You can credit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan for helping to turn the team’s fortunes around. But that hasn’t been the case since the second week of February, shortly before the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Instead, the Red Wings have become one of the worst teams in hockey again, incapable of beating anyone not named the Buffalo Sabres. That’s sad because getting the best of the NHL’s official farm system team isn’t saying much, nor has it for going on a decade and a half.
And head coach Todd McLellan has rightfully had enough with this team’s streaky play. Just over a month ago, many thought the Red Wings were back, given their supposed new life under McLellan, but turns out it’s been nothing more than an early April Fools joke.
Todd McLellan didn’t have any kind words for the Red Wings, nor should he
Don’t blame Todd McLellan for speaking his mind and calling things exactly the way he sees them after an embarrassing loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. And honestly, encourage him to keep calling out his team until the message sinks in.
What did McLellan say? Per NHL.com’s Kurt Dusterberg, McLellan quipped, “The second period was unacceptable. It wasn’t just Carolina-inflicted, it was self-inflicted. Just some really dumb play on our behalf.”
This has been a problem for the Red Wings since before Steve Yzerman gave up on former head coach, Derek Lalonde, and McLellan has yet to fix the issue. Maybe after setting the record straight, the Wings will finally start looking like a viable team again. But personally, I see nothing more than a group that can’t play consistent hockey when the stakes rise.
The Red Wings have a problem and nobody seems to want to solve it
Last season, we saw the same thing: Detroit hit a cold spell and it all but knocked them out of the playoffs. Yeah, they were right there and, if the dominoes fell correctly, they still would have made it.
But they were in control of their own destiny for a while before squandering that control to those they were battling with for a playoff spot. When the Red Wings started playing decent hockey again, it was too late, and it was why they spent April, May, and June watching the postseason from home or select vacation spots.
Overall, Todd McLellan can say “enough is enough” as often as he wants to. But until the Red Wings start embracing his critique and applying it to the ice, you’re going to see the same sub-par hockey team you’ve been watching since shortly before the 4 Nations began.
Right now, there’s still time to fix this, but with roughly one month to go in the season, the grains of sand are starting to accumulate at the bottom of the hourglass. A few more pitiful performances like what you saw on Friday night are all it’ll take to extend the team’s playoff drought and calls for Steve Yzerman’s job may follow.