Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman met with members of the media at Little Caesars Arena this afternoon to discuss not only his trade deadline moves, but the future of the team overall.
Naturally, one such inquiry was regarding the status of head coach Jeff Blashill, who has been feeling the heat from fans for some time now.
But what is Yzerman's view?
“I've enjoyed working with him,” Yzerman said of Blashill. “When I came in last summer, we talked about our team and my expectations, and what we hoped to do. It's unfair to judge Jeff Blashill on our team's record.
I put this team together and I had expectations for the year. I said that I don't believe this team is a playoff team, honestly. A lot of things would have to go right at the start of the year for us to be a playoff team, and obviously that hasn't happened. A lot of things went wrong that we necessarily didn't foresee, whether it be injuries or whatnot. So, I can tell you that Jeff has done a very good job, he and his staff with these players. It's been a very difficult season, and I think they've managed it and coached it very well under very difficult circumstances.”
But will he be willing to bring Blashill back next season?
“I'm not going to make any decisions on anything until the season is over,” he continued. “w're going to sit down and go over it, but I think that Jeff has done a really good job and I've enjoyed working with him. As of right now, I don't plan to make a change, so read into that what you want.”
Steve Yzerman supports Jeff Blashill, and said he shouldn’t be blamed for this season.
“As of right now, I don’t plan to make a change,” he said. pic.twitter.com/j9P3DzCe2u
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) February 24, 2020
– – Video via Brad Galli of WXYZ – –
