The Free Press’s Helene St. James summarizes the tasks which new Red Wings coach Todd McLellan faces in her morning column:
The Wings chased a playoff spot all the way till Game 82 in [coach Derek] Lalonde’s second season, in 2023-24. But the team underwent numerous personnel changes headed into this season, including the departures, through free agency or trades, of defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Jake Walman, and forwards David Perron, Daniel Sprong and Robby Fabbri.
Newcomers in forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Erik Gustafsson have failed to overcome those losses and the Wings have struggled to show even a modicum of mediocrity. Entering the holiday break, the Wings ranked 29th in goals per game (2.56), 25th in goals against per game (3.26) and 31st on the penalty kill (68.8 percent).
Now it falls to McLellan, 57, to try to salvage things. He should benefit from his first game being against the Leafs, as the Original Six and Atlantic Division rival brought out the Wings’ best performance of the season when the teams met at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 14.
But showing up now and then hasn’t been the Wings’ problem – if anything, it’s magnified issues. They have at times demonstrated just how competitive they can be, but then they’ve also performed so poorly, like in the 4-0 loss to the Blues that preceded the holiday break and led to fans booing the team on home ice.
After that performance, captain Dylan Larkin acknowledged the bleakness of it all, saying fans were, “rightfully so frustrated. We didn’t give them any reason to cheer and have a good night. We feel it. It’s just a disappointing effort and disappointing game for playing on home ice before a holiday.”
