Of note from Detroit Hockey Now this morning:
First, Bob Duff reports that former Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, who spent this past season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is moving to the Montreal Canadiens:
With his arrival in Montreal, Derek Lalonde is 50% of the way through the NHL’s so-called Original Six teams. With the Canadiens, he’ll be replacing Trevor Letowski. Letowski is stepping down from the coaching staff. He was hired by Montreal in 2021.
Lalonde was also an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning under Jon Cooper. He won Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. The latter win came at the expense of the Canadiens.
Even though Montreal coach Martin St. Louis spent 13 seasons with the Lightning, the two men never crossed paths. St. Louis left Tampa Bay in 2014.
Second, Duff notes that several tournaments are being held internationally which have a “Red Wings flavor“…
While there won’t be any current Detroit Red Wings playing in the upcoming 8 Nations 3-on-3 tournament in Latvia, the rosters for the event are dotted with connections to the Red Wings organization.
That includes a pair of 2025-25 AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. Eduard Tralmaks, who scored 26 goals for the Griffins, will be serving as Latvia’s captain. He recently signed as a UFA with the Edmonton Oilers.
Wojciech Stachowiak is playing for Germany. He joined the Grffins in a late-season trade. Stachowiak wasn’t given a qualifying offer by the Red Wings and is currently at UFA.
Defenseman Victor Johansson is playing for Sweden. He’s the younger brother of Griffins defenseman and Red Wings draftee Anton Johansson.
Former Red Wings forward Teemu Pulkkinen recently helped Finland to the 3ICE World Cup title. However, he’s not suiting up for Finland in this tourney. Former NHL forward Leo Komarov is, though.
Third and finally, Max Smith adds a detail which I waffled about sharing on the blog:
The summer of “Put A Lid On It!” kicks off next week with two Lids at the Library bike helmet giveaways on Monday and Wednesday #GoGRG
— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) July 8, 2026
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