Steve Yzerman has made it very clear that he does not blame Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill for the team's lack of success during the 2019-2020 regular season.
That being said, the thought by many “in the know” is that Yzerman may decide that it is time to go in a different direction and that his former teammate, Gerard Gallant may be a top candidate for the job.
Well, if Yzerman wants to replace Blashill with Gallant, he may want to get on the horn quickly as Gallant has reportedly interviewed with the New Jersey Devils.
From Pierre LeBrun, The Athletic:
The New Jersey Devils, for example, are not sitting idly by during the pause.They’ve obviously been busy preparing for the draft, considering they may have three picks in the first round.
But they’ve also got their coaching situation to figure out.
Let me be clear in saying that interim head coach Alain Nasreddine is a legitimate candidate to keep the job. However, sources have also confirmed that recently the Devils have started conducting interviews with other candidates, including a virtual chat last week with Gerard Gallant.
Now, to be clear, IF Yzerman is planning to replace Blashill and IF Gallant is his top choice, we would assume they have spoken but it has not been made public. But if not, now would be a good time to make that happen!