With a 12-32-3 record, it’s no surprise why fans of the Detroit Red Wings have been calling for head coach Jeff Blashill’s job.
To date, seven NHL coaches have been handed their walking papers this season for a variety of reasons. However, Blashill has remained on the job despite lengthy losing skids.
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And he’s got the support of the team, notably from forward Dylan Larkin.
“We’ve grown together in this league and I have a lot of respect for him,” Larkin said. “He’s a great guy, a great dad, and great coach and he’s well respected in the room.
“He’s my coach, and I’m his player, and that’s about as far as it goes.”
Larkin, like anyone else, is aware of the multiple coaching changes made throughout the league this season. However, he’s tuning it out and paying attention to his and the team’s play on the ice rather than speculating about the future of the coaching staff.
“I don’t reach much into that (social media), I don’t see much of it, I block that out,” Larkin said. “Anyone in this locker room would be crazy not to tell you we have to do a better job, and that’s on the players. Unfortunately, in this league, the coaches seems to be replaced first before the players, when it’s mostly on the play of the players.
“We need to be better, everyone in this locker room, and the players know that. The coaches are trying to help us be better players and evolve our game and be better as a team.”
The Red Wings will have a chance to get back into the win column when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers on back to back nights starting Friday at Little Caesars Arena.
