Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

Methodical man

I had talked about the possibility of Derek Lalonde losing his job with my The Flying Octopus compatriots, and when I did, I suggested that firing coach Lalonde would probably be fired as the beginning of a series of moves to be made by GM Steve Yzerman and the Wings’ management team.

I do believe that the hiring of Todd McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney will help an underachieving Red Wings team, but I also believe that the team needs to make a few personnel changes to assuage the losses of David Perron and Shayne Gostisbehere, who were never meaningfully replaced.

Given that the offseason feels like the time that teams truly address their roster issues, I’m not certain whether the management team will be able to accomplish their goals, but the team needs a net-front forward with size and an offensive defenseman at the very least, and there are players on the trade market who would fulfill those needs…

But GM SY is nothing if not methodical, and he tends to work simply. After firing the coaching staff, he’s going to assess the roster that he has as they play under coach McLellan, and then the team will try to make some calculated changes to the roster via trades, with the bigger swings to be taken at free agents during the offseason.

That’s how it’s going to work, for better or worse.

Round-up of media reactions to Lalonde’s firing, McLellan’s hiring

Here are some of the media reactions to the firing of coach Derek Lalonde and the hiring of Todd McLellan:

MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that McLellan, who’s coached the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, has a winning record:

    McLellan, 57, has 16 years of NHL head-coaching experience with San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles, posting a record of 598-412-134 in the regular season and 42-46 in the playoffs.

    His 598 regular-season wins are 24th in NHL history and sixth-most among active coaches behind Paul Maurice (891), Lindy Ruff (876), Peter Laviolette (823), John Tortorella (757) and Peter DeBoer (632).

    Teams coached by McLellan have reached the 50-win mark three times and the 100-point plateau six times. McLellan’s teams have also advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs nine times. He is a two-time finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year (2009, 2017).

    McLellan was an assistant coach with the Red Wings under Mike Babcock from 2005-06 to 2007-08, when he left to become San Jose’s head coach after winning a Stanley Cup.

    The Red Wings hired Trent Yawney as an assistant coach, joining Alex Tanguay and Jay Varady on the staff. The club relieved associate coach Bob Boughner of his duties.

    Here’s the AP’s summary:

    The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday and named Todd McLellan as his replacement.

    The move the day after Christmas was announced by general manager Steve Yzerman and comes with the Red Wings on a three-game skid and having lost nine of their past 12. They’ve lost 21 of their first 34 games this season and are above only the lowly Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference.

    Assistant Bob Boughner was also fired and Trent Yawney hired to work on McLellan’s staff. McLellan signed a multiyear contract to start his fourth NHL head coaching job after stints with San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles.

    Lalonde was nearly midway through his third season with Detroit after winning the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant with Tampa Bay.

    Here’s The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

    Continue reading Round-up of media reactions to Lalonde’s firing, McLellan’s hiring

    Twitter reaction to Lalonde’s firing

    Per Red Wings fans and media outlets on Twitter:

    Continue reading Twitter reaction to Lalonde’s firing

    Press release: Red Wings fire Derek Lalonde, Bob Boughner, hire Todd McLellan and Trent Yawney

    Per the Detroit Red Wings:

    RED WINGS NAME TODD McLELLAN HEAD COACH

      … Detroit Hires Trent Yawney as an Assistant Coach; Derek Lalonde and Bob Boughner Relieved of Coaching Duties …

    DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman today announced that the team has named Todd McLellan the 29th Head Coach in franchise history and signed him to a multi-year contract. Additionally, the Red Wings have hired Trent Yawney as an Assistant Coach.

    Head Coach Derek Lalonde and Associate Coach Bob Boughner have been relieved of their coaching duties, effective immediately.

    McLellan, 57, rejoins the organization (Assistant Coach, 2005-08) with 16 seasons of NHL head coaching experience, posting a 598-412-134 regular-season record and a 42-46 postseason mark with the Los Angeles Kings (2019-24), Edmonton Oilers (2015-19) and San Jose Sharks (2008-15). His 598 regular-season wins are ranked 24th in NHL history and sixth-most among active coaches behind Paul Maurice (891), Lindy Ruff (876), Peter Laviolette (823), John Tortorella (757) and Peter DeBoer (632). Teams coached by McLellan have reached the 50-win mark three times and the 100-point plateau six times. McLellan’s teams have also advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs nine times, including six-consecutive postseason appearances with the Sharks. In recognition of his efforts, McLellan has twice been named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year (2008-09, 2016-17) and has coached at two NHL All-Star Games (2009, 2012).

    Continue reading Press release: Red Wings fire Derek Lalonde, Bob Boughner, hire Todd McLellan and Trent Yawney

    Tweet of note: An NHL Network profile of Trey Augustine

    Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter comes a meaty profile of goaltender Trey Augustine from the NHL Network, ahead of today’s game between the U.S. World Junior team and Germany (2:30 PM on the NHL Network/TSN):

    Roughly translated: Axel Sandin Pellikka speaks with Aftonbladet before the WJC

    Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson engaged in an interview with Red Wings prospect and Three Crowns defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka regarding his imminent status as captaining the Swedish national team at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa. Here’s a rough translation thereof:

    Sandin Pellikka: “Just going to Ottawa to win gold”

    The World Junior Championship is teeming with potential NHL stars.

    But the one who can shine brightest is a Swede:

    “It’s awesome to be high up here, but I’m not going to Ottawa for personal awards,” Axel Sandin Pellikka said.

    In a long interview with Sportbladet, the Skelleftea defenseman talks about his star status, the honor of being captain, the Tre Kronor’s hunger for revenge and the secret injury after the final against the United States, when he smashed his hand.

    Continue reading Roughly translated: Axel Sandin Pellikka speaks with Aftonbladet before the WJC

    Talking about Trey (Augustine)

    There are 3 games of Red Wings prospect-related note at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa today: Axel Sandin Pellikka and Sweden will battle Slovakia at 12 PM; Trey Augustine, Max Plante and Team USA will battle Germany at 2:30 PM, and Jesse Kiiskinen and Finland will tangle with Canada at 7:30 PM.

    All three games will air on the NHL Network in the U.S., and TSN in Canada.

    As Augustine is going to play a large role in Team USA’s push to win a gold medal, the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton discusses the importance of Augustine dominating in goal:

    The biggest reason for confidence in Team USA is the man who will occupy the crease: 2023 Detroit Red Wings second round draft pick Trey Augustine.  This will be Augustine’s third crack at the WJC, and, without question, he is the Americans’ most important returner.

    At last year’s event, Augustine was dominant: a 1.75 goals against average and .936 save percentage.  Thus far this season at Michigan State, he’s upholding that standard with an 11–2–1 record, 1.98 goals against average, and .930 save percentage.

    Augustine is also a serial winner.  For Team USA, he has already won gold at the World Junior and U-18 Worlds.  At MSU, he arrived as a freshman to a team that had never advanced a single round in the Big Ten Tournament in program history and proceeded to win the conference’s regular season and tournament crowns.  Put it all together and you have a well-earned confidence at the most important position in any knockout tournament.

    When asked at Team USA’s pre-tournament selection camp last week about the value of his WJC experience, Augustine quipped, “I just feel old now. I felt young at the start. I was a little above my level, but now I just feel comfortable, feel like I’m one of the old guys on the team.”

    Continued; Augustine and Team USA face a middling “round robin” schedule, playing against Germany and Latvia before battling Finland and then Canada, so there’s no reason to think that they’ll be playing in the quarterfinals next week.

    A ‘big question’ about ASP and the Swedish WJC blueline

    The Athletic’s Corey Pronman asks five “Big Questions” regarding the World Junior Championship’s participating teams this morning, and one of his questions involves Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka:

    Will Sweden’s blue line carry them to a big win?

    The strength of Sweden’s team will come from their defense. Theo Lindstein (St. Louis) and Axel Sandin Pellikka (Detroit) were among the best defensemen in last year’s tournament. ASP and Tom Willander (Vancouver) were arguably the two top defensemen at their U18 World Championships as well. Sweden has a path to beating the U.S. As they did 18 months ago, they could match Lindstein/Willander up against USA’s top line to try to neutralize them as much as possible. Their forward group is very good, but not outstanding, so whether they can roll lines with Canada is to be determined. If ASP can provide a lot of offense as he has versus men in the SHL, he could be a variable that puts Sweden over the top.

    Continued (paywall); ASP will serve as the Swedish team’s captain this upcoming season, and there’s a ton of pressure on him to perform at the kind of point-per-game basis that he has at the SHL level.

    Examining the performances of several former Wings

    MLive’s Ansar Khan looks at the performances of the players that the Red Wings have yet to truly replace this season, offering the following assessments of the following Red Wings alumni:

    Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina: A power-play specialist who drives offense from the back end, he’s the player the Red Wings miss the most after signing for three years at a modest $3.2 million average annual value with the Hurricanes. He has six goals, and his 27 points rank seventh among NHL defensemen. Gostisbehere’s 29 power-play points last season were the most by a Detroit defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom in 2010-11 (39).

    David Perron, Ottawa: The Red Wings wanted to re-sign this 36-year-old right wing for his production and leadership, but the Senators made a better offer (two years at an AAV of $4 million). It’s been a difficult season on and off the ice. He had taken an extended leave of absence earlier due to a medical scare involving his newborn daughter. He hasn’t played since Nov. 23. He has no points in nine games after tallying 17 goals and 30 assists last season.

    …

    Jake Walman, San Jose: Trading Walman has backfired on multiple levels. He is tied for 12th among NHL defensemen with 25 points and reached 20 assists faster than any other D-man at the start of his tenure with the Sharks. To shed the final two years of his contract ($3.4 million AAV), the Red Wings needed to acquire a second-round pick from Nashville and include it in the deal. That cost them defense prospect Andrew Gibson. Instead of having Walman fill Gostisbehere’s void as the left-shooting power-play point man they wanted, the Red Wings signed Gustafsson for two years at a $2 million AAV and he has no goals and five assists, has been a defensive liability and an occasional healthy scratch.

    Gostisbehere left Detroit for less money than the Wings were offering, while Perron got a second year’s worth of contract length from Ottawa.

    I think that we’re all still scratching our heads about the Walman trade, as well as the failed experiment that was signing Gustafsson, but there’s very little that the Red Wings’ management group can do with it other than admit that it was a move that didn’t work out, and then supplant Gustafsson with a more effective offensive defenseman via the trade route.

    The one part of the trade(s) I don’t have a problem with is sending Gibson to Nashville for Jesse Kiiskinen. Gibson is a big, tough defenseman, but Kiiskinen has become a strong scorer and scrappy player for HPK Hameenlinna in the Finnish Liiga.