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While Steve Yzerman has been praised for his drafting in three years as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, it’s now time for him to get it right with his first head coaching hire with the club.
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Yzerman made the long-anticipated move on Saturday to fire head coach Jeff Blashill, who spent 11 years with the organization and seven as head coach. Assistant coach Doug Houda and goalie coach Jeff Salajko were also let go.
“We had gotten to a point fundamentally, with and without the puck, we had regressed,” Yzerman said Monday. “We’re at a point now where I felt like I’ve got to see if bringing in a new coach (and a) new coaching staff can make a difference to get us back on track. To get us going in the right direction.”
Many had expected the move a year ago, but Yzerman opted to stay the course with Blashill and says he has no regrets on that decision.
“No, I don’t, honestly,” Yzerman said of keeping Blashill after last season. “I was comfortable with the decision. I’m totally comfortable with that decision.”
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But at this point, the big-name talent pool of coaching candidates that were floating around last season is not there.
“We make this decision now and move forward,” Yzerman said.
But Yzerman acknowledged Blashill was in a tough situation with the club in a rebuild despite posting a 204-261-72 record that left him fifth in franchise history for games coached and sixth in victories.
“Jeff Blashill’s a good hockey coach,” Yzerman said. “He ran a really good program. It wasn’t a complete (disaster). You cannot judge Jeff Blashill on the Detroit Red Wings’ record.”
However, with more prospects being moved onto the roster, the expectations for the club continue to grow even if the roster gets younger. Detroit was last in the NHL in 2019-20 after allowing an average of 3.73 goals per game. This season, the club allowed 3.78 goals per game, which was just ahead of Montreal.
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“We have struggled defensively and part of the reason, is it personnel, yes to state the obvious, but we’ve been unable to, with the group that we’ve had specially in that area, to get better, to get our team to play individually and collectively a sounder defensive hockey game,” Yzerman said. “We just haven’t been able to do it.”
Yzerman says he has a few names in his head, but really hasn’t begun the process to assemble a list. Realistically, he admits he would like it done before the NHL Draft to focus on that as well as a free agency.
And while he won’t rule anyone else, he admits familiarity with someone has been great throughout his career. He hired Guy Boucher in Tampa Bay, but had no history with him. When Boucher was fired in 2013 after parts of three seasons, he promoted Jon Cooper from the club’s American Hockey League team because he had worked with Cooper for three seasons, and success followed.
“What I have generally found, and I’m not restricting to someone I know, but it’s harder to hire someone that you don’t know and haven’t worked with,” Yzerman said.
Yzerman says he has a few names in his head, but really hasn’t begun the process to assemble a list. Realistically, he admits he would like it done before the NHL Draft to focus on that as well as a free agency.
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