DETROIT (AP) – The Detroit Red Wings have hired Derek Lalonde to coach their rebuilding team, hoping the two-time Stanley Cup-winning assistant can make all the right moves to make the playoffs again. relevant franchise.
Lalonde spent the last four years in Jon Cooper’s roster with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a stretch that included championships in 2020 and ’21 and, more recently, a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup final.
“He has proven to be an excellent coach at all levels and has spent the last four seasons in the National Hockey League as part of a very successful program in Tampa Bay,” general manager Steve Yzerman said in a statement. “We believe he is ready to take the next step in his career as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings.”
Yzerman was GM of Lightning when he was promoted to Cooper for his first NHL head coaching job in 2013. This is the first time an active Cooper assistant has moved to an NHL head job.
“I am ready to work with our group,” Lalonde said in a statement. “There’s a very bright future ahead for Detroit.”
Lalonde, 49, as Cooper won a U.S. Hockey League title with the Green Bay Gamblers. He coached at the ECHL and the American Hockey League before joining the Lightning.
After a two-month search, Lalonde replaces Jeff Blashill, who did not have the team option on his contract picked up after seven seasons. Blashill had .447 points, the second-worst in the league during that time, not counting the debut season of the Seattle Kraken expansion.
Yzerman did not reveal much when he spoke to reporters at the beginning of the search, but said being familiar with the new manager would be an advantage.
“Derek has an impressive resume, especially the work he has done with young players and prospects throughout his career,” President and CEO Chris Ilitch said in a statement. “We are excited to have him leading the charge behind the Red Wings bench. I would also like to congratulate Steve and his staff on carrying out a very thorough and detailed search process.”
Detroit has not won a place in the playoffs for six consecutive years after being in 25 consecutive postseason and winning the Stanley Cup four times. But Lalonde has some players potentially capable of leading a turn.
Veterans Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana are proven players at the front, and Lucas Raymond, who was also a featured debutant last season, is a promising striker who joins the lineup.
Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider is poised to anchor the defense for years to come, filling a gap that hasn’t been resolved since Nicklas Lidstrom retired a decade ago.
Yzerman, a Red Wings Hall of Fame player, has for the first time a hand-picked coach with the franchise he once proudly leads.
After writing and acquiring talent to turn Tampa Bay into a two-time champion and a perennial contender, Yzerman has consistently said he will need time to win Detroit again and has refused to set deadlines in rebuilding.
Lalonde, as fast as he can, will pull to try to address the Red Wings ’shortcomings next season with relative stability after Blashill has coached the past few years with job uncertainty.
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