Following their subpar 13-17-4 start to last season, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman decided that a change was in order.
Head coach Derek Lalonde and assistant coach Bob Boughner were dismissed, with Todd McLellan hired as the new head coach and Trent Yawney joining as an assistant.
Detroit’s play began to shift almost immediately, and they managed to rattle off a pair of separate seven-game winning streaks as they vaulted back into a postseason position before ultimately falling short thanks to another lull in the month of March.
Still, a full season beginning with Training Camp next week under McLellan should pay off for the Red Wings in the words of Patrick Kane.
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“It’s a good situation for me, especially coming in with Todd McLellan as a coach,” Kane said recently during the NHL’s Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. “I played a lot better under him when we made the switch. The team started playing more aggressive and playing better. Playing in the top six, playing on the power play. As you get older you want to win and I think we can do that there.”
Kane’s resurgence under McLellan was clear, as he tallied 16 goals and 29 assists in the second half of the season following the coaching change.
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As for ending the club’s lengthy postseason drought, which dates back to 2016, the season after Kane helped the Chicago Blackhawks win their third Stanley Cup in six years, Kane believes the Red Wings can achieve that this season.
“That’s the goal, to get into the playoffs,” he said. “We really feel we’re on the verge and we should do it this year.”
Over an 82-game pace, the Red Wings’ 26-18-4 record would have translated to 96 points, enough for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference behind the Ottawa Senators (97 points), and comfortably ahead of the Montreal Canadiens (91 points), who ultimately claimed that spot.
Kane once again agreed to sign a one-year contract extension to remain with the Red Wings, which will be his second full season with the club he joined as a free agent in December 2023.
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