The Montreal Canadiens have formally confirmed what has been rumored for several weeks.
The Canadiens officially announced the hiring of former National Hockey League head coach Derek Lalonde on Monday, with Lalonde taking on the role of associate coach under Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis moving forward.
It’s a fascinating hire for several reasons, including Lalonde’s abundance of coaching experience and maybe some useful information about the Canadiens’ most formidable rivals.
Most recently, Lalonde served as an assistant coach for former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, and there is little question that he was able to gather a wealth of insightful data on one of the Canadiens’ rivals in the Atlantic Division. Before coming to Toronto, Lalonde was the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings for a portion of three seasons, which could once more provide him with very useful information regarding player tendencies and playing patterns from another Atlantic Division opponent.
Lalonde was highly touted after a 4-year stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning, another Atlantic Division rival, and while he had limited success as the Red Wings’ head coach, his successor has done no better in the two seasons since Lalonde was fired from that position.
Regardless of the conditions, the Canadiens may benefit greatly from this addition, especially considering his previous few seasons’ worth of expertise.
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