Speculation: Lalonde

[19 for president]

He is indeed making quick changes unlike the past 2 seasons. Maybe it has something to do with his contract expiring.


I'd be OK with never seeing Husso again. His propensity to allow at least one soft goal gives both teammates and fans heartburn. If Husso played last night, he would've allowed his usual soft goal and it would've been a 1-1 game at best going into the 3rd period. Outcome would have been completely different.

Nobody will remember what Fester's real name is if the team doesn't make the playoffs, like that guy who coached before Babcock. This will be Fester's last head coaching gig if the team fails.

To be fair to Lalonde, Lewis had a significantly superior team to any that Detroit has iced in the past decade.

Lalonde needs to learn how to make changes faster, figure out a better defensive system, and be a better motivator. All big deals with young teams, and the Wings are only going to get younger with the amount of guys almost/ready to step into an NHL spot.

I feel like the Wings need to go on a bit of a run for him to be re-signed. Like winning at least 1 round in the playoffs. I think him going unsigned after this season is the most likely scenario. Getting fired mid way would surprise me but I also could see some Illitch pressure to get this team into the playoffs for the added revenue. Not enough that we are trading 1sts for 3rd rentals, but enough that if ownership thinks the coach is holding the team back that there is some pressure on Stevie to bring in someone with a proven track record.

If we don't have any 1-9 runs and guys like Ray, Seider, Ed, Aljo, Kasper (if he comes up) look like they are improving I think he'll make it the season.

 

[Reddwit]

I really don’t get the uproar over Lalonde. It’s possible he’s a mediocre coach, but I feel like a lot of the blame Lalonde is receiving is misdirected anger at Yzerman. He gave Lalonde mediocre talent to work with overall. That’s the defining characteristic of almost every UFA he’s signed: mediocrity. I don’t know why people expect good defensive structure to take root when the team itself doesn’t have smart defensive talent, either on the back end or up front, and notably, has had even worse goaltending.

That’s not to say Lalonde doesn’t have flaws, but I think people really underestimate the shit position a coach is in when they have a middle-of-the-road roster. Expectations are always that the coach is somehow going to be the one to find the magic formula that puts the team over the top, ignoring the fact that a coach could say and do all the right things to push players to perform at their best and yet the effort could be futile if the players don’t do their part or maybe even can’t do their part, due to lack of IQ. And this is not a high IQ roster, especially on the back end.

That said, I’m not going to cry if Lalonde is replaced. I just don’t necessarily think that his flaws are what’s really holding this team back. Hell, I think if this team so much as had one above average goaltender playing consistently over Lalonde’s tenure, and the skating roster remained entirely the same, we’d be singing a different tune about Lalonde overall.

 

[lilidk]

We have mediocre team and mediocre coach, so don't expect anything

 

[14ari13]

I really don’t get the uproar over Lalonde. It’s possible he’s a mediocre coach, but I feel like a lot of the blame Lalonde is receiving is misdirected anger at Yzerman. He gave Lalonde mediocre talent to work with overall. That’s the defining characteristic of almost every UFA he’s signed: mediocrity. I don’t know why people expect good defensive structure to take root when the team itself doesn’t have smart defensive talent, either on the back end or up front, and notably, has had even worse goaltending.

That’s not to say Lalonde doesn’t have flaws, but I think people really underestimate the shit position a coach is in when they have a middle-of-the-road roster. Expectations are always that the coach is somehow going to be the one to find the magic formula that puts the team over the top, ignoring the fact that a coach could say and do all the right things to push players to perform at their best and yet the effort could be futile if the players don’t do their part or maybe even can’t do their part, due to lack of IQ. And this is not a high IQ roster, especially on the back end.

That said, I’m not going to cry if Lalonde is replaced. I just don’t necessarily think that his flaws are what’s really holding this team back. Hell, I think if this team so much as had one above average goaltender playing consistently over Lalonde’s tenure, and the skating roster remained entirely the same, we’d be singing a different tune about Lalonde overall.

Lalonde and Husso are this team's major weakness. Husso got waived, I think and hope Lalonde will get fired after 10/20 games. We will see.

 

[Gniwder]

To be fair to Lalonde, Lewis had a significantly superior team to any that Detroit has iced in the past decade.

Lalonde needs to learn how to make changes faster, figure out a better defensive system, and be a better motivator. All big deals with young teams, and the Wings are only going to get younger with the amount of guys almost/ready to step into an NHL spot.

I feel like the Wings need to go on a bit of a run for him to be re-signed. Like winning at least 1 round in the playoffs. I think him going unsigned after this season is the most likely scenario. Getting fired mid way would surprise me but I also could see some Illitch pressure to get this team into the playoffs for the added revenue. Not enough that we are trading 1sts for 3rd rentals, but enough that if ownership thinks the coach is holding the team back that there is some pressure on Stevie to bring in someone with a proven track record.

If we don't have any 1-9 runs and guys like Ray, Seider, Ed, Aljo, Kasper (if he comes up) look like they are improving I think he'll make it the season.

Lewis had a better team by a large margin, my point was that fans will forget about Fester in a decade or two unless he takes the team to the playoffs. It's about doing something significant enough to make fans remember.

So far, Fester is just a fill in coach without a good defensive system or ability to motivate. He hasn't done enough to join the NHL coaching carousel.

 

[RED WINGS STOMP]

Here is a fun way to look at Lalonde speculation, will he get the chance to coach Kasper in a regular season game this year?

 

[better Red than Dead]

Larry Brooks is saying the Red Wings could replace Lalonde with Joel Quennville and are worried about potential back lash if they’re make the change

 

[norrisnick]

Obligatory...

 

[JediOrderPizza]

My red wings stuff if they hire Joel Quennville.

 

[saska sault]

Larry Brooks is saying the Red Wings could replace Lalonde with Joel Quennville and are worried about potential back lash if they’re make the change

Larry Brooks the trusted source of Yzerman no doubt.

 

[JediOrderPizza]

I wouldn't put it past Larry Brooks putting that out there because Lalonde talked about Shesterkin.

 

[Sadekuuro]

Obligatory...

Where is good old Joey K when we need him?


Quenneville still looks like a complete chickens**t there 20 years later -- not because he won't fight Kocur ( ) but because of his lame act pretending he has no idea what's wrong. If you're going to send your guys out there to goon it up because you've been humiliated on the ice yet again, at least have the balls to own it.

 

[TKB]

Obligatory...

That made my night! And god I miss that broadcast crew.

 

[Henkka]

Lalonde doing good work now. Improving the lines and team effort is improving too.

 

[Gniwder]

Lalonde doing good work now. Improving the lines and team effort is improving too.

I dunno about "good", but he is definitely making changes MUCH faster than last season. Change is not always good though, Cam should have started the last game.

 

[Winger98]

Holmstrom took that sort of abuse all of the time and it was never called. I'm not sure I've ever seen a guy so routinely cross checked and a blind eye turned toward it. A fair bit went with the territory for where he earned his money, but it was egregious at times and it didn't matter.

 

[raymond23]

I don’t think I’ve ever felt less inspired by a coach of a Detroit team

 

[SantosHalper]

Meh, BS. Sounds like Larry Brooks needed a filler story, so he invented one, like "good" journalists do. Now if Jon Cooper was sacked by JBB, then Fester's days would be numbered.

 

[wingerdinger]

Meh, BS. Sounds like Larry Brooks needed a filler story, so he invented one, like "good" journalists do. Now if Jon Cooper was sacked by JBB, then Fester's days would be numbered.

Im no fan of Lalonde I personal blame him for missing the playoffs. He ran Lyons into the ground and yet he kept on playing him and it cost us.

But Jon Cooper is the only coach I'd replace Lalonde with at the moment. This roster is not a playoff roster. Doesnt matter who is behind the bench. We'll see how this season play outs, but if things dont go well I always prefer making a coaching change during the offseason.

 

[SirloinUB]

Maybe Im just an idiot but i am always fascinated by the certainty fans have in evaluating coaching especially on mediocre teams.

 

[Our Lady Peace]

Sometimes coaches get replaced by another and then the team completely takes off. Has happened numerous times and especially so in the past decade where the replacement coach has gone on to win the cup even in the same season or gone on a deep playoff run at least

Now, this team is not a cup contender but I believe they are good enough to have made the playoffs last season. That losing streak was something of an anomaly and seemed like the result of something internal in the room. Was it the coach? Was it player leadership? Was it the front office? There's been plenty of rumours out there that we've heard

I'm watching the NHL Faceoff series currently and I thought it was interesting that Barry Trotz stepped in a said the team trip to the U2 concert was canceled, amidst the team's lengthened losing skid

 

[jaster]

Maybe Im just an idiot but i am always fascinated by the certainty fans have in evaluating coaching especially on mediocre teams.

Why, because we are only privy to 10% of the work the coach does and we apply it, often inaccurately, to the whole 100% and then draw conclusions that are chock full of bias, ignorance, and misunderstandings, and then top it all off with proclamations about when the coach will be fired? You are an idiot indeed!

 

[Gniwder]

Im no fan of Lalonde I personal blame him for missing the playoffs. He ran Lyons into the ground and yet he kept on playing him and it cost us.

So you wanted more Reimer?

Lalonde only had 3 options, and Lyon was the least shitty. If you wanted other options, that would be Stevie's fault.