‘We have a lot of faith in what he’s preaching’: With growth comes confidence for McLellan-led Red Wings

DETROIT – It’s officially been a year since the Detroit Red Wings named head coach Todd McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney to their respective positions behind the bench. And although the team has made plenty of progress over the past 365 days, McLellan emphasized there’s a collective motivation to keep building on the foundation that's been established.

“We’ve had a year now to not necessarily learn the organization -- had a pretty good feeling about the people that were in it, how it operated and the decision-making -- but the most important thing is time to understand players, their games, their personalities, how they mix together, how they react to being poked or being hugged,” McLellan said on Dec. 23. “Two extremes of coaching, sometimes both individually and as a group. That’s been the biggest advancement that I think we’ve been able to make over that time.”

Overall, the Red Wings have gone 48-31-7 in their first 86 games under McLellan. When looking back on his first few days on the job, McLellan said the focus was all about attacking “the spirit of the team right off the bat, trying to build that back up and get some belief in each other again.”

“That took a little while, then the systems and the structure,” McLellan said. “Training Camp was big for us. I think we’ve improved as a hockey club in a lot of different areas, there’s a lot of runway left for not only maintenance, but for improvement.”

Since becoming Detroit’s head coach, McLellan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of game management, handling adversity and players building trust not only towards the coaching staff but also each other.

“The message always seems to line up with what we’re feeling and what’s going on in the game,” Ben Chiarot said. “He’s been around for a long time and has seen a lot of hockey. We have a lot of faith in what he’s preaching.”

Chiarot added that McLellan has a strong understanding of the group, which has helped foster a productive practice atmosphere.

“He knows what our weaknesses are and what we need to work on,” Chiarot said. “We harp on those every day, so I think that’s why you see some progression this season. He’s direct with the points he wants to make, what he sees and what he wants us to fix. I think that’s contributed to our success.”

Before going into the NHL’s three-day holiday break in the 2024-25 campaign, the Red Wings were 13-17-4 (30 points) and seventh in the Atlantic Division. This season, with Tuesday’s exciting 4-3 overtime victory over the the Dallas Stars at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit was first in the Atlantic at 22-13-3 (47 points).

“I think a combination of Todd coming in, his first practice yelling to play hockey and his intensity, his willingness to give guys opportunities and if you can play, you’re going to play," captain Dylan Larkin said when discussing the Red Wings' growth since December 2024. "And also, some of the additions we made with Gibby and shoring up some holes that we had. I think there’s a combination, but I would give Todd a lot of credit for a full year now, and I’m sure he’ll tell you it’s just a start.”