On The Cam & Strick Podcast, former Detroit Red Wings bench boss Derek Lalonde shed light on his Christmas-week exit, what he learned from Steve Yzerman, and the hard truths of coaching in Hockeytown.
Derek Lalonde Says Steve Yzerman Made Him Better
For the first time since his Dec. 26, 2024 dismissal, Derek Lalonde broke his silence about being fired by Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman. Speaking on The Cam & Strick Podcast with Andy Strickland and Cam Janssen, Lalonde didn’t mince words about the man who hired—and eventually let him go.
“He (Yzerman) is an intense, hard-nosed person and I’m grateful I got three years with him because he made me a ton better,” Lalonde said as quoted by the Detroit News. “It wasn’t the most pleasant and comfortable at times but he made me better and that’s all you can ask really.”
Derek Lalonde fired by Steve Yzerman
How the firing unfolded
Timing: Yzerman’s call came three days before Christmas after a 4-0 loss to St. Louis capped a three-game skid.
Record: Detroit held 91 points the season before—a 17-point jump in two years—but a December tailspin erased early optimism.
Missing pieces: Summer departures of Shayne Gostisbehere, Jake Walman, and David Perron left roster gaps Lalonde said were “cautioned” by Yzerman from Day 1 of camp.
Lalonde sensed trouble after a rough night in Philadelphia on Dec. 12. Despite bouncing back with a win over Toronto and a six-goal outburst vs. Philly, the team “just couldn’t get traction.”
“First and foremost, it was unfortunate. You could feel it was uncomfortable. My first time going through this. It’s pro hockey, man. We had 91 points the year before. We improved 17 points over two years. We were projected to be in the low 80s and we finished in a virtual tie with Washington. The old tiebreaker, from three years earlier, we would’ve been in the playoffs. It’s just amazing how it transforms, to no one’s fault.
“Our summer was what it was. We lose Shayne Gostisbehere, we lose Jake Walman, we lose David Perron. Things just didn’t go our way around July 1. Even Steve was being cautious. As a coach, you don’t want to hear that. All I had known since I was here was progress in our program. Then, of course, it hit some snags.
“We weren’t playing well and we had one of those moments in Philly (lost 4-1 on Dec. 12). I left Philly and said this does not feel comfortable. And then what does the team do? We beat Toronto at home (4-2 on Dec. 14), our best game of the year, and we put up six on Philly (won 6-4 on Dec. 18) but then we lose three in a row (lost 4-3 on Dec. 20 and 5-1 on Dec. 21 to Montreal and 4-0 on Dec. 23 to St. Louis). We just couldn’t get traction. It was just one of those things.
“Steve called. He said, ‘Hey, I want to see ya.’ And it stings a little bit because it’s your first time but the reality is, because of the landscape, I was the 27th coach fired under three years and we’re into the low 30s before the three-year cycle. It’s almost the reality of it. “
The toughest pill to swallow
Detroit fired its coach even as league parity chews through benches at record pace—Lalonde was the 27th NHL coach dismissed inside three seasons.
“It stings a little bit because it’s your first time, but… it’s almost the reality of it,” he told the hosts, adding that the players were “phenomenal” in support.
He insists the team’s later success—a pair of seven-game win streaks under interim leadership—didn’t bother him: “Absolutely not… you root for Dylan Larkin, you root for Mo Seider, you root for Lucas Raymond.”
Self-critique: special teams and deployment
The ex-coach pointed to Detroit’s 29th-ranked penalty kill at the time of his firing:
“If we could’ve turned that around alone, just that alone, we would’ve been fine… Unfortunately, they found a way to make it worse. They actually finished last.”
Lalonde also admitted he’d tweak how he balanced ice-time and accountability: “Sometimes I’m holding guys accountable, and they’re getting 11 minutes because I’m trying to win a hockey game and they need feedback the next day.”
Bottom line
Derek Lalonde’s stint in Detroit ended abruptly, but he leaves with sharper coaching instincts, thicker skin, and, in his words, gratitude for the hard-driving boss who “made me better.” In today’s NHL carousel, that blend of humility and self-analysis could be the ticket to his next bench.