Detroit Red Wings: 3 coaching candidates organization will miss out on
By Bob Heyrman
Detroit Red Wings General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman is committed to bringing back head coach Jeff Blashill next season; here are three coaches Detroit will miss out on after making this decision.
It seems a bit odd to bring back head coach Jeff Blashill but Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is giving his coach a vote of confidence entering the 2020-21 season by allowing him to return after such an atrocious season this past year.
The Red Wings are coming off of their worst season since Yzerman was just a wide-eyed kid playing on a rebuilding team. Many of us recall the Yzerman of the 90s when the Wings were a powerhouse, but before that, there were plenty of bleak years throughout the 80s when the fans used to bring ‘Dead Wings’ signs into Joe Louis Arena.
Fast food restaurants would offer to give away a pair of Red Wings tickets just to try and entice folks to choose their chain, basically indicating the organization couldn’t give tickets away.
Last season shouldn’t be all on Blashill’s shoulders, though. At this point, he’s a tank driver. The Detroit Red Wings are hoping to land the first overall pick in this years’ draft, and the Wings won’t be competing for the playoffs next season; so in Yzerman’s eyes, why rush to buy-out a coaches contract knowing the team is going to struggle again next year?
When Ken Holland rewarded Blashill with his contract extension just before Yzerman took over the reins of the organization, many of us were rightfully baffled. There was plenty of speculation that Yzerman would return to the franchise, so why would Chris Ilitch allow a GM he’s about to ‘demote’ extend a head coach? It wouldn’t make sense if Yzerman didn’t sign off on it. Yzerman mentioned last week Blashill would be retained once again, justifying he indeed signed off on the coaches’ extension of a year ago.
The problem is, there are plenty of better head coaching candidates currently available and here are three;