The Detroit Red Wings brought aboard a familiar face, though fans remember him being on the opposite side of what was once one of the fiercest rivalries in sports.
GM Steve Yzerman hired former Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay as an assistant coach, replacing former assistant Dan Bylsma, who was not retained. Tanguay spent several years with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring 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, where he helped their power play unit to one of the best in the League.
“I want to get back into the game, I still enjoy the competition, I still wanted to be around it, I wanted to be a part of winning and losing. I like the challenge of that,” Tanguay explained during an interview on NHL Network.
“I can’t wait to learn with Jeff (Blashill) and Doug (Houda) and the rest of the organization in Detroit. More tools to help me and help this team move forward in their process. Good players and good teams always talk about having a process, and this is what we’re trying to do to get where we want to be,” he explained. “The Detroit Red Wings, thats’ what they’re going to right now. They want to get to a certain point where the expectation is to win the Stanley Cup – that day may not be tomorrow, but I want to be a part of that process and help in any way I can. I can’t wait to get going with the work.”
Tanguay scored 283 goals and 580 assists with a plus-163 rating in 1,088 games, with another 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) in 98 career playoff games.
– – Quotes via NHL Network Link – –
