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Quick Hits: The Jeff Blashill Edition

In Red Wings Land

Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill: NHL coaching changes are ‘reality’ of ‘tenuous nature’ of job | Detroit News

“When you’re in this position, you know the tenuous nature of it,” Blashill said. “So, I don’t think you need the firings to remind you of that. That’s reality.”

But Blashill added coaches don’t necessarily look over their shoulders, either, and worry about what could be next, or worry about being let go if wins aren’t piled up.

“I don’t think any of us work worrying about that,” Blashill said of the concern of being fired. “You just work and do the very best you can. When you’re in this job, you realize that every situation is a bit different. I know we have world-class coaches in these spots and every general manager makes their decisions for their own reasons.

I like Jeff Blashill. I’m not sure he has a future with the Red Wings beyond this season, but if he’s let go, it would be great to see him land on his feet somewhere else as a head coach back in college or the AHL or as an assistant with another NHL team.

And if he does end up staying, cool I guess? The rebuild is far from over, so let him just keep working with the young players on the roster and in the organization and get another high lottery pick next season.

Jeff Blashill defends Dylan Larkin’s All-Star Game stance: Nobody has more passion | Freep

“All I’ll say is I don’t think there’s a guy that loves more than Dylan,” Blashill said “I don’t think there’s a guy that works harder on a nightly basis more than Dylan. I don’t think there’s a guy that works harder in practice more than Dylan. I’ll let Dylan speak for his own comments but I would never ever, ever, question Dylan’s passions, Dylan’s love of the game, Dylan’s work ethic.

“Nobody has more passion for hockey, passion for the Red Wings, passion for Detroit. Nobody has more work ethic than him.”

Good for Blashill defending his player.

It was a joke by Dylan Larkin — yes, with some truth behind it — but, man, credentialed media folks and NHL talking heads should just let this one go.

Time to move on, folks.

Around the League

THREE POTENTIAL LANDING SPOTS FOR PETER LAVIOLETTE, WHO SHOULD FIND WORK SOON | The Hockey News

1. DETROIT RED WINGS

Jeff Blashill has a thankless job in Detroit given how little he’s had to work with across his 4.5 seasons there. But it’s a common practice for a teams to tip its cap to whichever coach dutifully shepherded it through its rebuild – then move on to a coach who intends to transition the team to a winner. Blashill is also a holdover hire from the previous regime, so perhaps new GM Steve Yzerman would like to choose his own long-term coach….

I’d prefer someone else. Not sure who, but not a retread.

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