Detroit Red Wings: Roundtable Discussion of Jeff Blashill

The Conclusion;

The jury is nearly finished deliberating on the case of Jeff Blashill vs. The Detroit Red Wings faithful.  We all assume the “second” hand on the clock is striking at a vigorous pace for Jeff Blashill.

Ken Holland may mention the negativity towards him, and his Detroit Red Wings does not bother him.  He may not have much trouble sleeping at night but his nights became quite restless once Steve Yzerman stepped down as General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Yzerman felt he couldn’t be as committed to his role in Tampa as he should be moving forward.  His family remained in the Detroit area, and the travel for work and his personal life became much too taxing.

Yzerman will finish out the final year of his contract working more from Detroit as a senior advisor in the Tampa organization.  Well, that led to much speculation on the next opportunity of employment for Steve Yzerman.  There is nothing more that Detroit Red Wings fans could ever want than the “Captain” steering the ship of the franchise.

What does this have to do with Jeff Blashill?  Well, it is the trickle-down effect.  Ken Holland should see the writing on the wall and could quite possibly make a last-ditched effort to retain his job by sending Jeff Blashill packing if things get ugly.

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People may not think franchise owners listen to the backlash, but in all honesty, they do.  If the pitchforks and torches from the fans come out, ownership will hear every word.  Ken Holland knows that Steve Yzerman is lingering.

Dan Bylsma will indeed likely be the immediate replacement but if this ends up being Ken Holland’s final season and Yzerman does “take” the job.  I say take because it is his if he wants it.  Keep an eye on Ken Hitchcock.  Hitch retired and was most recently with the Dallas Stars. He has a history of working with Stevie with Hockey Canada.  Hitch is similar to what Joseph mentioned earlier; he could be the Ron Gardenhire type figure to help the young players grow.

Another name that seems so far-fetched is Joel Quenneville.  He is a coach who can write his own contract almost anywhere he desires throughout the league.  The Windsor, Ontario native has had a little friction with the Chicago Blackhawks over the last couple of seasons regarding player personnel decisions.  If the Blackhawks fail to make the playoffs again this season the two parties could decide to part ways.  Similar to Hitchcock, Quenneville has ties to Yzerman with Hockey Canada.

Jeff Blashill will NOT be the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings in 2019/20.  If the Wings have a new General Manager to start next season, the head coaching candidates will become endless.