Deen’s Daily: McLellan Replaces Lalonde in Detroit; Florida’s Savvy Additions; Dubas’ Toughest Job Yet

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Not much going on in the Avalanche world — but the team returns to action on Friday in Utah. Hope the break did well for them. This should be a really big six weeks leading up to the 4 Nations Faceoff break. Plenty of news to cover around the NHL, starting with a big coaching change in Detroit

Detroit Hockey Now: Derek Lalonde was finally let go as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. I remember feeling this was inevitable after Detroit lost 4-0 to St. Louis on the 23rd. The Red Wings entered the holiday break on a three-game losing streak and seemingly played lifeless hockey. But with the Christmas break, general manager Steve Yzerman needed to hold off on the decision.

He did — but only for a day.

Lalonde was let go on Thursday and replaced with Todd McLellan, who became the head coach of a fourth NHL franchise since getting his first gig. McLellan coached the San Jose Sharks during their golden era from 2008-09 until 2014-15. He couldn’t quite get over the hump and mutually agreed to part ways with the organization following the 2015 season when the Sharks missed the playoffs.

He then became the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and later the Los Angeles Kings. McLellan was let go by L.A. in February before being picked back up by Detroit early Thursday morning.

McLellan’s first dip into the NHL was as an assistant coach in the first three seasons following the 2005 lockout. He was hired by Mike Babcock and the Red Wings and helped the franchise secure its fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years in 2008 before being picked up by San Jose.

McLellan is an interesting hire and one that should elevate the Red Wings. He brings a winning resume to a club starving to make it back to the postseason. He seems like the right guy to get the job done, especially in a season where the Eastern Conference isn’t quite as competitive as in years past.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins are making Kyle Dubas’ tough job even more difficult. He was handed a seven-year contract after departing Toronto to be the President and GM of the post-Crosby era Penguins. Obviously, Crosby is still there, but he’s unlikely to last as long as Dubas does unless things go completely off the rails.

Dubas was already struggling with when or how to rebuild a roster with so many legendary franchise names signed long-term. But the recent 9-3-1 stretch is making it even more difficult. What should the GM do?

Also, catch the naughty and nice list for the Pens.

Montreal Hockey Now: The World Junior Championship began on Thursday. I’ll have more coverage on that Friday, including an update on Calum Ritchie’s performance for Team Canada in their opening game. Here are the Habs prospects to watch in the tournament.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils are one of the five best teams in the NHL over the past two months. But is their roster set up for success, or will GM Tom Fitzgerald need to make some tough decisions heading into the trade deadline?

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers did something that the Avalanche failed to do in 2022 following their Stanley Cup championship: They found the right pieces to add to their roster to fill in around the core.

It’s well documented that Colorado’s roster was picked apart in free agency following the Cup run. But what Florida did better than the Avs was rebuild their bottom six. The Avs tried and were unsuccessful in picking up depth guys like Lukas Sedlak and Anton Blidh. But the Panthers did a better job with the guys they signed to low AAVs this past summer.