The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday and named Todd McClellan as his replacement. It was a major change by general manager Steve Yzerman, more than a third of the way through another disappointing season in a place known as “Hockey Town.”
The move comes after the Red Wings have struggled in three games and lost nine of their past 12 games. They are 13-17-4 this season, ahead of only the last-place Buffalo Sabers in the Eastern Conference.
McClellan signed a multi-year deal to enter his fourth year as an NHL head coach after stints in San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles.
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McClellan, 57, was fired as the Kings’ head coach in February after compiling a 164-130-44 record over four seasons. His career record is 598 wins, 412 losses, and 134 losses, and he has led his team to the playoffs nine times. His Sharks reached the Western Conference Finals in 2010 and 2011.
He got his first job in the league as an assistant with the Red Wings in 2005, serving under coach Mike Babcock in the team’s 2008 title run before returning to the Motor City.
His first game in Detroit will be Friday against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lalonde, 52, was near the middle of his third season in Detroit after winning two Stanley Cups as an assistant with Tampa Bay. His overall record with the Red Wings was 89 wins, 86 losses, and 23 draws.
Assistant Bob Boehner was also fired and Trent Yawney was hired to join McClellan’s staff.
That success comes despite signing three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane in 2023 and re-signing him last offseason, winning four Stanley Cups between 1996-97 and 2007-08. The Red Wings did not live up to their glory days (three times), with whom Iselman was a captain and at one time worked with him in the front office. In fact, the playoff drought is set to reach a ninth year, the second longest in the league behind Buffalo.
This is the fourth coaching change in the NHL this season and the 15th this calendar year, including the retirement of Rick Bowness in Winnipeg. The Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery in November, who was hired by the St. Louis Blues less than a week later, and the Chicago Blackhawks replaced Luke Richardson with interim coach Anders Sorensen in early December. welcomed.
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
