Canadiens hire Derek Lalonde as assistant coach

Lalonde will be replacing Trevor Letowski on the bench, although Letowski is not being fired in the move, as he is stepping away from the role to have more time with his family. The Canadiens would like to keep Letowski in the organization in some capacity going forward, although the specific role is not yet known. Letowski held the position of assistant coach with Montreal for five season, first joining the team in the 2021-22 season.

The hiring comes one day after Lalonde was let go as one of the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ assistant coaches amidst their own coaching change. He was an assistant for Toronto for one season under Craig Berube, and oversaw the team’s defense and penalty killing, a role he will likely have with the Canadiens. While the Leafs allowed the second-most goals against last season at 3.6 per game, their penalty kill was a lone bright spot for the team, with their 81.2% rate ranking eighth in the league.

Lalonde’s most notable NHL coaching experience was the two and a half seasons he spent as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, although it did not come with much success. The Red Wings went 89-86-23 in 198 games during his tenure, with their .508 point percentage being the eighth-worst in the league in that span. Detroit did not make the playoffs in the two full seasons Lalonde was head coach, nor did they in the season he was fired.

Lalonde’s most successful NHL coaching stint was actually his first, as he spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2018 to 2022. In that span, he won two Stanley Cups with the team in 2020 and 2021.

Lalonde is not related to Edward “Newsy” Lalonde, although Derek does share the “Newsy” nickname with him (largely because he has the same last name as the Hall of Famer). Newsy Lalonde spent seven seasons with the Canadiens from 1915 to 1922, and was a head coach for the Habs from 1932 to 1935.