Todd McLellan is asking the Detroit Red Wings to play harder, faster and smarter

Todd McLellan joked he wasn’t sure he could find his way back to his office, let alone the right locker room.

It was a turbulent Christmas for the 57-year-old, who spent Friday getting used to his new job as coach of the Detroit Red Wings. His most immediate concern was preparing the team for tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. To that end, McLellan has a message for his new team.

“We asked the players to play harder, faster and a little smarter,” he said. “These are three simple things that I think we can control without any tactics or systematic structural play.”

“And lastly, the team spirit has to improve. When something like that happens, team spirit is down. We will work hard to rebuild it.”

More:What is Todd McLellan’s first task in charge of the Red Wings? Fix the team

General manager Steve Yzerman made the coaching change during the three-day Christmas break, relieving coach Derek Lalonde and assistant coach Bob Boughner of their duties. Trent Yawney will be McLellan’s new right-hand man alongside Alex Tanguay, who will keep his job.

Yzerman pointed to the Wings’ 13-17-4 record and, in particular, how listless the team appeared in Monday’s 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

“I can’t give you the exact date or time, but as our season started and progressed to today, you start thinking about how to improve your team, how to get us in the direction we want to go or “play” the way we want,” Yzerman said. “You look at all kinds of things. The first option is player personnel to move things around and what not. And then as we get closer to yesterday, we start to think that maybe we need to make a change here.”

“My mindset is that our team is not performing as well as I expected. Whether anyone agrees with it or not, I have my own expectations of the team and why they aren’t is because our players aren’t playing the way they expect. So I have my own expectations of each and every player. Together we are where we are and we play the way we are and at some point a decision comes.

Captain Dylan Larkin described the frustration that set in as the Wings fell behind in the NHL standings.

“Where we are, it’s been a frustrating start to the season,” he said. “In our last appearance, the two games against Montreal, we overlooked something and ultimately Steve made the decision. That’s something you don’t want. I really liked Derek and Bob as boys, they were really good people. But it felt like something had to happen and now let’s move on.”

McLellan and Yawney were at Little Caesars Arena with Yzerman on Thursday night and got a sneak peek at their new workspace. It was a hectic few days for McLellan, who was at his home in Kelowna, British Columbia, when the move became official. McLellan flew back to his home in Los Angeles (where he trained until last February) because, as he put it, the last thing you should take on a Christmas vacation was suits.

So not a lot of sleep, but a lot of excitement.

“Steve brought Trent and I here last night just to get us acquainted,” McLellan said. “I can’t even tell you how to get back to the locker room. There are doors, nooks and crannies everywhere. There’s a good chance I can go to the Leafs room. The facility is phenomenal. The market – Hockeytown – I know.” What that means. I’ve seen it in some really good times. The goal is to get back there.

Todd McLellan is asking the Detroit Red Wings to play harder, faster and smarter

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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