Red Wings Fire Derek Lalonde, Hire Todd McLellan

The Red Wings have made a long-awaited change behind the bench. The team announced Thursday that former Kings head coach Todd McLellan has been signed to a multi-year deal to become the 29th bench boss in Detroit franchise history. Head coach Derek Lalonde and assistant Bob Boughner have been relieved of their duties.

Three straight losses heading into the holiday break were the final nail in the coffin for Lalonde, who had been on the hot seat for over a month. Darren Dreger of TSN reported in late November that a three-game homestand, during which they ended up going 1-1-1, was likely Lalonde’s last chance to finish out the season. While he got some grace to continue in his role beyond that, general manager Steve Yzerman’s patience has now run out.

The Wings both expected and needed to take a step forward in 2024-25. They finished with a 41-32-9 record last season, just narrowly missing out on their first playoff berth since 2016 and also marking their first season above .500 since that year. But a horrid campaign offensively so far for the Red Wings, who rank 29th in the league at 2.56 goals per game, has them with a 13-17-4 record at Christmas and eight points back of the Senators for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

More to come…