Red Wings name Derek Lalonde head coach

The Detroit Red Wings hired Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde to be their next head coach.

Lalonde spent the last four seasons serving on the Bolts' bench and he helped the team to three straight finals appearances as well as two consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.

"I'm very pleased to announce Derek as our new head coach," Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. "He has proven himself as an excellent coach at every level and has spent the last four seasons in the National Hockey League as part of a very successful program in Tampa Bay. We feel he is ready to take the next step in his career as the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings."

Lalonde was named an assistant coach in Tampa in 2018 when Yzerman served as the team's vice president and general manager.

This is Lalonde's first full-time head coaching job at the NHL level, but he was previously the head coach of the AHL's Iowa Wild from 2016-18 and of the ECHL's Toledo Walleye from 2014-16.

He also briefly stepped in as head coach for the Lightning in late December when Jon Cooper was placed in COVID-19 protocol. The Bolts won two games under Lalonde's guidance.

Lalonde is replacing Jeff Blashill, who parted ways with Detroit after the 2021-22 season. The rebuilding Red Wings finished in sixth place in the tough Atlantic Division with a 32-40-10 record and failed to make the playoffs for a sixth straight season.

The young squad continued to make strides despite another losing campaign. Rookies Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond especially injected plenty of excitement into Hockeytown.

"I'm thrilled to be named head coach of the Red Wings. ... I'm ready to get to work with our group. There's a very bright future ahead in Detroit," Lalonde said.