Detroit Red Wings Fire Coach Derek Lalonde, Turn To Todd McLellan

It seems that the NHL’s annual holiday roster freeze does not extend to the coaching ranks.

Thursday morning, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they have parted ways with head coach Derek Lalonde and associate coach Bob Boughner.

They’ll be replaced by new head man Todd McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney.

Lalonde, 52, was a first-time NHL head coach who was in his third season with Detroit. He leaves with a record of 89-86-23 for 201 points and a .508 points percentage over 198 games.

And while the Red Wings missed out on snapping a seven-year playoff drought last season based on a tiebreaker, they’ve taken a step backward this year. After dropping their last three games before the holiday break, Detroit fell to second-last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 13-17-4 for 30 points in 34 games. Averaging just 2.56 goals per game, fourth-fewest in the league, the team’s goal differential of minus-23 is the worst in the Eastern Conference.

In McLellan, Detroit is bringing in an experienced coach with a strong pedigree and pre-existing ties to the organization. Before accepting his first NHL head coaching job with the San Jose Sharks in 2009, the 57-year-old from Melville, Saskatchewan served as an assistant to Mike Babcock in Hockeytown for three seasons, including the Stanley Cup-winning 2007-08 campaign.

In addition to San Jose, McLellan has also served as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. All told, he has a record of 598-412-134 for 1,330 points and a .581 points percentage over 1,144 games. He has been out of work for just under a year, fired by the Kings on Feb. 2, 2024.

After a 25-season streak of playoff appearances from 1991-2016, including Stanley Cup wins in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008, the Red Wings have now gone eight seasons and counting without a post-season appearance — second only to the Buffalo Sabres (13 seasons). They have not yet played a single playoff game at Little Caesars Arena, which opened in the fall of 2017. The coaching change may also turn up the heat on franchise legend Steve Yzerman, the former captain, three-time Cup winner as a player and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who is now in his sixth season as the club’s executive vice president and general manager, but has yet to deliver post-season success.

Lalonde’s firing is the fourth of the NHL season. He succeeds two coaches who were hired within days of him in June of 2022: Jim Montgomery was let go by the Boston Bruins on Nov. 19 and Luke Richardson was dismissed by the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 5.

The St. Louis Blues also parted ways with Drew Bannister after less than a year when they hired Montgomery on Nov. 24.

With the Red Wings currently eight points out of a wild-card spot in the East, McLellan has his work cut out for him if the team is hoping to end its playoff drought this year. His first order of business may be to get more out of a pair of veteran scoring stars.

After a successful 20-goal, 47-point campaign in 50 games following his return from hip resurfacing surgery last year, Patrick Kane has just five goals and 14 points in 29 games this year. And former 40-goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko, who signed a two-year free-agent contract at $4.75 million per season after winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last spring, has also been a disappointment. Playing on his fifth team in less than two years, the 33-year-old has just four goals and 12 points in 33 games.

One bright spot in Detroit has been the play of veteran Cam Talbot in net. Signed to a two-year deal at $2.5 million per season, the 37-year-old boasts a .912 save percentage and ranks in the top 10 league-wide with 9.0 goals saved above expected. Talbot’s resurgence began last season, when he thrived under McLellan’s defense-first system and represented the Kings at the NHL’s 2024 All-Star Weekend.

The Red Wings will help kick off an eight-game slate when NHL play returns on Friday, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena.