Steve Yzerman has long been considered one of the best general managers in the NHL. Since becoming the Lighting’s GM in 2010, the team has been one of the most consistent in the league. The Lighting made the playoffs six times during his eight-year tenure, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014-15. Even after Yzerman left in 2018, the core he built went to three straight Cup Finals and won two of them.
So when he decided to return to Detroit, the team he spent his career with, it seemed like a home run hire. The Red Wings were two years removed from their streak of 25 straight seasons of making the playoffs. It seemed like Yzerman was going to come in and oversee the rebuild, repeating what he did in Tampa Bay and returning the Red Wings to their former glory. Fans were so excited about this rebuild they even dubbed it the “Yzerplan”.
After five years of Yzerman’s tenure things haven’t gone as expected. They have yet to make the playoffs. They also have shown very little improvement year over year. It felt like Detroit has been spinning their tires, rather than getting better. However, 2024-25 seems to be a turning point. The Wings are four points behind Columbus for the final playoff spot in the East and are the hottest team in hockey, winning seven of their last eight. So what has caused the turnaround?
What Has Gone Right For the Red Wings
When the seasons started it seemed like another lost year for Detroit. At the holiday break, the Red Wings were 13-17-4. They were the second-worst team in the East, with only the Buffalo Sabers being worse. Now although the Wings were so low in the standings, they weren’t ready to punt the season. Causing them to fire head coach Derek Lalonde, and replace him with Todd McLellan. This proved to be a season-changing decision as Detroit has been the hottest team in the league with McLellan behind the bench. Since taking over the Red Wings have gone 7-2-0.
The biggest reason for this turnaround has been the play of their power play. McLellan has completely revamped this power-play unit. Under Lalonde, the Red Wings had the 11th-best power play in the league. Not bad, but not good enough to build your team around. However, under McLellan, the power play has jumped to second in the league. With the team hitting on nearly 50% of power play chances since the coaching change.
It’s not just the power play that’s improved, but the offense as a whole. Since the coaching change the Red Wings are averaging 4.13 goals per game. Which is second-best in the league. It’s also a 1.58 increase from what they were averaging under Lalonde. The play of Patrick Kane has been a big reason for this turnaround. Kane has tallied 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) since the coaching change. Showing that the former Hart Trophy winner can still produce at a high level.
Is This Hot Streak Sustainable
Although this streak is impressive, the question is if the streak is sustainable for the rest of the season. With the eight teams in contention for the final spot, and only nine points separating all of them, it’s gonna be a dogfight down the stretch. The Wings are going to need to continue to play at a high rate to keep up in this race.
However, is this hot streak a team turning a corner or another example of the new coach bump? The new coach bump is a phenomenon in hockey where a team plays well following a change behind the bench. We’re seeing this very season, with the St. Louis Blues. Since the Blues fired Drew Bannister and replaced him with Jim Montgomery, they’ve gone 11-8-3 after starting 9-12-1.
The only saving grace the Red Wings have that this isn’t a coaching bump is their expectations. After barely missing the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, they were expected to compete for a playoff spot. It wasn’t until they were slow to start that expectations changed. So has McLellan unlocked something in this club, or this is yet another example of the new coach bump? Only time will tell.
Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image to Dave Reginek. You can find more NHL content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.
