Dec. 26 (UPI) — Following a lackluster start to the NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings have fired their head coach Derek Lalonde, the first time in nearly 40 years that the team has changed the head coach mid-season.
The club named former Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan to fill the top job in Detroit, known by fans as “Hockeytown.”
The team, once legendary for its dominance in the NHL, is 13-17-4 a third of the way through the season, and just the Buffalo Sabres sit between the Red Wings and the basement in the Eastern Conference.
General Manager Steve Yzerman made the announcement on Thursday, the final day of the three-day holiday break. Teams are scheduled to return to the ice Friday night with McLellan at the helm for the Red Wings.
McLellan, whom the Red Wings signed to a multi-year contract, will be the 29th coach in franchise history. The club also hired Trent Yawney as an assistant coach, replacing Bob Boughner, who oversaw the defense.
McLellan was an assistant with the Red Wings in 2005 and part of the coaching staff that won the Stanley Cup in 2008.
Lalonde is the fourth NHL coach to be fired so far this season.
The Boston Bruins parted ways with Jim Montgomery November 19th, the St. Louis Blues sacked Drew Bannister on November 24th and the Chicago Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson on December 5th.
Yzerman said before the start of this season that he wanted to see the team, which chased a playoff spot until late in the year, make progress. Instead, the team is performing poorly with a third of the season gone.
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