The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde Thursday, putting an end to his tenure after parts of three years at the helm.
Lalonde – replaced by veteran bench boss Todd McLellan – put together a 13-17-4 record with the Red Wings this season, and the 52-year-old had a combined record of 89-86-23 in his time coaching Detroit. That record spelled the end of his time in the Motor City, and it’s uncertain whether he did enough to earn another job as a bench boss in the NHL.
Lalonde’s tenure wasn’t all bad news. The Wings did improve after Lalonde’s first year when they finished seventh in the Atlantic Division. Last season, the Wings finished fifth in the Atlantic and tied the Washington Capitals in points. The Capitals held the tiebreaker for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
If the Red Wings had made the playoffs last season, Lalonde might have had more time with Detroit this year. But the start to this season wasn’t encouraging enough – or at all.
The Red Wings put up a couple of wins in a row here and there, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils when they were at their best.
But in the big picture, Detroit lost too many games in a row too many times, including a trio of three-game skids and one five-game losing streak in late November through early December. The Wings’ current three-game slump sealed Lalonde’s fate.
Lalonde didn’t produce enough victories to make him a front-runner for NHL head coaching jobs that open in the future. He may have to get back into the league as an assistant or an associate coach. Former New York Islanders coach Lane Lambert took an associate coach role with the Toronto Maple Leafs, while former Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith is now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings.
Even the coach Lalonde replaced in Detroit, Jeff Blashill, is an assistant coach on Jon Cooper’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lalonde did win back-to-back Stanley Cups working as Cooper’s assistant with the Bolts from 2018 to 2022, so perhaps there could be a fit for Lalonde to return if Lalonde and Cooper want to reunite.
Related: Detroit Red Wings Fire Coach Derek Lalonde, Hire Todd McLellan
The NHL is a zero-sum business, and the Red Wings decided on a fresh start after the holiday break with McLellan because Lalonde couldn’t deliver enough wins. Some, if not much, blame for that has to fall on Detroit GM Steve Yzerman for not building a solid enough NHL roster for Lalonde to work with, but changing coaches is an attempt to salvage what’s left of the current season.
The NHL has seen 15 coaching changes in the calendar year of 2024. That’s astonishing, and we’re expecting to see that dismissal rate slow down somewhat in 2025. But as far as Lalonde goes, he simply couldn’t keep disappointed Red Wings fans from lashing out over Detroit’s sub-standard play. His coaching career shouldn’t be over, but an NHL head coaching role might not be his next job as a result.
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