- Canadiens are hiring Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach, per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels
- He replaces Trevor Letowski, who stepped off the bench to spend more time with family
- Read below for Lalonde’s Cup pedigree and what he brings to Montreal’s staff
The Canadiens have a new voice on the bench.
Montreal is hiring Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reported Wednesday. Here’s how Engels broke it down:
Lalonde takes over for Trevor Letowski, who decided to step off the bench to have more time with his family. The Canadiens want to keep Letowski in the organization, just not for games and practices.
Walking away from an NHL bench to be around your own kids is rare. Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis didn’t stand in the way.
The new guy brings a strong resume. Lalonde spent last season as an assistant in Toronto, working under Craig Berube after a run behind his own bench in Detroit.
He ran the Red Wings for parts of three seasons before the club fired him in December 2024 with the team sitting at 13-17-4. Todd McLellan took over from there.
The best line on his coaching card came in Tampa. Lalonde worked as an assistant under Jon Cooper from 2018 to 2022 and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
He joins a staff coming off a real season. Montreal went 48-24-10 for 106 points and Hughes signed off on adding Lalonde to St-Louis’s group.
The move caps a busy week for the Habs, who also signed Reilly Walsh out of the KHL.
It’s a third NHL stop in three years for Lalonde, who now plugs into a Canadiens team climbing the Atlantic.
