A recommendation for McLellan’s pedigree

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the Red Wings’ hiring of Todd McLellan as their head coach from a unique perspective:

I’ve been lucky enough to know Todd McLellan for more than 40 years. Back when we first met in 1984, he was a 17-year-old center with the WHL Saskatoon Blades and I was a rookie beat writer on my first daily newspaper job.

What was true about him back then remains true today. McLellan is someone who approaches life with a positive outlook. He sees possibilities and is open to new ways of looking at things, alternative methods to problem solving. He’ll greet every day with a smile on his face and an excitement to stare down the challenges that lay ahead for him.

This is what he’ll be bringing to the Detroit Red Wings.

In other words, his day-to-day approach figures to be significantly different to that of Derek Lalonde’s paint by numbers formula. And that might be just what the doctor ordered for a confused Red Wings club that doesn’t seem to know what their identity as a team is supposed to be.

Another factor to like about McLellan – he’s won at every of his NHL stops and has done so while running his own show and not only as a staff member who is part of another coach’s success story.

Continued

Tweet of note: LeBrun reports that McLellan negotiations were a complicated situation

Per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun:

Todd McLellan, brought in to save the day

EliteProspects’ Sean Shapiro suggests that the Red Wings’ hiring of Todd McLellan as the team’s head coach may not be able to truly solve the team’s underlying problems:

While the Red Wings didn’t announce how long [McLellan’s] multi-year deal was, it’s probably something that came up for McLellan in his contract negotiation — he’s gonna need more than one and half seasons to figure this out, and has to hope his GM has learned from past mistakes.

In the short term, McLellan has to find a way for the team’s foundation not to wobble when one important player is unavailable. In the long-term, he has to completely re-code the Red Wings culture to one that picks itself up, which I’m not sure is possible under the current regime.

Think about it this way. When it comes to Yzerman and the Red Wings, everything is still associated with the No. 19 hanging in the rafters, not the body of work he’s done as an executive in Detroit.

Whether you liked Jake Walman or not, and I personally did, one of the main reasons his puzzling trade to the San Jose Sharks was defended by some was because Yzerman made it and there must be a greater plan in place.

By the middle of the 2024-25 season the Red Wings defense is struggling to move the puck and Walman is 12th in the league in points by defenders. Shayne Gostisbehere was also allowed to walk in favor of Erik Gustafsson, Gostisbehere (now in Carolina) is one of the few defenders producing at even a higher level offensively than Walman.

Continued (paywall)

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