Ex-Edmonton Oilers Tom Renney joins Detroit Red Wings as Associate Coach -NHL Update
Former Edmonton Oilers head coach, Tom Renney, did not stay out of work for long as the Detroit Red Wings hired the 57-year-old as their new associate coach on Thursday, July 5, 2012, the club announced.
Jeff Blashill had been shipped off to the Detroit Red Wings’ affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), the Grand Rapids Griffins, opening up the position and allowing Renney to move into with head coach, Mike Babcock.
When contacted for comments, Renney was definitely happy about moving to a team that has not missed the playoffs for over a decade.
“It’s Detroit. It’s the Detroit Red Wings. Period,” Renney said Thursday, “And for me, that’s all encompassing. Every aspect of the game is represented well. That made it pretty easy at the end of the day.”
For Renney, playing under Babcock would definitely be a learning experience since his style of coaching is unique and renowned for targeting players and how they play instead of using out of the book ideas,
Mike Babcock on the other hand also wishes to capitalise on what Renney will bring to the team after playing with him during the Olympic games along with the world championships and New York Rangers.
“I would consider him a players coach with great experience from the Olympic Games to the world championships, from the New York Rangers to the Edmonton Oilers,” Babcock told the team’s website. “(Jaromir Jagr) played phenomenal for him in New York (and) I thought he did a real good job in Edmonton with that young group. He played those young guys to help them develop. He played them on the first power play, he gave them a chance."
Renney added that he had hoped that Detroit would be able to capture Ryan Suter in order to fill in the defenseman gap created by retired captain, Nicklas Lidstrom, but unfortunately, they failed on that front along with grabbing Zach Parise.
Now, both Renney and Babcock will have to work with the team they have. Making the playoffs is not an issue for the Detroit Red Wings but making an impact is something they need to work out.
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