In the wake of last year's trade deadline, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman all but declared Jeff Blashill would be back for a sixth season behind the bench.
"I think Jeff’s done a really good job," he said. "I’ve enjoyed working with him, and as of right now I don’t plan to make a change."
A bit different than what Yzerman said when the topic resurfaced in the wake of this year's trade deadline with Blashill's contract set to expire after this season.
"Jeff and I will sit down very quickly after the season and discuss that," Yzerman said last week.
If that felt like an indication Blashill might be nearing the end of his tenure, over which time Detroit has the most losses in the NHL, most signs say otherwise. The Red Wings have been a more competitive team this season, even as they remain at the bottom of the standings. Their young players have mostly improved. And Blashill and Yzerman seem to share a vision for building a long-term winner.
During the broadcast of the Red Wings' shootout loss to the Stars on Tuesday night, NBC Sports color commentator Joe Micheletti reported on Blashill's healthy relationship with Yzerman while discussing his future in Detroit.
"His contract expires after this season. He’s had a lot of good conversations with Steve Yzerman over the year," Micheletti said. "They’re going to wait until the season ends and then they’ll address his situation, but he’s talked about how proud he is, especially of all these young players where he’s seen improvement.
"Is there frustration? He says, 'Absolutely there’s frustration because we all want to win, we hate losing, and we’re not winning enough.' But there are certainly some bright spots and the future for Detroit is certainly on the upswing."
Last season, one of the worst in franchise history, the Wings lost 30 games by at least three goals. The majority of their losses this season have come by two goals or less. And they've responded well when things have gone south, like after a pair of 7-1 losses to Nashville in the past month -- first by winning back to back games against Columbus, then by winning three straight against Carolina and Chicago.
That would indicate the team is still playing hard for Blashill. So would this: the Wings are 6-4-3 in their past 13 games and 9-8-3 in their past 20. The latter pace would leave them one point out of the playoffs in the Central division over the course of the full season.
"We’re trying to build a foundation here of long-term success," Blashill said in February. "Steve and I have had lots of conversations about the fact we gotta make sure we do it the right way here. It’s been very apparent, we want to win in the long term. And to do that you have to have that foundation built, and I think our players are learning that part of the foundation."
Related
The Wings' most noticeable improvements this season have come on the defensive side of the puck. They're surrendering fewer shots, scoring chances and goals per game. Blashill pointed to that growth in February by saying, "I think our guys, especially our young players who are going to continue to have a big impact on this organization for a long time, are understanding how important it is to be very good defensively, to make sure that you’re not giving up anything easy, that you’re efficient and that you’re taking what’s given."
Since taking over the Wings years ago, Yzerman has shown no urge to make a change behind the bench. He knows the team remains at least a couple years away from legitimate contention, and he knows a new head coach won't magically change that. Blashill has overseen this rebuild from the start, and Yzerman seems content to stick with him for at least another year -- even if he's yet to come out and say it.
"We understand that we’re in a rebuild and that we have to grind every day to get a little bit better," Blashill said last week. "As I’ve said lots, anybody who thinks there’s going to be this big, giant leap is misinformed and probably doesn’t understand how anything turns around. It's a slow process lots of times and it takes one step forward with two steps backward. It’s hard. You’re going to get knocked down and you have to keep getting backed up."