The Detroit Red Wings announced on Thursday evening that Derek Lalonde will be the team’s next head coach.
UPDATE: Detroit #RedWings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman today announced that the team has named Derek Lalonde the 28th head coach in franchise history.
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— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 30, 2022
Lalonde replaces Jeff Blashill, who was let go by the team after the Red Wings missed the playoffs in six of his seven years behind the bench.
The move was somewhat expected, as it was Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman – then in the same role for Tampa Bay – who hired Lalonde as an assistant coach with the Lightning, his most recent role.
As my primary hope for the Red Wings’ next head coach was new blood, this move works for me. I kind of would have preferred someone from Europe – Roger Ronnberg would have been interesting and Sergei Fedorov would have been entertaining – but Yzerman specifically said he wanted someone he was familiar with and this certainly checks that box.
Somewhat interestingly, Lalonde’s coaching staff was not announced. Alex Tanguay remains as an assistant coach with the team but assistant Doug Houda and goalie coach Jeff Salajko were let go with Blashill.
This is just one in many dominoes to fall for the Red Wings this offseason, but it’s certainly a large domino.
