Alex Tanguay entered the NHL with the Avalanche in the heat of their rivalry with the Red Wings. Now he's switching sides.
The Red Wings have hired Tanguay as an assistant coach, the club announced Wednesday. Tanguay spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the AHL's Iowa Wild and could help resurrect Detroit's power play.
An All-Star with the Avs in 2004 and a Cup winner in 2001, Tanguay scored nearly a quarter of his 283 goals on the power play during a career that spanned 16 seasons. And during his first season behind the bench in Iowa, the Wild had the fifth best power play in the AHL -- before dropping to last in the league in 2020-21.
The Wings had the NHL's second worst power play this season, and the third worst the season before that. The team parted ways with former assistant coach and power play tactician Dan Bylsma in May. Detroit's power play hasn't ranked in the top half of the NHL since Blashill's first season as head coach.
Maybe Tanguay can help, maybe he can't. Ultimately, the Red Wings need better players. But if Tanguay proves to be an upgrade behind the bench, the product on the ice should improve.
And it's not just Detroit's power play that needs help. The team needs to generate more offense, period. It ranked second to last in the NHL in shots per game this season and last in 2019-20. Worth nothing: Iowa ranked second in the AHL in shots per game in each of Tanguay's two seasons with the team.
He was a thorn in the Red Wings' side as a player. Perhaps he can make up for it as a coach.