After seven seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, Jeff Blashill was officially given his walking papers by GM Steve Yzerman, along with assistant Doug Houda and goaltending coach Jeff Salajko.
Detroit finished this season on the outside, looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year; Blashill led the team to the postseason on only one occasion, his 1st season on the job in 2015-16.
It will be the first time since that year that the Red Wings will have a new figure behind the bench, and while they’ve been linked to former New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz, reports earlier this month have indicated that they also have interest in another former head coach from the Empire State.
David Quinn, who coached the New York Rangers for three seasons, was reportedly interviewed by the Red Wings according to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff.
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The Red Wings have reportedly interviewed David Quinn
Quinn spent three years with the Rangers, compiling a record of 96-87-25 (.522 win percentage). He was terminated by the team in May of 2021 after failing to earn a postseason berth; he and the Rangers were swept in the qualifying round of the 2020 postseason “bubble” in Toronto by the Carolina Hurricanes. Prior to his time in The Big Apple, Quinn also served for five seasons as the coach at Boston University.
One of the top factors that Yzerman will likely be considering regarding Quinn is his ability to work with and communicate with younger players, as demonstrated by the national championship that he led Boston University to in 2009. The Red Wings are chock-full of younger players, none more important on the current edition of the roster than Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, both of whom burst onto the scene last season and will be major factors in Detroit’s future success. There are also several highly regarded prospects on the way, including the likes of Simon Edvinsson, Elmer Soderblom and Sebastian Cossa.
However, one of the knocks against Quinn is that his teams are known to be more on the undisciplined side, spending plenty of time in the penalty box. The Red Wings gave up far too many goals last season. At just 73.78% efficiency, Detroit’s penalty-killing ranked dead last in the NHL. Additionally, his teams have developed a reputation of playing down to their competition.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled as to any further developments in Detroit’s coaching search.
