# Derek Lalonde

Derek Lalonde (born August 18, 1972) is an American professional ice hockey coach who most recently served as head coach for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Playing career

Lalonde played college hockey for Cortland State as a goaltender from 1991 to 1994. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education, and later earned a Master of Arts in education administration from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

## Coaching career

Lalonde's coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts from 1995 to 1997. In 1998, Lalonde began a 2-year stint as an assistant coach at Lebanon Valley College, followed by two seasons as an assistant at Hamilton College.
Lalonde's assistant coaching stints continued at Ferris State University from 2002 to 2006, and the University of Denver from 2006 to 2011. He began his head coaching for the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2011 to 2014, where he accumulated a record of 114–56–8–6. He was named the USHL's Coach of the Year in 2012 after the Gamblers posted a 47–9–2–2 record and won the Gamblers' fourth Clark Cup title. In 2013, Lalonde served as a coach at the Tampa Bay Lightning development camp.
He then served as the head coach of the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL from 2014 to 2016. He led the Walleye to a 97–35–7–5 record and two consecutive Brabham Cup titles as the ECHL's regular-season champion. In his first season in 2014, he led the Walleye to a 50–15–5–2 record and won the John Brophy Award as the ECHL's Coach of the Year. He then served as the head coach of the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2016 to 2018, where he posted a 69–58–17–8 record. He served as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2018 to 2022, helping lead the team to consecutive Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021.
On June 30, 2022, he was named the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL.
On March 28, 2023, Lalonde was ejected for the first time in his NHL career in a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was the first NHL coach ejection since San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn's ejection on March 8, 2023, and the first Red Wings coach ejection since Jeff Blashill's ejection on February 4, 2018.
Following a 13–17–4 start to the 2024–25 season, Lalonde was fired by the Red Wings on December 26, 2024, and replaced by Todd McLellan.

## Head coaching record

| Team | Year | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win % | Result |
| DET | 2022–23 | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 80 | 7th in Atlantic | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| DET | 2023–24 | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 91 | 5th in Atlantic | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| DET | 2024–25 | 34 | 13 | 17 | 4 | 30 | (fired) | — | — | — | — |
| Total | Total | 198 | 89 | 86 | 23 | | | — | — | — | |

## Awards and championships

* John Brophy Award (ECHL Coach of the Year): 2014–15
* USHL Coach of the Year: 2011–12
* Clark Cup champion: 2012
* Stanley Cup champion (as assistant coach): 2020, 2021