -- to join a team whose future is as uncertain in a different way. His decision would have been a gamble either way, and in choosing Toronto, he's gambling on potential.