Red Wings Fire Derek Lalonde, Hire Todd McLellan
The Red Wings have made a long-awaited change behind the bench. The team announced Thursday that former Kings head coach Todd McLellan has been signed to a multi-year deal to become the 29th bench boss in Detroit franchise history. Head coach Derek Lalonde and associate coach Bob Boughner have been relieved of their duties.
Three straight losses heading into the holiday break were the final nail in the coffin for Lalonde, who had been on the hot seat for over a month. Darren Dreger of TSN reported in late November that a three-game homestand, during which they ended up going 1-1-1, was likely Lalonde’s last chance to finish out the season. While he got some grace to continue in his role beyond that, general manager Steve Yzerman‘s patience has now run out.
The Wings both expected and needed to take a step forward in 2024-25. They finished with a 41-32-9 record last season, just narrowly missing out on their first playoff berth since 2016 and also marking their first season above .500 since that year. But a horrid campaign offensively so far for the Red Wings, who rank 29th in the league at 2.56 goals per game, has them with a 13-17-4 record at Christmas and eight points back of the Senators for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Yzerman hired both Lalonde and Boughner in the 2022 offseason after the Wings cleared out their previous coaching staff, led by Jeff Blashill. It was Lalonde’s first crack at being an NHL head coach after winning two Stanley Cups as an assistant on Jon Cooper‘s staff with the Lightning. Earlier in the decade, Lalonde had served as a head coach with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
The 52-year-old Lalonde’s tenure behind the Detroit bench ends with an 89-86-23 record (.508 points percentage) in 198 games. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, the Red Wings’ record ranks 26th in the league, their 3.03 goals per game ranks 19th, and their 3.33 goals against per game ranks 27th.
Unlike last season, keeping the puck out of their net hasn’t been the Wings’ biggest problem. Thanks to veteran Cam Talbot putting up All-Star numbers in his 17 starts, things are likely better than they would otherwise be under a Lalonde system that’s posted below-average numbers at both ends of the ice. Detroit isn’t close to controlling the majority of shot attempts (46.8%), scoring chances (46.7%), or high-danger chances (45.5%) at 5-on-5, nor were they last year or the year before.
It’s also not surprising to see Boughner leave. His responsibilities included overseeing the team’s penalty kill, which clicked at a near-league-worst 68.8% rate this season. The 53-year-old previously served as the head coach of the Panthers (2017-19) and Sharks (2019-22), where he accumulated a 147-147-45 record for an even .500 record and failed to make the playoffs in any of his five seasons behind the bench.
In comes McLellan and assistant Trent Yawney, who have worked together in McLellan’s previous head coaching stops in San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles. It’s also a return of sorts for the veteran McLellan, who served as an assistant on Mike Babcock‘s staff in Detroit from 2005 to 2008 and won a Stanley Cup.
Detroit is the 57-year-old McLellan’s fourth stop as an NHL head coach, and today’s news ensures he’ll suit up behind an NHL bench for the 20th straight season in some capacity. His last job with the Kings started in the 2019 offseason and ended last February, replaced midseason by Jim Hiller. In 1,144 regular-season games as a head coach, McLellan has a 598-412-134 record (.581) and has made the playoffs nine times. In those nine postseason appearances, he’s fared worse with a 42-46 record and never advancing to a Stanley Cup Final.
McLellan and Yawney will now be tasked with cleaning up the Wings’ possession game and penalty kill, the former of which should ideally lead to an influx of offense as the season progresses. Unfortunately, it may be too little too late for a playoff berth this season. Detroit has less than a one percent chance of ending their postseason drought at the time of writing, according to Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Islanders’ Brock Nelson Unlikely To Sign Extension
Brock Nelson‘s 12-year tenure on Long Island will likely end by the time next summer rolls around. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes Thursday that he believes Nelson “intends to test free agency on July 1,” upping the likelihood of the Islanders dealing the pending unrestricted free agent by the trade deadline if they don’t put themselves back in playoff position by then.
Nelson’s production hasn’t been what we’re used to seeing from him in 2024-25. With 10 goals and 20 points through 35 games, he’s on pace for 47 points over an 82-game schedule. On a per-game basis, that would be his worst offensive showing since the 2017-18 campaign. Given he’s now 33 years old, there’s also legitimate concern whether he can recapture the form that led to three straight 30-goal seasons from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
Part of that decline has been fueled by an 11% shooting rate, which would be decent for many players but abnormally low by Nelson’s standards. Throughout his 875-game NHL career, he’s usually hovered around his career average of 14.2% without much variation. He’s tracking to shoot at his lowest success rate since his first two seasons in the league. It’s also been fueled by a 12-game goalless skid, during which he has just three assists. He had 10 goals and 17 points through his first 24 outings before ending up at today’s totals.
But with the Islanders two games back of .500 and coming off perhaps their worst game of the season right before the holiday break, a 7-1 drubbing at home at the hands of the Sabres, whether they’ll be in playoff position by deadline day is becoming less of a debate. MoneyPuck puts the Isles’ playoff odds at 5.8% at the time of writing, Hockey Reference gives them a 10.4% shot, while The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn gives them a far more optimistic 34% chance, boosted by a weak middle-of-the-pack group in this year’s Metropolitan Division.
That means there’s likely too much runway left in the Islanders’ season for general manager Lou Lamoriello to throw in the towel. If history is any indicator, that’s a necessary prerequisite for the club to seriously consider trading Nelson instead of trying to hammer out a deal up until July 1. On the other hand, Nelson said during training camp that he was open to having in-season talks about an extension. Either Those haven’t happened or they haven’t been particularly productive, evidently leading him to focus on his options over the summer.
And if he’s genuinely intent on testing the market, not just finding a new home, that’ll impact his trade value by the deadline. Even at Nelson’s age, Lamoriello won’t be able to land a huge return for him without a team being reasonably confident they’ll retain him for more than just a few months. Nelson also holds a 16-team no-trade list, so if there’s a buyer he’s not interested in joining, he could veto those deals.
LeBrun and Chris Johnston speculated that the Stars and Wild are potential deadline destinations for Nelson. Both also make sense as free-agent landing spots. Minnesota could likely only acquire Nelson at 50% retention ($3MM cap hit) without moving out a salary. Still, they have over $13MM in cap space opening up this summer, thanks to the reduction of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout penalties. That figure doesn’t include a projected salary cap increase of at least $4MM, making them well-positioned to have productive extension talks with star Kirill Kaprizov, who’s set to become a UFA in 2026 while being one of the most prominent players on this summer’s UFA market. Nelson, whose age and declining production likely don’t warrant a raise on his current $6MM cap hit on a short-to-mid-term deal, would complement Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi down the middle quite nicely and would likely have interest in returning to his home state. The Stars, meanwhile, project to have far more financial flexibility at the trade deadline but less so over the summer.
NL’s SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers Sign Julius Honka
Former top Stars prospect Julius Honka is staying in Switzerland, with the National League’s SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers announcing they’ve secured a two-year commitment from the defender beginning next season.
Honka hasn’t played in North America since 2021, and after spending two seasons with Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League, he arrived in Switzerland in 2023. The Lakers will mark Honka’s fourth NL team in three seasons after splitting the 2023-24 campaign between SC Bern and Genève-Servette HC and signing for 2024-25 with HC Davos. They didn’t say whether Honka’s deal has an NHL out-clause, but regardless, it’s a sign that he won’t be pursuing NHL opportunities next summer after a resurgence in his game.
Honka, who Dallas drafted 14th overall a decade ago, has 20 points and a +3 rating in 33 games with Davos, putting him fifth among NL defenders. It’s not unexpected production, either. Since being cut loose by the Stars in 2021, Honka has been a top two-way threat in the European circuit. He led the SHL in goals from a defenseman with 10 in 46 games with Luleå in 2021-22, and he led the Champions Hockey League with a +14 rating with the Swedish club the following year.
The Finnish native’s brief NHL career only spanned three seasons, accumulating 87 appearances with the Stars from 2016-17 to 2018-19. He averaged a minimal 13:57 per game and recorded two goals and 11 assists for 13 points with a -7 rating. While he was frequently criticized for a lack of physicality and defensive awareness individually, the Stars always controlled possession better at even strength with Honka on the ice than without him. He also recorded 113 points in 218 AHL games during his time in the Stars organization with a -24 rating.
This year’s Rapperswil-Jona roster is home to former NHLers Pontus Åberg, Tanner Fritz, Philip Holm, Nicklas Jensen, Jacob Larsson, and Victor Rask.
Largest Contract In Franchise History For Each NHL Team
Here’s our list of the largest contracts each of the 32 NHL teams has ever signed. Each contract is linked to its PHR post, except for those that predate the site’s existence. The amounts denote the total value owed to the player, including deferred money.
- Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon – eight years, $100.8MM. Signed 9-20-22.
- Blackhawks: Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews – eight years, $84MM. Signed 7-9-14.
- Blue Jackets: Johnny Gaudreau – seven years, $68.25MM. Signed 7-13-22.
- Blues: Jordan Kyrou/Robert Thomas – eight years, $65MM. Signed 9-13-22/7-13-22.
- Bruins: David Pastrňák – eight years, $90MM. Signed 3-2-23.
- Canadiens: Carey Price – eight years, $84MM. Signed 7-2-17.
- Canucks: Elias Pettersson – eight years, $92.8MM. Signed 3-2-24.
- Capitals: Alex Ovechkin – 13 years, $124MM. Signed 1-10-08.
- Devils: Ilya Kovalchuk – 17 years, $102MM. Signed 7-19-10. (revised to 15-year, $100MM deal on 9-3-10).
- Ducks: Corey Perry – eight years, $69MM. Signed 3-18-13.
- Flames: Jonathan Huberdeau – eight years, $84MM. Signed 8-4-22.
- Flyers: Travis Konecny – eight years, $70MM. Signed 7-25-24.
- Golden Knights: Mark Stone – eight years, $76MM. Signed 3-8-19.
- Hurricanes: Sebastian Aho – eight years, $78MM. Signed 7-26-23.
- Islanders: Mathew Barzal – eight years, $73.2MM. Signed 10-4-22.
- Jets: Connor Hellebuyck/Mark Scheifele – seven years, $59.5MM. Signed 10-9-23.
- Kings: Drew Doughty – eight years, $88MM. Signed 7-1-18.
- Kraken: Matty Beniers/Brandon Montour – seven years, $50MM. Signed 8-20-24/7-1-24.
- Lightning: Vincent Lecavalier – 11 years, $85MM. Signed 7-13-08.
- Maple Leafs: William Nylander – eight years, $92MM. Signed 1-8-24.
- Oilers: Leon Draisaitl – eight years, $112MM. Signed 9-3-24.
- Panthers: Aleksander Barkov – eight years, $80MM. Signed 10-8-21.
- Penguins: Sidney Crosby – 12 years, $104.4MM. Signed 6-28-12.
- Predators: Shea Weber – 14 years, $110MM. Signed 7-24-12.
- Rangers: Igor Shesterkin – eight years, $92MM. Signed 12-6-24.
- Red Wings: Henrik Zetterberg – 12 years, $73MM. Signed 1-28-09.
- Sabres: Rasmus Dahlin – eight years, $88MM. Signed 10-9-23.
- Senators: Tim Stützle – eight years, $66.8MM. Signed 9-7-22.
- Sharks: Erik Karlsson – eight years, $92MM. Signed 6-17-19.
- Stars: Tyler Seguin – eight years, $78.8MM. Signed 9-13-18.
- Utah (including Coyotes): Oliver Ekman-Larsson – eight years, $66MM. Signed 7-1-18.
- Wild: Zach Parise/Ryan Suter – 13 years, $98MM. Signed 7-4-12.
Jets Reassign Simon Lundmark
5:02 p.m.: After Winnipeg completed a 5-2 win over Toronto, Lundmark is back to the minors and off the active roster for the holiday break. Expect him to be recalled later this week if Stanley and Fleury aren’t ready to go for their next contest.
3:27 p.m.: The Jets announced that they’ve recalled right-shot defenseman Simon Lundmark from AHL Manitoba prior to today’s game against the Maple Leafs. It’s the first recall of his NHL career aside from a one-day emergency stint on the roster in January 2022. Winnipeg had an open active roster spot, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
Lundmark was scratched from today’s contest, but his services may be needed when Winnipeg resumes its post-break schedule against the Senators on Saturday. Logan Stanley has missed the last two contests with a lower-body injury, while Haydn Fleury left today’s game with a non-contact right knee injury. The 24-year-old, who the Jets selected in the second round in 2019, hit restricted free agency last summer but eventually agreed to a one-year, two-way pact to stay in Winnipeg and cleared waivers during training camp. He’s made 22 appearances with Manitoba this season, posting six points in 22 games. He has a -7 rating that’s middle of the pack on a Manitoba team that’s struggled to the tune of a 7-17-1 record.
While Lundmark has been a regular contributor on Manitoba’s blue line since coming to North America from his native Sweden in 2021, he’s never done enough to put himself in serious consideration for a roster spot. His offensive production has been consistent, stagnating at around 0.25 points per game, and he has a cumulative -24 rating across 210 AHL appearances.
Lundmark can remain on the Jets’ roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games until he requires waivers to return to the minors. He carries a $775K cap hit, leaving the Jets with $4.22MM in current cap space with a full roster.
Hurricanes Reassign Riley Stillman
The Hurricanes announced today that they’ve returned defenseman Riley Stillman to AHL Chicago ahead of tonight’s game against the Predators, their final contest before the holiday break. They now have an open spot on the active roster, which will likely be filled by a recall on the blue line come Friday, whether that’s Stillman or someone else.
Stillman, 26, was signed to a one-year, two-way contract after reaching unrestricted free agency last summer. The Hurricanes picked him up after he spent the entire 2023-24 campaign in the AHL with the Sabres’ affiliate in Rochester, marking his first season without any NHL action since 2017-18.
After missing the first 12 games of the season following offseason lower-body surgery, Stillman cleared waivers in mid-November and has spent the time since heading up and down between the Hurricanes and the Wolves. He’s yet to actually enter a game for Carolina this season, but he has been rostered for seven contests as a healthy scratch and last-minute injury insurance. The endless juggling between leagues also means that Stillman has only played seven AHL games since getting his season underway last month, posting two assists, 11 PIMs, and a +1 rating.
It’s easy to see why Stillman hasn’t gotten an NHL crack on Carolina’s very deep and very healthy blue line. Their top six defenders – Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, and Sean Walker – have all played all 33 games for the Canes this year, providing no opportunity for Stillman (or other frequent press-box option Ty Smith) to see NHL ice. With 26 points, a -19 rating, and underwhelming possession metrics in 158 career NHL games, Stillman wouldn’t sit higher than No. 7 on pretty much any other team’s defensive depth chart anyways.
Assigning Stillman to the minors will delay his temporary waiver exemption. Between his roster moves, Stillman’s still appeared on Carolina’s roster for less than 30 days since clearing waivers last month, so he won’t be exposed to the waiver wire again today.
Oilers Sign Connor Clattenburg To Entry-Level Deal
Oilers left wing prospect Connor Clattenburg has put pen to paper on a three-year entry-level contract, his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein, relayed today. The contract carries an $855K cap hit and will pay him $775K in the NHL and $82.5K in the minors, with an $80K signing bonus each season, per PuckPedia.
The Oilers just picked up Clattenburg, who stands at 6’2″ and 205 lbs, in the fifth round of this year’s draft. The 19-year-old had been passed over in the 2023 draft, but after posting 13 goals, 16 assists and 29 points in 60 Ontario Hockey League games split between the Soo Greyhounds and Flint Firebirds last season, he generated interest from Edmonton.
A bang-and-crash winger in the truest sense of the description, Clattenburg has improved his game offensively this season with 10 goals and 18 points in 22 games with Flint. He serves as the Firebirds’ captain and leads the team with 57 PIMs.
Clattenburg won’t play in the NHL this season and will remain on loan to Flint, so his freshly-signed ELC will slide to the 2025-26 campaign and expire in the summer of 2028. His $80K signing bonus for this season will be paid out regardless, though, lowering his cap hit slightly when his deal does go into effect.
He didn’t check in as a top-15 prospect in the Edmonton system in McKeen’s Hockey’s preseason ranking, nor did he crack the top-20 in Allan Mitchell of The Athletic’s offseason look at the Oilers’ prospects. His ceiling is that of a fourth-line piece, although a fringe recall option is a far more likely projection. Clattenburg will be eligible to suit up for AHL Bakersfield next season or return to the OHL for an overage campaign.
Avalanche Reassign Keaton Middleton, Jere Innala
With their pre-holiday break schedule wrapped up, the Avalanche announced this morning that they’ve assigned defenseman Keaton Middleton and right-winger Jere Innala to AHL Colorado. Their active roster is now at 20.
Middleton’s demotion seems unlikely to be reversed when the Avs return to action on Friday. That’s because defenseman Josh Manson is expected to return from an upper-body injury after the break and come off injured reserve, knocking Middleton off the roster. All of Colorado’s other demotion options would require waivers, while Middleton hasn’t been on the roster for long enough since last clearing them to necessitate hitting the wire today.
The 26-year-old younger brother of Wild defender Jacob Middleton has played in the Avalanche’s last nine games, his first in the NHL since making his debut with the Avalanche in April of 2021. The longtime Colorado farmhand was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2016 but never signed, waiting until 2021 to land his first NHL contract with the Avs. He’s been in their system ever since, racking up 59 points and 390 PIMs with a +27 rating in 251 showings for the AHL side over the last five seasons.
Middleton, who’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, had four assists in 17 AHL games before being recalled. In his nine appearances with the Avs, he went without a point but logged a +1 rating and 13 hits while averaging 10:31 per game. The Avalanche controlled 47.6% of shot attempts in Middleton’s limited 5-on-5 minutes.
Meanwhile, Innala was summoned for the first time on Thursday as Colorado rotates depth forwards in the absences of Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood. The 26-year-old signed with the Avs as a free agent over the offseason after spending the last two seasons with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League, where he accumulated 54 points in 94 games and represented his native Finland at the 2021, 2022 and 2024 World Championships. He averaged 7:57 across two contests, posting a -1 rating and four shot attempts (none on goal). He had five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 21 AHL games prior to the recall. He could find himself back on the roster when the holiday break concludes.
Wild Activate Yakov Trenin From Injured Reserve
The Wild will have winger Yakov Trenin‘s services for tonight’s game against the Blackhawks. The team announced this morning that he’s been activated from injured reserve, ending a nine-day absence due to an upper-body injury.
Trenin, 27, became an unrestricted free agent for the first time last summer and landed a four-year, $14MM contract with Minnesota. The 6’2″ Russian forward was a second-round pick of the Predators in 2015 and spent his entire career there until last year’s trade deadline when he was flipped to the Avalanche as a rental.
Unfortunately, Trenin hasn’t come as advertised. Usually a decent secondary option offensively in a checking role, he has just two goals and an assist in 29 showings this year. He’s averaging 13:37 per game, which is his lowest usage since his rookie season, although he ranks second on the team with 82 hits. That physical play hasn’t translated to two-way dominance, as Minnesota only controls 44.4% of shot attempts with Trenin on the ice at 5-on-5. That’s the lowest such share of his NHL career.
He’ll return to the lineup in a fourth-line role with AHL call-ups Ben Jones and Devin Shore, Daily Faceoff projects. That’s a demotion from where he spent most of the year prior to his injury, skating as the third-line right wing alongside Marcus Foligno and Frédérick Gaudreau. The reduction in role also comes despite Minnesota still being without two regular forwards, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jakub Lauko, due to lower-body injuries.
The Wild freed up the roster spot for Trenin’s activation yesterday by assigning Travis Boyd and Jesper Wallstedt to the AHL. As expected, they’re also getting netminder Filip Gustavsson, who’s missed four games with a lower-body issue, back today against Chicago, reports Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.
Rangers Healthy Scratch Chris Kreider
The Rangers have made veteran winger Chris Kreider a healthy scratch for today’s game against the Devils, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports. Aside from a pair of late-season precautionary scratches in 2017 and 2022, it’s the first time he’ll sit in the press box while healthy for the Blueshirts since his rookie season in 2013-14.
Much has been made of Kreider’s brutal 2024-25 campaign. After three straight seasons of at least 35 goals, Kreider has 11 in 30 games this season but has added just one assist for 12 points with a -4 rating, his first time in the red since 2020-21. He’s averaging 17:26 per game, his lowest figure since 2020-21, and has three points in 11 games since Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Nov. 25 that the Rangers were dangling him and now former captain Jacob Trouba in trade talks.
It’s unclear if Kreider’s scratch is purely performance-based or if it’s to avoid an injury before a trade. No deal will be made in the next few days, but today is the Rangers’ last game before the roster freeze lifts on Dec. 28.
Kreider’s struggles have underscored much more significant issues with the Rangers, who have now fallen to .500 after starting the season 12-4-1. They’ve gone 4-12-0 in their last 16 games. They could end today in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a regulation loss at New Jersey and wins for the Blue Jackets and Islanders, an unimaginable position for last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners this far into the season.
Despite Kreider’s underwhelming performance, he’s bounced around the depth chart very little. He’s spent most of the season stapled to Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith on the team’s second line, skating there in 24 of his 30 appearances. While he leads the trio in goal-scoring, he’s the weak link in overall point production. Zibanejad has 21 points in 33 appearances, still far below expectations, while Smith has 16 in 32. All of them have struggled defensively, controlling only 47.8% of expected goals together, per MoneyPuck. Rookie Brett Berard will skate in Kreider’s usual second-line left-wing spot today, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post. He hasn’t been much of a factor offensively either since being recalled last month, posting two goals and an assist in 11 games with a -5 rating and underwhelming possession metrics.
Kreider, 33, is only three seasons removed from leading the league in power-play goals (26) and game-winners (11). From 2021-22 through 2023-24, his 127 goals were seventh in the league behind Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrňák, Connor McDavid, Mikko Rantanen, and Kirill Kaprizov. He’s accumulated 315 tallies and 564 points in 845 appearances, all with the Rangers, dating back to his regular-season debut in 2013. That’s good enough for third in franchise history in goals and 10th in points.