The Maple Leafs announced today they’ve added former Red Wings bench boss Derek Lalonde to their coaching staff. He replaces associate coach Lane Lambert, who departed last month to accept the Kraken’s head coaching job.
Lalonde, 52, lands his next NHL job less than six months after Detroit fired him over the holiday break. The New York native was midway through his third season as head coach of the Wings, where he posted a 89-86-23 (.508) record but had gotten off to a 14-17-4 start in 2024-25.
Before his time in Detroit, Lalonde worked as an assistant coach under Jon Cooper with the Lightning from 2018-19 to 2021-22, winning a pair of Stanley Cups in the process. He oversaw the team’s defensive units and penalty kill, directly replacing the roles Lambert held in his lone season on Toronto’s staff.
Under Lalonde, the Lightning’s PK clicked at 82.7% during his four-year tenure, third-best in the league over that span. The Leafs will be counting on him to continue the shorthanded improvement Lambert helped usher in, helping boost Toronto’s PK success rate from a 23rd-place 76.9% in 2023-24 to a 17th-place 77.9% in 2024-25.
Notably, Toronto didn’t announce Lalonde with the associate coach moniker Lambert held. He’ll serve on more equal footing with returning assistants Marc Savard and Mike Van Ryn than Lambert did as a result.
Well, I’m surprised by this as I thought for sure & was hoping Derek Lalonde would head back to Tampa but instead he goes to Toronto. Didn’t see that coming. Granted, no idea if Tampa was even interested in bringing him back to start with. Lalonde is a very good defensive coach. He’ll definitely help Toronto’s defense.
He didn’t do much for Detroit defense
@roddy – Well he was the head coach there as he has more responsibilities to handle compared to when you’re an assistant coach as you’re more singular in your role & duties. Some guys are better assistant coaches than head coaches.
If Detroit only had a defense………Stevie made it worse last season.
Looks a good hire
Only hours after that last assistant spot was filled in Tampa
Don’t understand this hire,Lalonde and Berube seem to have opposite personalities to work together