With the Detroit Red Wings in a massive slump, the argument for head coach Jeff Blashill to get fired is starting to make sense.
When the Detroit Red Wings hired Jeff Blashill from the Grand Rapids Griffins to be their head coach after Mike Babcock departed from the team in the 2015 offseason, hopes were high. However, after three disappointing seasons and a slow start to the 2018-19 season, the time has come for the Red Wings to consider a different head coach.
Before arriving to the Red Wings’ organization in the 2012-13 season, Blashill coached in the USHL and CCHA. His first coaching stint was with the Indiana Ice of the USHL for two seasons. In his first season as head coach for the Ice, Blashill made a great first impression, leading the team to a 39-19-2 record and winning the Clark Cup. His second season saw the team go 33-24-3 and lose in the semifinals.
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After his two years in Indiana, Blashill coached Western Michigan University of the CCHA. In one season with the Broncos, the team went 19-13-10 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. WMU lost in the first round and Blashill’s time at Western Michigan was done.
In 2011, he joined the Red Wings organization, serving as an assistant coach under Babcock. After one season, Blashill became the head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. In three seasons with Grand Rapids, he held a coaching record of 134-71-23 and the Griffins won the Calder Cup in the 2012-13 season.
Impressed by Blashill’s work with the team, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland named Blashill as the head coach of the Red Wings. Replacing Babcock as head coach of an Original Six team came with high expectations from fans. In his first season (2015-16) with the Wings, Blashill led the team to a 41-30-11 record and reached the playoffs for the 25th consecutive year.
1However, in his second season (2016-17) with the team, Blashill and his team had a disappointing record of 33-36-13. This underwhelming season lead to the Red Wings missing the playoffs for the first time in 25 years. Much like players, fans assumed Blashill was just having a “sophomore slump”, or at least they hoped.
Blashill’s third season (2017-18) was nothing short of horrific as the team went 30-39-13, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. The 2017-18 season was an eyesore for fans as the Wings foiled a potentially exciting season in their brand new Little Caesars Arena. Not to mention the team looked flat and unmotivated, all signs of management and coaching.
The points per season for the Wings have been on a linear decline from 93, to 79, then to 73. The Red Wings have started the 2018-19 season (0-4-2) and show no signs of improvement. With the team on a decline since Blashill’s arrival, the time has come to consider replacing him as head coach.
Although his record is not great and he is not a perfect coach by any means, he is not a bad coach. His record in the minor leagues and college as a head coach were impressive, showing he has a system that works. The real issue is not coaching necessarily, but rather with Holland.
Holland has given Blashill nothing great to work with the past three seasons. The Red Wings are battling salary cap issues, injuries and terrible contracts. In the meantime, while they hope the young guns can carry the team on cheap contracts, they are waiting for the big contracts of guys like Kronwall, Ericsson, Helm, and Franzen to expire to free some cap to sign quality, season players.
This way of handling the team as a general manager leaves Blashill in limbo and set to fail. In the meantime, fans focus their anger on the coach because he is the one that puts the team on the ice. In reality, the anger should be directed at Holland who has failed to assemble a talented team with good team chemistry in a while.