DETROIT – When the Detroit Red Wings take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena, all eyes will be on the bench and the team’s new coach.
After losing nine of their past 12 games, the Red Wings fired head coach Derek Lalonde and named Todd McLellan as his replacement.
“I think each of every one of these players can play better,” said Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. “I make the coaching change with the expectation that Todd, Trenton and a different staff will get us back to playing at the level and beyond and time will tell if that happens.”
McLellan returns to the Motor City after working as an assistant coach with the Red Wings from 2005 to 2008. He has 16 seasons of NHL head coaching experience.
He will be the team’s 29th head coach and was signed to a multi-year contract.
“What we’ve asked the players to do is to play harder, faster and a little bit smarter and I think we can control without tactics or systematic structure play,” McLellan said.
Timmy Persons traveled to Detroit from Sweden for Friday’s game. He said he was hoping the Red Wings would change course after a disappointing start to the season. He’s excited about the new coaching decision.
“Can’t be a better time, they have struggled a lot lately and have had some bad seasons behind them, so I think it was time to do something,” Persons said.