The Detroit Red Wings announced on social media that they have relieved head coach Derek Lalonde of his duties after three seasons in the position. The Red Wings then signed Todd McLellan to a multi-year contract. In the three seasons in which Lalonde was head coach, the Red Wings had a record of 89-86-23. McLellan was an assistant coach for the Red Wings from 2005 to 2007 under former head coach Mike Babcock.
“We’re going to continue to do everything that we possibly can to build a team that competes for the Stanley Cup, and I’m hoping to expedite that process any way we can,” Red Wings Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Steve Yzerman said in a press conference the day after the McLellan was hired. Yzerman said that he understood that Red Wings’ fans may feel that the rebuild is taking a long time, but he did not want to make moves that do not have the future in mind.
McLellan is now the third head coach that Yzerman has overseen. It could be argued that Yzerman never gave Lalonde a lineup with which he could have contended for a Stanley Cup playoff spot. Despite this, the Red Wings missed the playoffs on the last day of the 2023-24 season after the Philadelphia Flyers saved their season by defeating the Washington Capitals in a shootout. Perhaps losing out on the playoff chase on the last day was a result that was not the best for Lalonde, as this raised expectations for the 2024-25 season.
The Red Wings also replaced associate head coach Bob Boughner with Trent Yawney. Boughner oversaw running the Red Wings’ penalty kill under Lalonde. This penalty kill is one of the worst in the NHL’s history, currently having killed off 68.8% of their penalties for the 2024-25 season, according to ESPN.com. This is currently the 29th-best penalty-killing percentage in the league. The lack of practice time in today’s NHL does not allow McLellan to implement his systems to change this part of the Red Wings game.
Yzerman mentioned that he thought some players were not playing up to their expectations. He said that he thought the Red Wings were a wild-card team going into the 2024-25 season. With the emergence of defenseman Moritz Seider and Albert Johansson making the Red Wings lineup, the future of the right side of the Red Wings blueline is on the team. Simon Edvinsson has played well being paired with Seider and his recent upper-body injury seems to have derailed the Red Wings season.
McLellan’s Future
McLellan’s first game as head coach of the Red Wings will be against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He hesitated to say how long it would take to grow accustomed to his new roster. The Maple Leafs are one of the best teams in the Atlantic Division, with 44 points in 35 games. The Red Wings will have 48 games for the rest of the 2024-25 season. During his introductory press conference, McLellan said that he was nervous going into his first game as head coach of the Red Wings.
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