Better Head Coaching candidates the Detroit Red Wings should Consider

A contract extension for Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill is anticipated, although nothing has been put to paper yet multiple sources are expecting the deal to be finalized soon.

It seems Red Wing Nation is somewhat divided when it comes to the news that Jeff Blashill is expected to receive a contract extension.  We’ve gauged the fanbase in recent weeks, and we have come to a conclusion more Detroit Red Wings fans would rather a new face behind the bench rather than extending Jeff.

It seems many fans would like GM Ken Holland out and a change in culture from the top down within the franchise.  Anytime you propose the idea of bringing Steve Yzerman home fans get a little giddy–can you blame us?  Yzerman is indirectly home, he’s back living in the Detroit area, but as we’ve recently written, it’s hard to imagine Yzerman unseating his mentor Holland with all of their history working together.  Wouldn’t it be nice if Steve returned this summer as a senior advisor and worked alongside Holland during the final year of his contract, allowing for a smooth transition and then not offering Kenny a contract extension in a year from now.

If Jeff Blashill were to receive a contract extension, I hope the Detroit Red Wings are intelligent about it only extending him for a year rather than signing him to a long-term deal.  Although I’m personally not a Blashill fan, he does have limited resources to work with, but his willingness to play grinding veteran players with low upside over young promising prospects raise my blood pressure.

I understand players need to earn their keep, they need to produce to earn another shift but are the Justin Abdelkader‘s of the world producing?  Why not allow Michael Rasmussen to play with more offensive minded players like Dylan Larkin or Andreas Athanasiou?  Why is Darren Helm playing on the top line?  Before getting injured why was Jonathan Ericsson playing over Madison Bowey or Dennis Cholowski at various times this season?

That being said, Blashill seems to understand what he’s got in Athanasiou and Mantha this season, in years past they were receiving the “Rasmussen” treatment.  In years past many players regressed under Blashill’s watch, remember Larkin himself had a sophomore slump, but it needs to be said, this season more players have progressed positively.  Larkin and Athanasiou are having career years,  Filip Hronek is turning into a top-four defenceman before our very eyes, so it hasn’t been all bad.

Before the Detroit Red Wings rush out to extend Jeff Blashill’s contract, we take a look at a few better head coaching options the team should consider.

The Detroit Red Wings should phone Alain Vigneault to see what he’s up to these days and offer the 57-year old experienced coach a head coaching gig.

Vigneault has earned himself a successful resume. He was selected in the eighth round, 167th overall during the 1981 NHL Entry Level Draft by the St. Louis Blues. The right-handed shooting defender was only able to appear in 42 games NHL games over parts of two seasons with the Blues.  He recorded 2 goals and 5 assists and was a minus -5 while accumulating 82 penalty minutes.

The year after his brief NHL playing career he started coaching in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before breaking into the NHL as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators.  He would later become the 20th head coach in franchise history with the Montreal Canadiens.  For a kid born in Quebec, it must have been a special honor, not just landing your first head coaching job but in Montreal of all places.

He led the Canadiens to a 37-32-13 record his first year behind the bench in 1997/98, a pretty special year for Alain, an even more special season for the Detroit Red Wings I certainly don’t need to remind you.

Alain has had three stops throughout his coaching career, Montreal, Vancouver, and New York with the Rangers.  He’s appeared in two Stanley Cups, but he’s come up empty both times, once with Vancouver and the other in his first season with the Rangers.  He won the Jack Adams award giving to the coach of the year in 2006/07, his first year with the Canucks.

So what I’m telling you he has a lot of first-year magic with his new teams.  But in all seriousness, he’s a proven, veteran coach who appears like he’d be a good mentor and teacher for a young up and coming roster.  He’s earned playoff experience with a couple of long postseason runs.  His career coaching record through his 16-year coaching career is 648-435-35-98.

He’s road blocked by Mike Babcock in Toronto and looks poised to become the next bright young up and coming NHL head coach.

Sheldon Keefe was born in Brampton, Ontario not to be mistaken with Brantford the home of Wayne Gretzky not too far down the road. Keefe was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 47th overall pick in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Level Draft.

He played in the Ontario Hockey League where he was a superstar, his final season with the Barrie Colts. He played 66 games and scored 48 goals totaling 121 points. He was a plus 23 and also recorded 95 penalty minutes. During that final season, he enjoyed a lengthy playoff run where he played 25 games, scored 10 goals and recorded 23 points.

Needless to say, his talents didn’t translate over to the NHL. He was moved between the AHL and NHL often and played a total of 125 career NHL games and was only able to accomplish 12 goals, added 12 assists and totaled 24 points. Remember the Detroit Vipers? He played 13 games with the Vipers in 00/01 scoring 7 times.

Sheldon Keefe started his coaching career with the Soo Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League, although he was unable to win a memorial cup during his two seasons as the bench boss he had two unbelievable regular season records. His career OHL coaching record was 98-29-9. His teams were bounced in the second & third rounds respectably, but he’d later coach his current Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup Championship in the American Hockey League.

I’m not confident Keefe would be an upgrade immediately to Jeff Blashill because if you remember, Jeff won a Calder Cup in Grand Rapids and had tremendous success at the AHL level before succeeding Mike Babcock with the Detroit Red Wings.

Personally, I would rather a veteran established head coach at this point to help groom the young players within the organization holding them accountable while they develop into seasoned professionals. That being said, I expect the 38-year-old Keefe to be a highly sought after coach this summer.

Speaking of veteran coaches, Lindy Ruff fits that mold the 59-year-old former head coach is currently an assistant coach with the New York Rangers.

He’s best remembered for his time with the Buffalo Sabres where he was the first Buffalo bench boss in franchise history to record back to back 50 win seasons, both of those years ended losing in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Ruff’s career coaching record is quite impressive having a record of 736-554-78-125. His Buffalo team anchored by the great Dominik Hasek lost in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998/99 to the Dallas Stars. Do you remember that goal? I can close my eyes and picture it, at the time the NHL had the rule that didn’t allow a player to be in the crease.

Even if said player is not interfering with the goaltender if any body part is in the blue paint the goal is to be waived off. Wouldn’t you know it would come down to game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals where legendary forward Brett Hull beat Hasek to win the Cup, and his skate was clearly in the blue, yet the goal would stand! When I think of the Buffalo Sabre led Ruff teams’ that’s the first play that comes into my mind.

Ruff who also had a solid NHL career as a defenseman primarily with the Sabres would end up coaching the franchise for 15-years. He would later be signed by the Dallas Stars (funny how that works) after being fired by the Sabres. Brian Rolston took over for Ruff but didn’t end up being the long term solution. In fact, the Sabres haven’t been able to find that stability Ruff bought for so many years, but maybe Phil Housley will fill that void moving forward for Buffalo.

Ruff played ten seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and two with the New York Rangers. Playing 691 total NHL games, he was able to score 105 times and add 195 assists totaling 300 career points. He recorded 1264 penalty minutes and 24 career playoff points.

Although Ruff never elevated the Dallas Stars during the playoffs, his tenor as head coach was very successful. In his first three seasons, he won 40,41 & 50 games respectably yet his team never made it past the second round of the playoffs. His final season the Stars won merely 34 games, and former Red Wings executive Jim Nill decided to move in another direction.

Ruff currently lives in the New York area so he might not be interested in another head coaching job at this time, but he would bring a lengthy resume to a young Detroit Red Wings roster. I think he would provide stability behind the bench, someone players wouldn’t question.

I also think Ruff has enough experience that management would not alter his decision making allowing him to play who he sees fit rather than favoring specific veteran players. I don’t see Ruff as one who would worry about hurting players feelings and would do what’s best for the team rather than the player. I think young players could develop well under his leadership and guidance.

Joel Quenneville is the top name on the market. He’s the most decorated coach available and is originally from the Windsor, Ontario area where he played for the Spitfires of the OHL.

He’s won three Stanley Cups as the Chicago Blackhawks bench boss (2010,2013,2015), he’s a big personality similar to Mike Babcock, but he’s earned the right to say his piece to management and have a say in roster decisions. Sometimes certain General Managers want to have all the roster control and have coached under them just coach. That won’t work with Quenneville, he will have a say who he wants to stay and who should go, but like in Chicago, the salary cap gets in the way.

There were rumors Joel wanted specific players to be resigned like Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Quenneville loved Hjalmarsson, he doesn’t have the skating ability or offense nose for the game as Duncan Keith, but he’s a shot-blocking machine, and he’s a tremendous penalty killer or a coaches dream.

He was just another victim of the salary cap in Chicago like Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad, Andrew Ladd, Andrew Shaw, and the list goes on. Thinking about it, it’s a good problem to have, but I think Joel believes he would have been in a better position to contend if Stan Bowman was able to keep Nik over Seabrook.

The 60-year-old head coach has sat since he was canned by the Blackhawks early in the season. He’s a coach that will be able to pick his spot, he likely won’t take the first job offered or he would have been signed the day after the was fired. He is under contract with the Hawks for one more season making 6-million dollars. My understanding is the signing team will have to endure that money and likely sign the bench boss to an extension.

Quenneville holds all the cards; he can pick his destination, work for the GM he respects and trusts and should receive a contract offer in which he fills out the amount paid on the cheque. I exaggerate yes, but he should be able to get a Mike Babcock type of payday if he wants it. Babcock is a terrific head coach, but coach Q has a better resume.

He would be a dream come true if the Detroit Red Wings could find a way to land him, but I suspect the franchise will not be willing to pay him what others will offer. If the Detroit Red Wings were only able to provide around half the amount that the Leafs ended up paying Babcock, do you really think Chris Ilitch will run to Quenneville with an open checkbook?

I strongly believe if Mike Ilitch was around and running the show Mike Babcock would still be in town and if he wasn’t the franchise would have a Quenneville type presence seeing this team through the current rebuild. Would Joel at the age of 60 be interested in coaching a team through a rebuild at this point of his career? I’m not sure he would but let me say this, with how Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou are playing it’s starting to become a destination. If the Wings happened to land Jack Hughes or Kakko in the NHL draft all bets are off, maybe the team could attract an established coach.

Through 1636 career games behind a bench as the head coach between Colorado, St. Louis and Chicago, his record is 890-532-77-137.