WingNut722 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 The Detroit Free Press reports that some new changes are on the way, behind the Wings bench. Jeff Blashill and Ken Holland have discussed the season and decided on a couple moves which show the Red Wings franchise is looking to change their image. Long-time goaltending coach Jim Bedard will not have his contract renewed. He's been the Wings' goaltending coach since 1997 and as we all know, loyalty in this franchise is always rewarded. There are talks of a cozy severance package for him. Nevertheless, he'll be replaced by Griffins goal coach Jeff Salajko, who has worked extensively with Petr Mrazek. This shift indicates more and more that the Wings are looking to move Jimmy Howard and centering their future around Mrazek as the lead netminder. In addition, assistant coach pat Ferschweiler, brought on by Blashill directly from Grand Rapids, will also be moved up to the press box. Ferschweiler was in charge of the power play this season, and we all know how that turned out. Particularly with Tony Granato gone to coach the Badgers, the new focus will be on assistant coaches heavy on the NHL experience. And judging by how quickly this all happened after the Wings' exit, this may be an indication that Holland & Co. are beginning to see the writing on the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 2 hours ago, WingNut722 said: The Detroit Free Press reports that some new changes are on the way, behind the Wings bench. Jeff Blashill and Ken Holland have discussed the season and decided on a couple moves which show the Red Wings franchise is looking to change their image. Long-time goaltending coach Jim Bedard will not have his contract renewed. He's been the Wings' goaltending coach since 1997 and as we all know, loyalty in this franchise is always rewarded. There are talks of a cozy severance package for him. Nevertheless, he'll be replaced by Griffins goal coach Jeff Salajko, who has worked extensively with Petr Mrazek. This shift indicates more and more that the Wings are looking to move Jimmy Howard and centering their future around Mrazek as the lead netminder. In addition, assistant coach pat Ferschweiler, brought on by Blashill directly from Grand Rapids, will also be moved up to the press box. Ferschweiler was in charge of the power play this season, and we all know how that turned out. Particularly with Tony Granato gone to coach the Badgers, the new focus will be on assistant coaches heavy on the NHL experience. And judging by how quickly this all happened after the Wings' exit, this may be an indication that Holland & Co. are beginning to see the writing on the wall. Saw that, surprised that Bedard is being moved out after all of this time but assistants usually do not last almost two decades anyway. Bedard has been there long enough, time for a change. As for bench coaches and coaches that may run the P/K or PP, Paul McLean has been mentioned as has Todd Richards among others, the theory being that it would not hurt Blash to have a veteran head coach as a guy to turn to when the season hits the inevitable slips. Great idea really, one they should have thought of last year. A name that was mentioned but mercifully signed as the bench coach with the Senators instead was Marc Crawford. Thank God he is not coming to the Wings, it would be like Claude Lemieux playing on the grind line. No thanks. Hopefully the changes made are not limited to the coaching staff but it is a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut722 Posted May 10, 2016 Author Share Posted May 10, 2016 1 hour ago, yave1964 said: Saw that, surprised that Bedard is being moved out after all of this time but assistants usually do not last almost two decades anyway. Bedard has been there long enough, time for a change. As for bench coaches and coaches that may run the P/K or PP, Paul McLean has been mentioned as has Todd Richards among others, the theory being that it would not hurt Blash to have a veteran head coach as a guy to turn to when the season hits the inevitable slips. Great idea really, one they should have thought of last year. A name that was mentioned but mercifully signed as the bench coach with the Senators instead was Marc Crawford. Thank God he is not coming to the Wings, it would be like Claude Lemieux playing on the grind line. No thanks. Hopefully the changes made are not limited to the coaching staff but it is a good start. I'd have no problem bringing Paul McLean back. He did pretty well when was here working under Babs, then left to chase the opportunity of a head coach position, which really didn't work out that well, despite a Jack Adams award. It's up to Paul if he wants to swallow his pride and come back to Hockeytown, but it's an honest living, in familiar surroundings. And to be honest, arguable, his best work has been in Detroit. Plus he would be welcomed and heralded if the special teams righted itself upon his return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Speaking of bench changes, Doug Houda has been hired as an assistant coach to coach the D and the PK. This is a very good pickup for Blashill and the Red Wings. A very experienced NHL assistant who spent many years working with Claude Julien in Boston, I think Boston's loss is our gain. And NOW to find an assistant coach for the PP. Paul MacLean would be wonderful, but I dunno if he would be willing to take the step backwards or not. You know, most people end up taking one more promotion that they should. It's gonna be hard to convince him of that seeing that he did win the Jack Adams (didn't he?). One thing I will give Jeff Blashill is that he is open to saying that whoever we bring in he wants to learn from and with. That is a wise position for him to take and a healthy attitude that will be necessary to attract a coach with a solid resume at the NHL level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Yeah Houda is a great signing, he ran the power play in Boston forever, and their defense as well, both are vanilla and need improvement. If just adding a coaching specialist like Houda makes us five percent better I will take it. In the long run it comes down to the product on the ice. MacLean or even Todd Richards would be a great veteran bench coach with previous head coaching experience and either would satisfy me to see come aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut722 Posted May 12, 2016 Author Share Posted May 12, 2016 21 hours ago, SpikeDDS said: And NOW to find an assistant coach for the PP. Paul MacLean would be wonderful, but I dunno if he would be willing to take the step backwards or not. You know, most people end up taking one more promotion that they should. It's gonna be hard to convince him of that seeing that he did win the Jack Adams (didn't he?). After his brief stint in Ottawa, MacLean has been an assistant coach with the Ducks, and hasn't seemed to pursue any of the open head coach jobs in the last couple season (at least publicly). So perhaps he did decide that his wheelhouse is second fiddle. If that's the case, then he should definitely submit his (updated) resume to Detroit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Todd Richards apparently is a strong candidate to be an assistant coach to Blashill. Quote The Red Wings have requested permission to interview Richards for the job and the Blue Jackets granted it. Sources said the interview won't happen until Richards returns from Russia, where he's an assistant coach for Team USA in the world championships. The tournament runs through May 22. The Red Wings cleaned house on Blashill's coaching staff earlier this month, but have already filled two of the spots. Former Red Wing Doug Houda was hired to coach defensemen and oversee Detroit's penalty kill, while Columbus resident — and former Columbus Chill goaltender — Jeff Salajko was hired to replace longtime goaltending coach Jim Bedard. http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2016/05/19/richards-candidate-for-job.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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