Heartbreaking: Detroit Red Wings Star have passed away at 24 after battling with chronic…
Red Wings’ Derek Lalonde Should Be on Hot Seat in 2024-25.
The Detroit Red Wings find themselves at one of the most critical junctures in the team’s rebuild heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Having just missed the playoffs, on the final day of the 2023-24 regular season no less, the organization trudges forward with their sights set on ending an eight-year postseason drought – currently the second longest in the NHL. Head coach Derek Lalonde, entering his third year with the club, has a tall order to fill as expectations have risen in the Motor City after such a promising start to last season came up just short in the end. Detroit struggled mightily down the stretch which had many fans wondering if he was the right voice behind the bench for a team that is still trying to supplant its identity in this league. It’s a reasonable question is it not?
From an offensive standpoint the Red Wings’ improved by leaps and bounds last season. When you consider the additions of Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, as well as the emergence of Lucas Raymond, it’s not hard to see why. Detroit averaged 3.35 goals-for-per-game (GF/G), good for ninth overall in the league. But the team did struggle with bouts of inconsistency for long stretches, which was never more apparent than when team captain Dylan Larkin missed meaningful games in December and March. Larkin is the heart and soul of this team and I have to admit it was concerning that there seemed to be no sense of urgency – from a coaching standpoint – in the team’s overall game when he was sidelined.
Ultimately, it was the blue line play and lack of consistent goaltending that did this team in. Defensively Detroit was a mess last season. The team gave up 3.33 goals-per-game which was the eighth worst in the league. Moritz Seider was overworked in 2023-24, playing some of the toughest minutes in the NHL. I’m interested to see where his level of play is at with a full season of Simon Edvinsson in the fold. While Ben Chiarot had a much better season defensively – compared to his first year with the club – he still suffered from bouts of inconsistency during important stretches. Jeff Petry struggled in all facets of the game and only saw a slight uptick in his play when he was paired with Seider toward the end of the season.
Fan favorite Jake Walman, now with the San Jose Sharks, registered very favorable underlying numbers but you can point to the fact that he, too, was paired with Seider for a good part of the year. Walman left a lot to be desired from a defensive standpoint and even found himself sitting (healthy) in the press box towards the end of the season. Shayne Gostisbehere was an offensive dynamo, leading all defenders with 56 points, but finished with a team-worst minus-16. There’s a reason he puts up those kind of numbers and has now played for four different teams since 2021. Olli Maatta was reliable in an extremely reduced third pairing role, but he is a rotational piece for a bottom pairing. This team needed better personnel on the blue line.
It was obvious to most Red Wings fans that Edvinsson should’ve been called up much earlier in the season. This is where I may have to give Lalonde the benefit of the doubt. General manager Steve Yzerman didn’t want to rush his top prospect and I can see how that makes sense for the long term. But after watching the 6-foot-6 Swede perform down the stretch, during his late season call up with the club, it’s hard not to envision the difference he could’ve made on the back end. That’s not on Lalonde.
Yzerman is to blame for some of the ingredients on this roster, especially when you consider one of his most questionable signings to date in right-handed defenseman Justin Holl. The 6-foot-4 defender signed a three-year, $10.2 million deal with Detroit prior to the start of last season and played in only 38 games registering just five assists. He spent the majority of the season in the press box as a healthy scratch. You can’t have that kind of money watching from the rafters on a nightly basis. Shortly after, he acquired Petry in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins that still doesn’t make sense even to this day. The blue line is still under major construction and that’s on the GM, not the coach.
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