The Detroit Red Wings announced on Boxing Day that they had relieved Derek Lalonde of his coaching duties and would be bringing Todd McLellan onboard as his successor.
Detroit, who have lost 9 of their last 12 contests, will also see assistant Bob Boughner leave town as well, while Trent Yawney will join McLellan’s staff. McLellan joins the Wings on a multi-year contract after having previous head coaching stops in San Jose, Edmonton, and Los Angeles.
A native of Melville, SK, McLellan was let go by the Kings partway through the 2023-24 NHL campaign. Across 1,144 games behind the bench, he sports a 598-412-134 record.
On the international stage, McLellan served as Head Coach of Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, where he coached current Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. McLellan also helped guide Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, and earned a bronze medal as an Assistant Coach with Team Canada at the 2000 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The firing and subsequent hiring of McLellan and Yawney marks the 4th coaching change of the season in the NHL. Boston, St. Louis, and Chicago have all also undergone changes behind their benches as teams approach the halfway point of the season.
Detroit is next in action against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7pm ET showdown on Friday.
Photo: Robrovsky. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.