DETROIT, MICH — We’ve all been waiting with bated breath on the news of who would be the next Red Wings’ head coach. Ok, that’s not entirely true. In reality, we’ve been waiting for the official word of Jeff Blashill’s hiring as Mike Babcock’s replacement. That day has finally come.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-partner=”tweetdeck”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>LIVE FROM JLA: <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RedWings?src=hash”>#RedWings</a> VP & GM Ken Holland with a special announcement. WATCH: <a href=”http://t.co/MrAqShFEL3″>http://t.co/MrAqShFEL3</a> <a href=”http://t.co/O5AGqv9iMN”>pic.twitter.com/O5AGqv9iMN</a></p>— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DetroitRedWings/status/608288640272330752″>June 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Blashill at 41 will be the NHL’s second-youngest head coach (after New Jersey hired John Hynes away from Wilkes-Barre). The Wings hired Blashill away from Western Michigan after just his first year as the Broncos’ head coach, making him an assistant under Babcock for the 2011-12 season. One year later, the Detroit native was made the head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins where he took the Wings’ AHL affiliate to the 2013 Calder Cup on a team stacked with guys like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, and Petr Mrazek.
Welcome to the Blashill era, Detroit. I can say confidently that there is no other candidate I feel more confident in. Blashill is one of those coaches who simply wins at every level he has coached at, and he is undoubtedly ready for the NHL.
I would like to extend another thank you to Mike Babcock and what he brought to this city in his 10 year tenure as Red Wings bench boss. With that being said, this is Jeff Blashill’s team now.
