The Detroit Red Wings are in search of a new head coach after Jeff Blashill's contract was not renewed, Detroit Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced Saturday.
The decision to move on from Blashill, 48, was made by the organization after the Red Wings' season ended last night with a 5-3 victory over New Jersey.
According to an official press release, the team also opted not to renew the contracts of assistant coach Doug Houda and goaltending coach Jeff Salajko.
Blashill had a record of 204-261-71 in his seven seasons at the helm -- including a 32-40-10 mark this season.
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After an exciting start to the 2021-2022 season, the Wings' playoff hopes began to falter in February when they went 10-19-4.
The Wings ended the season pretty much dead-last in goals-against average (3.78 goals allowed), ranking 31st out of the league's 32 teams while finishing last on the penalty kill (73.8%).
They faired somewhat better on power plays (16.3%).
The Wings missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season to the disappointment of many Detroit fans.
Blashill was the second longest tenured coach in the league behind Jon Cooper with Tampa Bay.
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Blashill stepped into the role in 2015 when Mike Babcock left the Wings after ten seasons to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Prior to becoming the Wings' head coach, Blashill was hired by Babcock to serve as an assistant coach with the organization from 2011 to 2012. He then went on to lead the 2013 Calder Cup winning Grand Rapids Griffins and guided Western Michigan University for one season all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Houda and Salajko each served as assistant coaches for the last six seasons.