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Lalonde Speaks: Former Red Wings Coach Comments on Dismissal

Deposed Detroit coach speaks to HNIC

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3 weeks ago

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Derek Lalonde Red Wings coach
Derek Lalonde has made his first public comments since being fired as coach of the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

The first public reaction from Derek Lalonde regarding his dismissal as coach of the Detroit Red Wings surfaced late Saturday night. Hockey Night In Canada insider Elliotte Friedman spoke with the deposed Detroit coach and got a statement from Lalonde. Friedman was reading the statement on the air during the second intermission of Saturday’s broadcast.

“Very appreciative of the opportunity,” Friedman reported Lalonde as saying. “Incredibly thankful Steve Yzerman gave me the chance to coach a team like the Detroit Red Wings.

“You saw the passion of the fanbase when we made a late run last season, and they will be rewarded. They will be in a good spot, with the great young players they have and the ones that are coming.”

In his third season as coach of the team, the Red Wings were firing Lalonde on Dec. 26. The Red Wings were 14-17-4 at the time of his dismissal, eight points out of a playoff spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Red Wings Yzerman Offers Rationale Behind Move

Detroit GM Yzerman gave his rational for the decision to replace Lalonde with veteran NHL coach Todd McLellan on Friday.

“We see teams make changes, coaching changes all the time,” Yzerman explained. “Sometimes it makes a difference, sometimes it doesn’t. Ultimately you need good players to have a good team and a coach needs good players. So you need to take time to think about, ‘Okay, how are we going to, what’s the right move?’ And recently just watching our team play, the spirit was zapped out.

“Even sitting back watching our coaching staff, everyone’s frustrated, everyone. It’s not like they’re not trying to win, not trying to figure it out. But you can just see it in the players’ faces. I think you could all sense it. And in Montreal, even going back to Buffalo, a game in Buffalo when we won, you start to sense the frustration. The will being zapped from everyone. And ultimately after the St. Louis game (4-0 home loss), it feels felt like this is, there’s never a right time, but this is the time it needs to be done.”

In their first game under McLellan’s direction, the Red Wings lost 5-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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