Should Lalonde be fired?

[Henkka]

Too early.

They should not and they won't fire him.

 

[Rafafouille]

Nah, he's doing just fine and so are the wings. They're just not there yet in the rebuild. Playoffs are more likely next year.

 

[Indrid Cold]

The Wings are an 7/8th seed playoff team at best with Larkin, and of course, are falling apart without him. They took a step this year. Had Larkin not gotten hurt, they'd still be in the hunt.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Nah, he's doing just fine and so are the wings. They're just not there yet in the rebuild. Playoffs are more likely next year.

If they miss this year, it'll be 8 straight. On what planet is that acceptable? Yzerman has been there for what, 5+ years?

 

[Mattilaus]

If they miss this year, it'll be 8 straight. On what planet is that acceptable? Yzerman has been there for what, 5+ years?

Oh my sweet summer child.

 

[nbwingsfan]

If they keep this display then yea.

I’ve never seen a softer coach on his players and in turn, a softer wings roster on the ice.

He’s coached any and all physical play off the team. Seider being the most blatant. He’s abandoned all the physical play which made him sucsseful to begin with.

He’s not a coach who can motivate players. Loves dump and chase but also only chase through poke checks. Don’t you dare try and hit someone

If they miss this year, it'll be 8 straight. On what planet is that acceptable? Yzerman has been there for what, 5+ years?

5 years is a pretty standard rebuild length when you had Zadina and Veleno as you’re two best prospects, Mantha and Bertuzzi being your two best forwards after Larkin, and Danny Dekeyser anchoring your defense when he took over

Also never winning a single lottery

 

[Spring in Fialta]

If they keep this display then yea.

I’ve never seen a softer coach on his players and in turn, a softer wings roster on the ice.

He’s coached any and all physical play off the team. Seider being the most blatant. He’s abandoned all the physical play which made him sucsseful to begin with.

He’s not a coach who can motivate players. Loves dump and chase but also only chase through poke checks. Don’t you dare try and hit someone


5 years is a pretty standard rebuild length when you had Zadina and Veleno as you’re two best prospects, Mantha and Bertuzzi being your two best forwards after Larkin, and Danny Dekeyser anchoring your defense when he took over

Also never winning a single lottery

But Yzerman was touted as this genius GM in Tampa. Regardless of how bad the situation was when he was hired, 5+ years is still too long. All I'm getting out of this is that he hasn't been proactive enough.

 

[Dotter]

5 years is a pretty standard rebuild length when you had Zadina and Veleno as you’re two best prospects, Mantha and Bertuzzi being your two best forwards after Larkin, and Danny Dekeyser anchoring your defense when he took over

Also never winning a single lottery

When you look at it with perspective, it's amazing amount of work that had to be done just to get to this point. I think fighting for a playoff slot in yr 5 after that mess is pretty damn amazing, tbh.

But Yzerman was touted as this genius GM in Tampa. Regardless of how bad the situation was when he was hired, 5+ years is still too long. All I'm getting out of this is that he hasn't been proactive enough.

LOL!

 

[nbwingsfan]

But Yzerman was touted as this genius GM in Tampa. Regardless of how bad the situation was when he was hired, 5+ years is still too long. All I'm getting out of this is that he hasn't been proactive enough.

It’s been 5 years. Now explain to me in those 5 years how he was supposed to acquire by now:

2-3 top line forwards
A full 4 top 4D
A starting goalie
Still manage long term cap flexibility

All while having ZERO top 3 picks, and zero upcoming prospects that meet those criteria and no good roster players to trade for these pieces?

I look forward to this answer

A team with a younger core that hasn't learned how to win yet isn't going to can their coach 3/4 through his first season.

It’s not his first season

 

[nbwingsfan]

This is a loser’s take.

If a team isn’t in the playoffs by year 5 of a new GM, it’s not good enough. There isn’t another GM in a serious hockey market that would be allowed to not be in the playoffs by the end of year 5 on the job.

And I don’t care what he inherited from Holland. At some point, it becomes the new guy’s mess.

Danielson, Cossa, ASP, Kasper and Edvisso, aka the players he expects to be his supporting core, aren’t here yet.

Why would he be fired before seeing what they are?

 

[Rafafouille]

If they miss this year, it'll be 8 straight. On what planet is that acceptable? Yzerman has been there for what, 5+ years?

This is the 5th season. Rebuilds are usually at least 5, closer to 8 years. 4-5 seasons of tanking, 2-3 of growing, unless you luck into a generational player.

Panthers made the playoffs 5 times in 25 years
Oilers missed for 10 straight years
Kings were out 6 straight years
Hawks missed 9 out of 10 years pre toews/Kane
Avalanche missed 8 out of 11 years
Hurricanes were out for 11 out of 12 years


I could go on. Unless you draft a generational player, you're likely in for a decade of mediocrity. Just like here in Montreal, if you expect Hughes to get us to contending status before 2028 at the earliest, you'll be disappointed.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

The roster is garbage, and so is the prospect pool. Might as well let the players play without a coach.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

They are rebuilding , give them time

 

[Fire Sweeney]

It’s been 5 years. Now explain to me in those 5 years how he was supposed to acquire by now:

2-3 top line forwards
A full 4 top 4D
A starting goalie
Still manage long term cap flexibility

All while having ZERO top 3 picks, and zero upcoming prospects that meet those criteria and no good roster players to trade for these pieces?

I look forward to this answer


It’s not his first season

If Peter Chiarelli could do it, what is Stephen's excuse ?

 

[crackdown44]

They’ve been getting outshot and outchanced all year. This is just a regression to where they should be in the standings

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Personally, I think he should be fired then rehired as Tampa’s assistant coach.

If he’s welcome back. Snitches get stitches.

 

[SoupNazi]

Yes, i think they should.

Please, back up this analysis.

 

[nbwingsfan]

If Peter Chiarelli could do it, what is Stephen's excuse ?

ho was the Chara that’s been available during Yzermans tenure? The Marc Savard?

Where in the Wings system was a Bergeron who was already there?

The Lucic and the Krejci who were already there?

 

[Ezekial]

The roster is garbage, and so is the prospect pool. Might as well let the players play without a coach.

Stuff like this shows why access the internet fails us as a species.

 

[RR44]

Honest question, haven’t watched any Wings games, this is just from scoreboard-watching. Wings looked like a playoff-lock a few weeks ago, the underlying numbers suggested that some regression was ahead, but they have absolutely imploded lately.

7 regulation losses in a row, outscored 36-12.

The schedule was tough, but losing to the Coyotes twice in that span is inexplicable to me.

Should Lalonde be fired in an attempt to save the season? Even if he isn’t to blame (which I can’t judge by scoreboard-watching), a coaching change could give the wings the spark needed to turn it around again.

No...I believe Lalonde is a very good coach and it's just something Yzerman wouldn't do. The last 6 dames Detroit has looked soft, uninspired and been outworked in every game...they simply don't have alot of grit on this team which needs to be addressed. It's a bit much to ask Perron to continue to lead in this department. Copp and Chariot signings haven't panned out as well as hoped...Copp looks a shadow of the player he was in Winnipeg. My thinking is Yzerman didn't make any splash at the deadline knowing this is a wild card, 1st round and done playoff team at best. They'll make a splash in the off-season where they need to make the playoffs in 2024-25

 

[FlyguyOX]

Yes. I've thought so since early in the season despite spurts of success.

His (mis)use of the young stars has been so poor. Just such poor lineup decisions (plus giving budding star Seider historically D-zone focused usage), and the response to Larkin getting beheaded (for the umpteenth time) was so piss poor.

Seider remarked he's the nicest coach he's ever had, and you can see that soft mentality in the team. Compare to other teams with who get bad reps as hard-asses (Cassidy,Torts, etc) and you can see a stark contrast in the attitude of players on the ice.

 

[eojsmada]

This is a loser’s take.

If a team isn’t in the playoffs by year 5 of a new GM, it’s not good enough. There isn’t another GM in a serious hockey market that would be allowed to not be in the playoffs by the end of year 5 on the job.

And I don’t care what he inherited from Holland. At some point, it becomes the new guy’s mess.

What you seem to not be paying attention to the fact that Yzerman has done just about everything imaginable to put as much talent on this team as is physically possible. But there still isn't enough talent on this team to be consistently competitive. That should change in another year or two, depending on what trades can be made or FA's can be signed, but to put the blame on a coach whose team just isn't talented enough to execute simple defensive zone coverage on a nightly basis is not on the coach. There are way too many D who are playing higher than they should and goalies who have overachieved to create enough of a false expectation that you see before you. As well as way too many 3/4 line forwards playing higher than they should, The talent should be there eventually, but you can't force player development and this isn't NHL 24 GM Mode where every player is available in trade

 

[GMR]

Yes.

 

[archangel2]

Honest question, haven’t watched any Wings games, this is just from scoreboard-watching. Wings looked like a playoff-lock a few weeks ago, the underlying numbers suggested that some regression was ahead, but they have absolutely imploded lately.

7 regulation losses in a row, outscored 36-12.

The schedule was tough, but losing to the Coyotes twice in that span is inexplicable to me.

Should Lalonde be fired in an attempt to save the season? Even if he isn’t to blame (which I can’t judge by scoreboard-watching), a coaching change could give the wings the spark needed to turn it around again.

No. They have been overachieving. Stevie Y has a plan and in 2 seasons from now if they are night fighting for a playoff spot then we question everyone and everything

 

[Ezekial]

No...I believe Lalonde is a very good coach and it's just something Yzerman wouldn't do. The last 6 dames Detroit has looked soft, uninspired and been outworked in every game...they simply don't have alot of grit on this team which needs to be addressed. It's a bit much to ask Perron to continue to lead in this department. Copp and Chariot signings haven't panned out as well as hoped...Copp looks a shadow of the player he was in Winnipeg. My thinking is Yzerman didn't make any splash at the deadline knowing this is a wild card, 1st round and done playoff team at best. They'll make a splash in the off-season where they need to make the playoffs in 2024-25

Chiarot shows way more grit and heart than Perron mate.