After a disappointing 13-17-4 start to the 2024-25 season, the Detroit Red Wings are making a coaching change. Detroit has fired head coach Derek Lalonde, the team announced Thursday, and hired Todd McLellan to fill the position. Lalonde took over the team in the 2022 offseason after Detroit moved on from Jeff Blashill, and the team improved in each of his first two seasons. The Red Wings went from 74 points in Blashill’s final season to 80 in Lalonde’s debut campaign, then made a leap to 91 points in 2023-24 — missing out on the final playoff spot by a tiebreaker.
Thursday morning, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they have parted ways with head coach Derek Lalonde and associate coach Bob Boughner. They’ll be replaced by new head man Todd McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney. Lalonde, 52, was a first-time NHL head coach who was in his third season with Detroit. He leaves with a record of 89-86-23 for 201 points and a .508 points percentage over 198 games.
The Wings have struggled to a 13-17-4 record, good for 30 points, just two points above Buffalo for last place in the Eastern Conference. They trail Ottawa by eight points (38-30) for the final of two Eastern Conference wild-card positions. After just missing the playoffs last spring on the final night of the season on a tiebreaker, the Wings struggled from the start this season. They lost three of their first four games and have struggled mightily to get to, or above, the .500 mark ever since. The Wings have lost their last three games, and the way they did likely pushed Yzerman to replace Lalonde.
