The timing, though, couldn't be worse for McLellan and his top assistant, Trent Yawney. Because of the NHL's holiday break, they will be coaching the Red Wings against the Maple Leafs on Friday night without a single practice in charge.

After the firing of now-former Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday, he is the latest of five Atlantic Division coaches to get the boot since the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

From the very first minute of his introductory news conference Friday, Todd McLellan made clear what kind of changes he intends to inspire as the new head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. He and new assistant coach Trent Yawney weren’t coming in to wave any magic wands,

The Detroit Red Wings hired Todd McLellan to replace fired coach Derek Lalonde. Here's the background on the Red Wings' new head coach.

A day after replacing the fired Derek Lalonde as Detroit coach, and without even one full practice under his belt with his new club, Todd McLellan was behind the bench on Friday in a 5-2 Red Wings loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena.

The Detroit Red Wings announced that they have relieved head coach Derek Lalonde and associate coach Bob Bougher of their duties.

The Toronto Maple Leafs scored three times in the first period and led nearly from start to finish in a 5-2 victory at Little Caesars Arena, spoiling Todd McLellan’s debut. The Red Wings (13-18-4) have lost four in a row in regulation and dropped into a last-place tie with the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference.

Todd McLellan spent his first day as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings getting to know players, arena with a new message for the team.