The Detroit Red Wings are sticking with their head coach. The team announced on Tuesday it has agreed to a contract extension with Jeff Blashill for two more years.
Blashill, 45, just finished his fourth season as Red Wings head coach and has seen his team finish strong despite a rough season. Detroit is on a season-high five game winning streak with just a few games to play.
He took as head coach in 2015-16 and made the playoffs in the first season after Mike Babcock. The team hasn't made the playoffs since.
Before his time leading the team, he was an assitant under Babcock during the 2011-12 season and then became the head coach for the team's AHL affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins, for three seasons where he won the Calder Cup in 2013.
His contract was set to expire at the end of last year but General Manager Ken Holland has expressed confidence in Blashill and praised his work in developing the team's younger players like Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi more.
"Jeff has done a tremendous job developing our young talent as we continue to rebuild our organization," Holland said in a release. "Our young players have made significant strides during his time as head coach and are playing important minutes in key situations. As we continue to build towards the future, we have the utmost confidence that Jeff is the coach best suited to help our prospects become impactful NHL players. He has gained valuable experience as an NHL coach in each of his four years in Detroit and has instilled a work ethic in our current team that makes us hard to play against every night and competitive in every game, which is the identity we want our team to have as we move forward."
As of the team's last game on Sunday, Blashill has a 134-143-47 record with the team.
