The Montreal Canadiens finally made a notable move this offseason. It just wasn’t the kind fans expected.
The team is bringing Derek Lalonde onto the coaching staff as an assistant, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Lalonde replaces Trevor Letowski, who stepped away from the bench to spend more time with his family. The Canadiens reportedly want to keep Letowski in the organization in some other capacity.
Lalonde’s resume is a mixed bag. He spent last season as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who missed the playoffs entirely. Toronto fired head coach Craig Berube after the season, which put Lalonde’s future there in question. Before that, he was the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings for parts of three seasons. It did not go great. Detroit fired him on Boxing Day 2024, and the team never made the postseason under him.
But there’s a reason Montreal is interested. Lalonde was an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning before the Red Wings job, and he won two Stanley Cups there under Jon Cooper. That experience is exactly what the Canadiens are hoping he can bring to Martin St. Louis’s staff. Montreal made it to the Eastern Conference Finals this year for the first time since 2014. They’re not quite there yet, but they’re close enough that adding a guy who’s been through the real thing makes sense.
Montreal’s division, though, has gotten tougher. Toronto and Detroit have been more active this summer, adding players while the Canadiens mostly watched. So this coaching hire might be the most significant move they make. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Coaches matter, especially in the playoffs. St. Louis is still learning on the job, and having a veteran presence like Lalonde around could help steady things.
Lalonde’s time in Detroit was rough. The Red Wings were rebuilding and he was the guy in the hot seat when things didn’t turn around fast enough. But in Tampa he was part of something dominant. The Canadiens are betting that version of him shows up in Montreal.
Leave a Comment