By George B. Eichorn
In with the new and out with the old at Little Caesars Arena. As the Detroit Red Wings lift the curtain on a new NHL season Friday, October 14 against Montreal (7:00 p.m.), all eyes are on new head coach Derek Lalonde who took over for Jeff Blashill. Lalonde comes with great credentials, a former assistant coach with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion (2020 and 2021) Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lalonde, 49, has ties with Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman when he was the club’s vice president and GM. Lalonde was last a head coach four years ago with the American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild.
“Derek has an impressive resume. Particularly the work he’s done with young players and prospects throughout his career,” said Christopher Ilitch, Detroit president and CEO. “We’re excited to have him lead the charge behind the Red Wings bench.
The Wings finished 3-5 in the pre-season; a learning curve for Lalonde and his staff to roll out the new coaching style and play-calling. Contending for one of the final playoff positions is a goal for the Wings.
Captain Dylan Larkin leads the team on offense along with Tyler Bertuzzi, Michael Rasmussen, Pius Suter, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Filip Zadina, Oskar Sundqvist, Jakub Vrana and second-year pro Lucas Raymond and newcomers Andrew Copp, Dominik Kubbalik and David Perron. Rookie Elmer Soderblom (left wing) made the opening roster while Simon Edvinsson (defense) looked solid in camp but starts in Grand Rapids, the team’s top minor league affiliate.
On defense, reigning NHL Rookie of the Year Moritz Seider heads a group with newcomers Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, Robert Hagg and Mark Pysyk; Filip Hornek, Gustav Lindstrom, Jordan Oesterle, Seth Barton and Jake Walman. Yzerman picked up a solid number two goaltender in Ville Husso, to team with starter Alex Nedeljkovic.
On Detroit’s injury list are Fabbri, Pysyk, Walman and Barton. Gone from last year’s roster are goalie Thomas Greiss, forwards Sam Gagner, Vladislav Namestnikov, Giavani Smith and defensemen Danny DeKeyser, Nick Leddy and Marc Staal.
On the broadcast side, Bally Sports Detroit televises 69 regular-season games (58 on BSD and 11 BSD Extra). Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond return to the air with Larry Murphy, Chris Osgood, Trevor Thompson and John Keating.
A total of 13 Red Wings regular-season games will be nationally exclusive broadcasts on TNT and ESPN+ / Hulu. Additionally, the Red Wings’ game on Jan. 4 vs. New Jersey will be broadcast nationally on TNT, but will air exclusively on Bally Sports Detroit in the local market. WXYT-FM 97.1 carries all 82 games with the long-time broadcast team of Ken Kal and Paul Woods.
