On February 29, the Wings held a comfortable 9 point lead on the first wildcard spot. Since then, crunch time, the Wings have lost eleven games — out of fourteen. Now, March 29, the Wings are unlikely to make the playoffs, again. Who is most to blame? Coach Derek Lalonde or General Manager Steve Yzerman? Might one take the other down?
Nobody expected this. When the Detroit Red Wings hired Steve Yzerman to be General Manager, expectations were for Stanley Cups. Five years later, however, the Wings have yet to even crack the playoffs. Not even as a wildcard. Yzerman, beloved by fans as one of the all-time great Wings players, deserves his share of the blame for the failure.
No NHL Head Coaching Experience
Derek Lalonde had no NHL head coaching experience when Yzerman surprised fans by naming Lalonde head coach of the Red Wings. At the announcement, in July 2022, Yzerman said “we feel (Lalonde) is ready to take the next step in his career as the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings.” That feeling may cost Yzerman his job.
Yzerman’s gamble has not paid off. Was it a bad bet? To be fair, Derek Lalonde paid his dues. Hailing from upstate New York, closer to Montreal than Albany, Lalonde got his start in coaching as a grad assistant at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He then moved on to Lebanon Valley College and then Hamilton College, before moving to Ferris State University, a Division 1 school. Lalonde then jumped to the University of Denver before being named head coach of the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, where he led the team to the league championship. From 2014-2016, Lalonde was head coach of the Toledo Walleye, the Wings’ ECHL farm club. Lalonde had one more stop, as head coach of the Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild’s AHL affiliate, before joining the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning as assistant coach. Lalonde was assistant coach with Tampa from 2018-2022. Based on this record, Yzerman made him head coach of the Detroit Red Wings.
Wings Versus Panthers a Stark Contrast in Direction
Is two years enough of a tryout? Would firing Lalonde at the end of the season be viewed as a sign of desperation — or a necessary course correction? It seems likely the Wings won’t make it back to the playoffs this year, not even as a wildcard. The team hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2016 season — eight years ago. Yzerman has been General Manager for five years, enough time to build a team at least capable of making it into the playoffs.
Fighting for their playoff lives, the Red Wings went into Carolina on March 28. The Panthers throttled them, winning 4-0. With the win, the Panthers clinched their sixth straight playoff berth. Detroit played sloppy for long stretches of the game, particularly on defense. All 12 forwards got shots off for the Panthers. For their part, the Wings offense managed just 3 shots on goal in the first period. Afterward, Lalonde attempted to put a positive spin on the loss. But confessed the team made more than one “egregious mistake.”
For their part, Wings fans were less than pleased. Another loss, and a bad one, and the team played lazy. With just nine games remaining, the Wings are 2 points behind the Capitals for the final playoff spot. And the Caps have a game in hand. Worse, Lalonde’s response was not at all what long-suffering Wings fans wanted to hear. “It’s a good learning lesson for our group,” Lalonde said after the loss.
Red Wings fans are tired of the losing, and losing patience with a team that appears willing to accept “learning lessons” as much as victories. “Not much runway left,” Lalonde admitted after the game, which is true, and not just for the team. It may be too late for Lalonde to save his job. Time may be also running out on Steve Yzerman.
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