The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday after two-plus seasons and brought in veteran Todd McLellan to try to turn around the season.
McLellan, 57, who won a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings as an assistant coach in 2008, was signed to a multi-year contract as the franchise’s 29th head coach. He has a 598-412-134 regular-season record over 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, making the playoffs nine times. He was with the Red Wings from 2005-08 and left after the championship season to join the Sharks.
Associate coach Bob Boughner also was fired, and Trent Yawney was hired as an assistant coach.
The coaching change followed back-to-back losses to the Montreal Canadiens that dropped the Red Wings into seventh place in the Atlantic Division, plus a 4-0 home loss to the St. Louis Blues in which fans booed loudly. Detroit has lost nine of its last 12 games.
Lalonde was hired in 2022 to shepherd the Red Wings back to the playoffs as general manager Steve Yzerman brought in veterans to help that goal after a years-long rebuild. The first-year NHL head coach had spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, reaching the Stanley Cup Final his last three seasons there.
The Red Wings finished seventh his first season, missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker last season and are off to a 13-17-4 start this season.
Detroit lost four players who combined for 63 goals last offseason and haven’t been able to make up for it. Free agent signee Vladimir Tarasenko has four and 12 points. Re-signed Patrick Kane has five goals and 14 points. Injuries have also hurt the team.
The Red Wings rank in the bottom four in goals per game and have the eighth-worst goals-against average and the second-worst penalty kill. They give up the fifth-most shots against per game and are among the worst teams in giveaways per game.
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015-16. The Red Wings had a 25-season playoff run before that.
The Red Wings are the fourth NHL team to make a coaching team this season, following the Boston Bruins, Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
