5 Detroit Red Wings who have benefited from the coaching change

After the Detroit Red Wings fired Derek Lalonde late in December, Todd McLellan wasted little time working to make the Detroit Red Wings a "Todd McLellan team." The team went from being lifeless, even mediocre, to playing with heart and reminding everybody that they remember how to play hockey.

For some guys, they've been able to play more offensively and pull the trigger on plays in the offensive zone more often. Other players have been put in a position that best suits their skill set and given a chance to prove what they can do. Regardless, they've been a net positive most nights since the coaching change.

While nearly every player has benefited from McLellan's arrival, some Detroit Red Wings players have benefited more than others in one way or another.

Here are three Detroit Red Wings players who were given a chance and ran with it

1. Albert Johansson

Under Lalonde (this season): 17 Games Played (GP)-0 Goals (G)-1 Assists (A)-1 Points (Pts)
Under McLellan: 10GP-1G-1A-2Pts

This one was pretty obvious. Albert Johansson didn't get a spot in the lineup for the first few games of the McLellan era due to McLellan figuring out what kind of lineup he had to work with. Due to an unfortunate injury to Jeff Petry during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, however, Johansson has had a chance to factor into the lineup.

When Lalonde was behind the bench, Johansson likely would've been put back on the third pair with Erik Gustafsson, and Justin Holl would've been moved up to play with Ben Chiarot on the second pair. Fortunately for Johansson, McLellan isn't Lalonde. He realized the comfort level between Johansson and Edvinsson based on their tenure as the top pair of the Grand Rapids Griffins. The first chance McLellan had, McLellan made sure to pair Johansson with Edvinsson on the second pair.

It's only been a handful of games, but Johansson has looked far better playing with Edvinsson on the second pair than he ever did on the third pair with either Gustafsson or Holl. Not only that, but under Lalonde, his longest time on ice was November 2nd against the Buffalo Sabres at 16:50, and he only broke the 15-minute mark four other times in his 16 games played under Lalonde. In his five games under McLellan, he had dipped below the 16-minute mark in one game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a 14:42 time on ice. Ironically, this was also the game where he scored his first-ever NHL goal. His confidence has visibly grown, and it's starting to pay off for him and the Detroit Red Wings.

2. Erik Gustafsson

Under Lalonde (this season): 27 GP-0G-5A-5Pts
Under McLellan (at time of writing): 14GP-2G-6A-8Pts

When Gustafsson was brought in, it was hoped that he could recoup some of the offense left by Shayne Gostisbehere while also being more defensively responsible. Under Lalonde, Gustafsson was awful, both offensively and defensively. Constant defensive lapses and couldn't compensate with his offense as he seemingly forgot how to run a power play.

Under McLellan, Gustafsson has seemingly exploded and converted to what he was brought in to be. Making smarter defensive choices and activating in the offensive zone. Showing off what he's capable of offensively and that he can be a positive contributor to the team on a nightly basis.

He still has his struggles defensively from time to time, but overall, he may be the blueliner who has benefited the most from McLellan's arrival behind the Detroit Red Wings bench. We can only hope he keeps up his play as McLellan's systems become more ingrained into the players.

3. Jonatan Berggren

Under Lalonde (this season): 32GP-4G-3A-7Pts
Under McLellan (at time of writing): 14GP-4G-2A-6Pts

Before the season started, it wasn't certain whether or not Jonatan Berggren would be with the Detroit Red Wings this season. There were a plethora of rumors surrounding the 24-year-old Swede. The general feeling was that he should've been on the roster last season after breaking into the lineup as an injury call-up in his rookie season with 15 goals and 23 points. Unfortunately, due to the lack of roster space from Steve Yzerman signing so many free agents that off-season, he was forced out of the lineup and had to spend the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Something that he was rumored not to be happy about.

Thankfully, much like Johansson, Berggren's contract status forced the hand of Yzerman, and he was placed on the roster for this season. Unfortunately, Berggren seemed extremely snake-bitten to start the season. Every shot seemed to either hit the goalie or the post, no matter how good the chance was. Even his incredible chemistry with Marco Kasper wasn't enough to break the slump.

Thankfully, with the coaching change, new systems came that started catering more to the team's more creative players, thanks to an increase in puck possession and a better attitude in the offensive zone. Berggren is a playmaker with an above-average shooting sense who can't be held down by being forced to play an overtly defensive style of hockey. Now that Berggren's been let off his leash to play his form of hockey under McLellan. Berggren has produced nearly the same amount of points he did under Lalonde in less than half the time.

4. Patrick Kane

Under Lalonde (this season): 29GP-5G-9A-14Pts
Under McLellan (at time of writing): 13GP-6G-10A-16Pts

Last season, Patrick Kane exploded back onto the scene after returning from hip resurfacing surgery, becoming the first NHL player to have the surgery done and return full-time to the league. Impressively, Kane has played at roughly the same level that he did before the surgery, something unheard of for this type of surgery.

Much like Berggren, Kane is a playmaker, just at a more elite level. So being forced into a defensive style of hockey that relies on the team to "weather the storm" and then try to push something offensively was never going to work for Kane. His primary way of being productive is to have the puck on his stick. Not to mention, he was shackled to Andrew Copp and J.T Compher for several weeks (usually without Alex DeBrincat). Two of the least offensively dominant players on the team, so it was a challenge to create offense given the complex circumstances he faced.

Thankfully, after McLellan took over, Kane was reunited with Debrincat. While Copp remained as their center, the line looked like they had life once again. The Kane and Cat connection returned in near full force and with an actual moving power play, he's been able to push the powerplay to its current heights by being the primary puck holder and mover on the first powerplay unit.

5. Marco Kasper

Under Lalonde: 29GP-2G-5A-7Pts
Under McLellan (at time of writing): 13GP-4G-3A-7Pts

While Kasper didn't start the season on the Detroit Red Wings roster, he got his shot due to an unfortunate injury to Tyler Motte early in the season. Thankfully for him and the Detroit Red Wings as a whole, he took that opportunity and ran as hard as he could with it. Looking like he's been in the league for a year or two already, Kasper is beyond his years.

Under Lalonde, Kasper was regularly centering the bottom two lines and would only be moved to the second line in a desperate bid to get the Detroit Red Wings offense to generate anything. It was a tall ask of a rookie. Then, the moment he did something wrong, he was dropped back down the lineup for Copp and/or Compher. His offense was stunted, and he was never given a proper look with the top talent on the team.

Under McLellan, he has taken off in a pretty big way. Kasper was originally dropped onto the fourth line so that McLellan could see what he had on in the rest of the team. During the Detroit Red Wings seven-game win streak, Kasper was largely still in the bottom six, filling in for Joe Veleno while he was on the top line. The moment the offense started to fall off, McLellan wasted no time moving Kasper up to the top line to play with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Every point Kasper has scored since McLellan took over came from being on the top line with the Detroit Red Wings' leading scorers. Kasper was always a hard worker, no matter where he was in the lineup. Now, the fruits of his labors are paying off by playing with top-quality linemates who can take full advantage of his work.

Honorable mentions: Copp, Chiarot & Motte