The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday, ending his tenure after three years at the helm.

Lalonde – replaced by veteran coach Todd McLellan – posted a 13-17-4 record with the Red Wings this season, and the 52-year-old had an overall record of 89-86-23 during his time as Detroit’s coach. That record marked the end of his time in the Motor City, and it is uncertain whether he did enough to secure another job as a bench boss in the NHL.

Lalonde’s tenure wasn’t all bad news. The Wings improved after Lalonde’s first year when they finished seventh in the Atlantic Division. Last season, the Wings finished fifth in the Atlantic, tied with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals held the tiebreaker for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

If the Red Wings had made the playoffs last season, Lalonde might have had more time with Detroit this year. But the start to this season hasn’t been encouraging enough – or at all.

The Red Wings picked up a few straight wins here and there, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils when they were at their best.

But overall, Detroit has lost too many games in a row too often, including three blowouts in three games and a five-game losing streak in late November and early December. The Wings’ recent three-game loss sealed Lalonde’s fate.

Lalonde hasn’t racked up enough wins to make him a leading candidate for future NHL head coaching jobs. He may have to return to the league as an assistant or assistant coach. Former New York Islanders coach Lane Lambert accepted an assistant coaching role with the Toronto Maple Leafs, while former Ottawa Senators coach DJ Smith is now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings.

Even the coach Lalonde replaced in Detroit, Jeff Blashill, is an assistant coach on Jon Cooper’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lalonde won two straight Stanley Cups as Cooper’s assistant with the Bolts from 2018 to 2022. So it could very well be that Lalonde returns if Lalonde and Cooper want to get back together.

Related: Detroit Red Wings fire coach Derek Lalonde hires Todd McLellan

The NHL is a zero-sum business, and the Red Wings decided to start over with McLellan after the holiday break because Lalonde couldn’t get enough wins. Some, if not a lot, of the blame has to go to Detroit’s GM Steve Yzerman for not putting together a solid NHL roster for Lalonde to work with, but a coaching change is an attempt to salvage what’s left of the current one season is still left.

The NHL has seen 15 coaching changes in the 2024 calendar year. That’s amazing, and we expect the layoff rate to slow somewhat in 2025. But as for Lalonde, he just couldn’t stop disappointed Red Wings fans from complaining about Detroit’s substandard play. His coaching career shouldn’t be over, but a role as an NHL head coach may not be his next job.

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