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The dismissal of Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday should not come as a big surprise, as the Red Wings had taken a step back (eight points out of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference at the Christmas break) after barely missing the playoffs last season.
The Wings are one of five Atlantic Division clubs that have pulled the trigger on a coaching change since the end of the 2023-24 campaign, and GM Steve Yzerman is hoping that former San Jose, Edmonton, and Los Angeles head coach Todd McLellan will have a positive effect behind the Wings bench and get Detroit back into the playoff race.
The Boston Bruins were out of the top eight when Jim Montgomery was fired on November 19, and have gone 11-4-1 under interim head coach Joe Sacco, climbing into the top three in the Atlantic.
Toronto, Ottawa, and Buffalo all made changes in the off-season, hiring veterans Craig Berube, Travis Green, and Lindy Ruff to replace Sheldon Keefe, Jacques Martin and Don Granato. Two have resulted in improved performances. Berube has the Leafs two points behind Florida despite Rocket Richard winner Auston Matthews missing a sizable chunk of the season. Ottawa is one of the hottest clubs in the NHL (8-2-0 in their last 10 games), and under Green, they are playing a more defensively conscious game.
Buffalo has encountered a similar downturn to Detroit this season under Ruff — the franchise’s winningest head coach – in his second tenure, due mostly to a 13-game winless skid in late November and December.
Related: Did Fired Red Wings Coach Derek Lalonde Do Enough For Another NHL Bench Boss Job?
Only three coaches in the division (Paul Maurice, Jon Cooper and Martin St. Louis) have tenures longer than this season. Maurice and Cooper have won three of the last five Stanley Cups in Florida and Tampa Bay, so they are secure for the foreseeable future. But, St. Louis may be on the precipice of being the sixth casualty in the Atlantic with the Canadiens just one point ahead of Detroit and not showing many signs of improvement since his hiring in February 2022.
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