Red Wings name Derek Lalonde new head coach
The Detroit Red Wings named Derek Lalonde the team's new head coach in a release Thursday.
Lalonde, 49, spent the last four seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the team's run to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as the head coach of the Iowa Wild, the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
The Red Wings had a streak of 25 straight years of postseason appearances end in 2017, the second year of Jeff Blashill's tenure as head coach. The team has now missed the playoffs in six straight years and fired Blashill in April.
While the Red Wings missed the postseason again, the team improved to finish 32-40-10. It was led by a young core of players that includes 20-year-old winger Lucas Raymond, who finished with 57 points, third most among rookies. In July, the team will pick eighth in the 2022 NHL Draft.
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