The Detroit Red Wings and GM Steve Yzerman has made the call this offseason to officially extend Blashill’s contract , which expired at the conclusion of the 2020-21 NHL campaign.
As Yzerman explained after the deal was completed, the focus right now is the continued development of the young players on the roster, which was one of the key assets of Blashill upon his hiring in 2015 as the former coach of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
And as the team continues to be reworked in Yzerman’s image after being hamstrung by several poor deals signed by former GM Ken Holland, Blashill believes that the team is trending in the right direction.
“We think we’re headed in the right direction,” Blashill said yesterday while participating in the Ally Challenge PGA Champions Tour stop in Grand Blanc, MI. “Now what does that mean?
“I can’t tell how you quick can we get to where we want to be. I can’t tell you those things. But I definitely feel like we’re headed in the right direction.
Yzerman has brought aboard several new faces into the fold, including Calder Trophy finalist goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, veteran defenseman Nick Leddy, creative center Pius Suter, and defenseman Jordan Oesterle. Additionally, they’ve re-signed forward Jakub Vrana, whom they acquired from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Anthony Mantha.
“We’ve gotten some players that are going to help us and now we’ve got to go to work,” Blashill said. “In terms of expectations, we’re going to start camp and we want to be better on Day 2 than we were on Day 1.”
In six years behind the bench, Blashill had amassed a record of 172-221-62 with one lone playoff appearance.
– – Quotes via Detroit Hockey Now Link – –
