On Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings fired head coach Derek Lalonde and replaced him with Todd McLellan. More than a third of the way into another dismal season for the team, known as “Hockeytown,” general manager Steve Yzerman made this change.
The Red Wings had lost nine of their previous 12 games and were on a three-game losing streak when the decision was made the day after Christmas. They are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, just above the struggling Buffalo Sabres, and have only won 13 of their first 34 games this season.
After serving as Tampa Bay’s assistant and winning two Stanley Cups, Lalonde was in his third season with Detroit. When Jeff Blashill left, Yzerman took over as coach.
Lalonde was hired in the summer of 2022 to assist in guiding the team back to the playoffs after the Lightning were traded to the Red Wings in 2019.
The Red Wings have failed to replicate their success from their heyday, when they won the Stanley Cup four times between 1996–97 and 2007–08, with Yzerman playing a crucial role in those titles. This is true even though they signed three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane in 2023 and re-signed him last offseason.
The team is now on course to make it to the ninth year of their playoff drought, which would rank second in the league after Buffalo’s.
Along with Lalonde’s termination, associate coach Bob Boughner was also fired, and McLellan hired Trent Yawney as an assistant coach. Following stints with San Jose, Edmonton, and Los Angeles, McLellan, now 57, signed a multiyear contract to begin his fourth NHL head coaching position.
In nine of his fourteen complete seasons as head coach, McLellan has guided his teams to the postseason. After beginning his career with the Red Wings in 2005 as an assistant coach and serving as a member of the coaching staff during their 2008 championship run under Mike Babcock, he returns to Detroit.
Shortly after leaving Detroit, the native of Melville, Saskatchewan, joined the Sharks, and he guided them to three Western Conference finals. McLellan most recently had interviews for coaching positions after being fired by the Kings during the All-Star break in February.
In addition to Rick Bowness’ retirement in Winnipeg, this is the 15th coaching change in the NHL this year and the fourth this season.Other coaching changes this season included the Chicago Blackhawks replacing Luke Richardson with Anders Sorensen in early December and the Boston Bruins firing Jim Montgomery in November. Montgomery was hired by the St. Louis Blues a week later.
Leave a Reply