Bylsma hired as assistant by Red Wings

Dan Bylsma was hired as an assistant by the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.
The 47-year-old last coached in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres (2015-17). He won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins after replacing Michel Therrien during the 2008-09 season and won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year in 2010-11.

"I've always had in the back of my mind that coming back home and working for the Red Wings and being a part of the Red Wings organization was something I wanted to do," Bylsma, a Michigan native, said. "It's a ways away from where I've always lived in Michigan (Grand Haven), but I've been around the Red Wings family and the Red Wings fans for a long, long time.
"I've already gotten a lot of love and support from people in the area saying, 'Welcome home,' and 'Welcome to the Red Wings.' It is a big aspect of my decision to join Jeff and join the Red Wings."
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he was looking for an assistant with NHL coaching experience, someone who could run the power play, work to further the development of young forwards, and be a sounding board.
"He's a head coach all day long, but I just look at it as having as many good coaches as you can," Blashill said of Bylsma. "The more minds you have that I think are intelligent hockey minds that are passionate, the better off you're going to be."
Bylsma was an assistant to Blashill coaching the United States at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, where it won the bronze medal.

Bylsma ran the U.S. power play, which finished second in the tournament at 34.04 percent (16 for 47). Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin was tied for fourth on the United States with nine points (three goals, six assists) in 10 games.
"As we went through that process there, I talked to him a little about the potential and we got to this day," Blashill said. "That opportunity gave us both a great comfort level. He was just a great resource on the bench, the type of thing that I think any coach needs."
Bylsma specifically mentioned Larkin, 21, a forward who led the Red Wings with 63 points (16 goals, 47 assists) this season, and forwards Anthony Mantha, 23, who had 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists) and Michael Rasmussen, a 19-year-old who was the No. 9 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Rasmussen, playing for Tri-City of the Western Hockey League, had 59 points (31 goals, 28 assists) in 47 regular-season games and 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in 14 playoff games this season. He's expected to push for a roster spot in Detroit next season.
The Red Wings have the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, which begins at American Airlines Center on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS). They hold the No. 30 pick, which they acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Tomas Tatar.
Bylsma was 320-190-55 in eight NHL seasons, six with the Penguins (2009-14) and two with the Sabres (2015-17). Pittsburgh defeated Detroit in seven games to win the Stanley Cup in 2009. Bylsma this season worked as an NHL Network analyst.
"He had some elite, elite players at fairly young ages with [Sidney Crosby] and with [Evgeni] Malkin and [Kris] Letang, that crew there in Pittsburgh," Blashill said. "I think when you've been through those experiences, that can help. He has seen what some of the very best players in the League did as younger players and how they got to the level they are still at. Any time you can add that type of knowledge to our young players, it can only help."