On Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they had relieved head coach Derek Lalonde of his duties. Lalonde finished his tenure in Detroit—his first head coaching gig at the NHL level—with an 89-86-23 record.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 26, 2024
Throughout Detroit’s rebuild, general manager Steve Yzerman’s mantra has been incremental growth. Lalonde’s first year was an improvement over the prior season, and the 2023-24 campaign was even better, culminating in the Red Wings missing a playoff berth on a tiebreaker.
Incremental growth has eluded the Red Wings this season, though. Sure, there have been some strong individual performances, but the team as a whole has struggled. And when execution and effort are issues, that ultimately falls on the coaching staff. Detroit’s decision to let Lalonde go reflects that.
Lalonde & Detroit’s Struggles
Some had previously argued that firing Lalonde wouldn’t address the root cause of the Red Wings’ struggles. One perspective points to Detroit’s 2023-24 shooting percentage and various model outputs saying regression was likely this season. Another argument highlights Yzerman’s offseason moves, which, critics say, failed to set Lalonde up for success. I reject both of these notions.
Organizations cannot point to models and say, “hey, we’re due for regression, so let’s lower our expectations.” If the goal is incremental growth, then that’s the goal. It doesn’t matter what models suggest.
Secondly, if you look at Detroit’s offseason additions and subtractions (while factoring in full-time roles for Patrick Kane, Jonatan Berggren, and Simon Edvinsson), the net difference in talent year-over-year is minimal. Even if the Red Wings subtracted talent, it’s on the coach to find a strategy that maximizes the talent that he does have. Coaches have certainly done more with less.
If anything, a root cause of Detroit’s subpar season was Lalonde’s game plan. Detroit’s dump and chase strategy on offense and man coverage strategy on defense didn’t work. The power play and penalty kill faltered, too. What was done to address this? Nothing. And it showed on the players, too.
After the Red Wings dropped their December 23 game against the St. Louis Blues by a score of 4-0, captain Dylan Larkin shared his perspective on Detroit’s effort:
“When you show up to play, you’ve got to show up to play. And we just don’t have enough guys doing that right now. Myself included. We’ve got to be committed to compete and we’re just not doing that. We’re very disconnected — the forwards from the ‘D’ on the ice, wingers from centermen. It’s just all over. There’s just a lot of disconnect.”
–Dylan Larkin (from ‘Bultman: Red Wings’ problems run deeper than a lousy record’ – The Athletic – 12/24/24)
That’s a damning assessment.
The thing, though, is that Larkin is right – there has been a disconnect this season. Between players. Between players and the coaching staff. Between strategy and personnel.
After hearing this quote, it was clear that Lalonde had lost the room. When that’s the case, it’s only a matter of time until there’s a change. And that’s exactly what happened.
McLellan Can Address Detroit’s Issues
Back in November, I suggested that the Red Wings consider a coaching change. McLellan was my top choice with this rationale:
“McLellan checks all the boxes – he’s a motivator, creates buy-in with structure, can adapt to personnel, and has loads of experience. In fact, he has coached most of Detroit’s front office. McLellan has also shown the ability to implement a sound defensive strategy and deploy various offensive approaches based on team composition.”
The Red Wings really do need a motivator. It was clear that Lalonde couldn’t push the right buttons to maximize Detroit’s talent. That’s something McLellan has shown the ability to do at his various coaching stops.
Drastic change won’t happen immediately. If anything, McLellan’s fresh perspective alone will help the team. They’ve been stuck in a rut for some time now waiting for the other shoe to drop. And now that change has taken place, they can loosen up a bit and get back to playing quality hockey.
Detroit’s hiring of Trent Yawney to replace Bob Boughner should help as well. Detroit’s defense has been downright awful the last year-plus, and Yawney has found success in the past with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
Best-case scenario, the Red Wings turn things around like the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues. A more likely scenario, though, is that we see the incremental growth Yzerman demands from the organization. McLellan and Yawney are great coaches, and may be able to bring a playoff berth back into the picture.
