Jeff Blashill to return as Detroit Red Wings head coach

Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill will return for another season behind the bench.

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman made the announcement Wednesday stating Blashill will be back for a sixth season.

Hired by the Red Wings when Mike Babcock left for Toronto in 2015, Blashill has posted a 153-194-52 record behind the bench as Detroit has largely struggled.

According to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James, Yzerman has “endorsed Blashill’s coaching, noting his success at lower levels of hockey.”

During the season, St. James said Blashill was told by Yzerman to not worry about the clubs record, instead focusing on the development on young players key to the rebuild, such as Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Anthony Mantha and Filip Hronek.

Blashill’s first season was by far his most successful. Detroit posted a 41-30-11 record finishing third in the Atlantic Division. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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