from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,
There are three head coaches on expiring deals, more or less, this season:
- Detroit’s Jeff Blashill signed a two-year extension late last season with the Red Wings but my understanding is that it’s a one-year deal plus a club option for Year 2. So this season is the only guaranteed part of things.
- Minnesota’s Bruce Boudreau is in the last season of the part of his contract that pays him a coaching salary; he does have two more seasons on his deal that pay him less money to be a consultant. And knowing Boudreau, that’s just some insurance in case he can’t do what he’d much rather be doing moving forward: coaching.
- Winnipeg’s Paul Maurice is in the last season of his deal, pure and simple, no options or consultant years tacked on.
So those are your three guys with uncertain futures. And both Boudreau and Blashill similarly were inherited by new general managers. Both Wild GM Bill Guerin and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman have a lot of roster building to do over the next few years. Where does each coach fit into that?
I would think Yzerman is using his first season as GM in Detroit to get to know everyone around him, including his coach. Yzerman never rushes into any decision. So I wouldn’t even try to guess right now where he’s going to go with Blashill. All I can tell you from my vantage point is that I feel Blashill has gotten the maximum from a rebuilding roster the past few years, I really do. But it’s been a tough season so far for the Wings, that is for sure.
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