The Detroit Red Wings announced that head coach Derek Lalonde and assistant Bob Boughner had been relieved of their duties. The team also announced that former Los Angeles Kings head coach Todd McLellan has been signed to a multi-year deal to become the 29th bench boss in Detroit franchise history.
Derek Lalonde has been relieved of head coaching duties, Todd McLellan has been named the new head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. https://t.co/xYtYTSVosY
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2024
Three straight losses heading into the holiday break were the final nail in the coffin for Lalonde, who had been on the hot seat for over a month. The Wings both expected and needed to take a step forward in 2024-25. They finished with a 41-32-9 record last season, just narrowly missing out on their first playoff berth since 2016 and also marking their first season above .500 since that year. But a horrid campaign offensively so far for the Red Wings, who rank 29th in the league at 2.56 goals per game, has them with a 13-17-4 record at Christmas and eight points back of the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Lalonde was hired in June 2022 after spending the previous four years on Jon Cooper’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a stretch that included championships in 2020 and ’21 and, most recently, a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. He coached in the ECHL and American Hockey League before joining the Lightning, which included a USHL championship with the Green Bay Gamblers.
