That’s where it came from. Detroit boss, club legend and sport icon Steve Yzerman finally decided to change coaches. It was about time.
Derek Lalonde did not succeed in Detroit at any point during the three years. The dynasty club of the 1990s drifted from crisis to crisis during Lalonde’s tenure.
Now we were hired to take over the reins Todd McLellanan experienced and distinguished Canadian. McLellan, who previously did a good job in San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles, will certainly bring poise and discipline to the team, which have been the team’s biggest problem for years.
– A defense-oriented coach will come in, who will surely make all the nuances of the defensive game clear to everyone. When it comes to grooming or handling, he puts them in good shape. In the attacking game, the players are allowed to fulfill themselves. This was a good and logical choice by the club, ‘s hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen praises.
Detroit started with two wins under their new coach.
Lehkonen regrets Lalonde’s fate and believes that she will be hired again soon. In Detroit’s case, you can’t put everything down to coaching. Club legend Yzerman was hired in the motor city in the summer of 2019 to restore the 90s dynasty back to its glory.
During five years, almost no development has taken place. The team has never been seen in the playoffs, the ranking in point percentage is 29th in five years. Yzerman has certainly not succeeded in his work.
– I am somewhat of the same opinion myself. Detroit has been a really unruly team for a long time and those of us who have seen the dynasty of the 90’s naturally expect more. There are quality players there, but the work has not been done. Now a tough coach was brought in, but is it still enough, Lehkonen asks.
Hot
Colorado was hit hard in December. They currently have a five-game winning streak, and ten of December’s 13 games ended in victory. What makes the pitching condition particularly interesting is the complete renovation done earlier in the goalkeeping department.
The club put on weight Alexander Georgiev mixed Justus Annusen and get a replacement by MacKenzie Blackwood mixed by Scott Wedgewood. Where the first-mentioned duo’s save percentages remained at 87, the number acquired as a replacement is over 93.
– It is not easy to play behind that team in the goal, because the risk coefficients are so high in the puck game. Maybe it was quite logical to get two more experienced goalkeepers there, who know how to play calmly and calmly, even though few situations are dangerous, says Lehkonen.
Lehkonen gives a lot of credit for Colorado’s rise to the coaching.
– I have often said that there is a pretty damn good coaching and they have the nerves of a cow. There, in good and bad moments, the causes and consequences are known. If there is an overplay, it will be turned from the beginning with a bit of patience. Everything has been carefully thought out since the beginning of the games.
– The funny thing about that is that if you think about it Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko from Ranta and Cale Makariathen the guys will be able to play an even better game than what has been seen now. That says a lot about the potential, Lehkonen laughs.
Cold
Nothing will come of the hustle and bustle of Chicago. The team flashed in the middle of December by winning three matches, but the whole is lopsided in an ugly way. 11 of the 15 matches in December ended in defeat and no change of coach From Luke Richardson to Anders Sörensen haven’t helped.
Under the Swedish coach, there is no more red thread in Chicago’s game than before. New Year’s Eve outdoor match loss to St. It was ugly to watch for Louis (2–6).
– Turpa gets pretty ugly all the time now. The first thing would be to update the way you play so that you don’t get into the hole every night. I don’t see that now, and I don’t see a big idea in gaming anyway. That team has no winning habits at all, Lehkonen’s line.
The number one pick in the NHL a year ago by Connor Bedard excerpts are naturally followed carefully in the middle of everything. Bedard has made moderate improvements, but overall this is still very much in the process. At the same time, last summer’s number one booking in San Jose Mackline Celebrini has charmed precisely with its comprehensiveness.
– Bedard was supposed to be a cornerstone for that club and we still mess with him no matter what. When the shot is taken away, now he is suddenly a playmaker. He is not a mid laner. It should be accepted that he won’t be Brayden Point in the middle and frees him to play on the wing, Lehkonen piles.
– How can it be that he is constantly the last one to come into his own as a center. It is the task of the club and coaching to find the right place for him. Now his career is being put on the brakes and he will remain a bit like on the outside, Lehkonen says.
Goal of the week
Artturi Lehkonen scored a great field goal against Winnipeg while being kicked in the ribs by an opposing defender.
The goal was very typical for Lehkonen, who makes his salary for scoring. Lehkonen’s bat has been hot anyway, because the first hat trick of his career in the NHL happened in the days between Christmas.
Isä-Lehkonen welcomed his son’s hat trick, of course, warmly.
– “Arsia” is only interested in winning. If the team is in the lead, he doesn’t start hoarding goals. He knows how to play by numbers and seconds. But that hat trick was a hell of a lot of fun and definitely made it easier for him too. You don’t have to think after your career that you didn’t do it at this level.
What next?
In the coming weeks, Lehkonen will – should I say it again – follow the actions of the Finns who are on the edge of their playing place especially closely. Ransets, Ahots and Barkovs do take care of their bread and butter at the top of the pyramid, but at the bottom many play from their place every night.
Lehkonen reminds that the hardest phase of the season is ahead.
– There are quite a few guys with a trigger. In Columbus Mikael Wipesin Los Angeles Samuel Heleniusin Colorado Jere Innala and Juuso Pärssinenin New York Urho Vaakanainenin Edmonton Kasperi Kapanen and so on.
– I really hope that the guys can grind now. Now you have to be able to strike and give the gang an electric shock so that the coaching staff notices it. Whether it’s a head or finger pain or a bad feeling, now you have to twist. In the end, it may happen that you get a permanent place. That would be the best New Year’s gift, Lehkonen insists.
Lehkonen doesn’t give much hope to Jesse Puljujärvi, who was put on the transfer list earlier in the week and ended up on the farm. In Pittsburgh, the coaching clearly did not trust Puljujärvi and when he was not taken from the transfer list to another club, Lehkonen believes that the NHL door is closed this season.
– He will spend this season in the AHL. Now he just has to be able to work.