General manager Steve Yzerman defended his former coach even as he explained why the Detroit Red Wings had to move forward.
"Ultimately to take that decision, I felt our team fundamentally, that we kind of — I don't even know if plateaued is the right word," Yzerman said Monday afternoon. "But we had gotten to a point where fundamentally, with and without the puck, we had regressed.
"We're at a point now where I felt like, OK, I've got to see if bringing in a new coach and coaching staff, can make a difference to get us back and get us going in the right direction.