While it did not end well regarding wins/losses for former Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, the current roster is littered with players he developed and has taken their games to the next level. For all the heat (fair and unfair) Blashill took from fans, the Red Wings would not be in the position they are in (fourth place in the Atlantic) without the work Blashill and his staff put in. A look back provides some insight as to what took place under Blashill’s Detroit tenure.
Jeff Blashill was named head coach of the Red Wings on June 9, 2015. Just about one year later, the Red Wings would enter a rebuild. Blashill was chosen as head coach in part because he had a reputation for working well with and developing young players. Looking back, that is what Blashill did.
When the Detroit Red Wings drafted C- Dylan Larkin, Larkin was viewed as a possible second line center. Under Blashill, Larkin gained confidence and worked hard to the point that he was not only named the 37th captain in Red Wings history, but Larkin also transformed himself and his game into a bonified top line center.
Tyler Bertuzzi also benefited from having Blashill as his head coach. Bertuzzi found the sweet spot between being a goal scorer and playing with grit. Something young players struggle to nail down. Much like Larkin, Bertuzzi transformed his game into top line worthy.
Last season, rookies LW-Lucas Raymond and D-Moritz Seider had very solid first years for the team. Raymond scored 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points and was in the mix for the Calder Trophy for much of the season. Seider was exactly what the Red Wings envisioned he would be and more. Seider played well enough to be promoted to the Red Wings top pairing. Seider did win the Calder as the NHL’s best rookie.
D-Filip Hronek took his game to next-level status under Blashill, and Hronek plays like he would be on most teams’ top pairing. The list goes on. The point is that while wins/losses get the headlines and play a larger role in keeping jobs, sometimes a deeper look is needed to see that progress was indeed made.
When GM Steve Yzerman announced Blashill would not be back with the Red Wings, he really spoke to what Blashill had done with player development, “Jeff did an outstanding job of leading this organization in very, very difficult circumstances. I’ve said this before, but you can’t judge Jeff Blashill on his Detroit Red Wings record. You have to judge him on how he ran this program and conducted himself in an extremely professional way. It is really unfair to put all of this on him.”
While yes, the Red Wings did regress in terms of play away from the puck, which affected wins/losses, Jeff Blashill should be remembered as a coach who got current Detroit Red Wings players to take big steps in their development. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde had some telling words about the work Blashill did for the current roster, “What I would like to do, I would like to build this and look back on Jeff being part of the building blocks. Because he did a really good job. He’s a really good coach.”
As the Detroit Red Wings entered the next phase of the rebuild, it was clear Jeff Blashill was one of the building blocks.
