The Detroit Red Wings raised a few eyebrows earlier this afternoon when they announced the hiring of Alex Tanguay as an assistant coach on Jeff Blashill’s staff.
Of course, Tanguay was a key part in the legendary rivalry between the Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche. He also scored the game winning goal in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils, and spent additional time playing with the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
He’s spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, and he’ll be replacing Dan Bylsma behind Detroit’s bench. For head coach Jeff Blashill, he views Tanguay as a unique mind who will bring fresh offensive perspective to the team.
“We went into this process to find an assistant – I talked to a number of good people and coaches, every coach in the NHL is a good one,” Blashill said. “But I wanted to find someone unique, especially from the offensive side of the puck. Someone who thought the game with a different perspective.”
Ultimately, Alex was a great fit for us because of that. He has offensive beliefs based on his playing career and experience, and his coaching experience, but also the way his mind thinks of hockey…One of his greatest strengths will be helping our individual players get better within our structure to help them find ways to ultimately be more offensive.”
With Tanguay behind the bench, the Iowa Wild boasted the American League’s fifth-best power play (21.9%) in his first season, something that he’ll be bringing to the Red Wings, who have struggled with the man advantage the past few seasons.
“I’m very confident that Alex can put a structure together and have a foundation on the power play, but to me, it was more than that. Where I’m really confident that Alex can help our guys are on those individual situations on the power play.”
– – Quotes via Detroit Red Wings Link – –
