Making good on his comments about personnel changes from Locker-Room Clean-Out Day, Ken Holland is not expected to bring back assistant coach and power-play “master mind” John Torchetti. Per Craig Custance:
According to multiple sources, the Red Wings have notified other NHL teams via email that they won’t be bringing back assistant coach John Torchetti. More on the latest coaching moves in the NHL Coaching Tracker: https://t.co/OFHUHZeyka
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) April 17, 2018
Torchetti joined the Red Wings coaching staff in the offseason of 2016. In his two seasons working with the forwards and the power-play, the Wings have posted 15.1% power-play efficiency for 2016/17 (27th in the league) and 17.5% efficiency for 2017/18 (24th in the league). For reference, the worst power-plays across those seasons were the Colorado Avalanche in 2016/17 (15.1%) and the Edmonton Oilers for 2017/18 (14.8%), while the best teams were the Buffalo Sabres in 2016/17 (24.5%) and the Pittsburgh Penguins for 2017/18 (26.2%).
While personnel and execution issues surely added to Torchetti’s struggles, clearly management isn’t letting him off the hook for that damn drop-pass. There are currently no known rumors about a potential replacement, although candidates will surely emerge as the playoffs and offseason progress.
