The Toronto Maple Leafs are adding a bit of NHL experience to their coaching staff.

Today, they announced that they’d hired Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach, who most recently worked as the Detroit Red Wings head coach for parts of three seasons before his midseason departure this past year.

Lalonde was fired in December 2024, with Todd McLellan taking over as his replacement. During his time in Detroit, his only NHL head coaching gig to date, he went 89-86-23 in 198 games over the course of three seasons.

“Incredibly thankful Steve Yzerman gave me a chance to coach a team like the Detroit Red Wings,” Lalonde had told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman at the time of his departure . “You saw the passion of the fanbase when we made a late run last season, and they will be rewarded. They

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