In an interview with 97.1's Jon Jansen and Jim Costa, Detroit Red Wings HC Derek Lalonde discussed his excitement for the coming season

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde spoke with Jon Jansen and Jim Costa of 97.1 The Ticket this morning about visiting Detroit Lions training camp, his admiration for Dan Campbell, and his expectations coming into the coming season.

From the outset of the interview, Lalonde expressed his admiration for Campbell—the Lions' third-year head coach—based on the passion he brings to the sideline and practice field. 

"I just love his energy," Lalonde, who visited Lions camp in Allen Park earlier this month, said of Campbell.  "When I saw him, we had a good talk—talked about the season, he was asking about our season, talking about the time back in the day when he played here.  Obviously the Wings had it rolling then.  I yell at my kids for being on social media, and then I'm the one looking up Dan Campbell quotes at one in the morning...we had a good laugh."

Lalonde chuckled in recounting that as he attempted to wordsmith a follow-up text to Campbell on the drive home, he was met by mockery from his children over what they perceived to be an obvious "man crush."

As for how he'd advise the Lions to deal with rising expectations around a team that is traditionally expected to finish in ignominy as the team prepares for its season opener against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, Lalonde said "Expectations have changed, but what got you there [to create] that energy, that vibe hasn't changed.  It was hard work, it was attitude, and your going to bring that same attitude to the field tonight."

Lalonde's Red Wings are not projected to make the leap many pundits expect from Campbell's Lions (Lalonde himself would address this point later in the interview), but Lalonde will nonetheless seek to cultivate a similar energy and message for his team in 2023-24.

As for Detroit's various off-season moves, Lalonde offered unfettered praise: "I love what we did this past offseason.  We've improved; there's no doubt about it.  We're going to be significant.  That's all I ask.  That's all I want...I also understand why there's not a single projection or a single expert out there that says we're gonna make the playoffs.  It's on us now.  We were pushing [last year].  We were flirting with it a little bit last year before the deadline.  I love the fact that we're gonna be significant.  We've added some nice pieces, but we're still not there and what more motivation can you have than that as a group."

That word "significant" is an interesting one.  For the majority of the franchise's history, "significance" has never been a question.  The Wings were down in the 70s and early 80s, but those lean years excepted, this organization is accustomed to relevance.  

Since 2016 though, the Red Wings' significance has been far from assured. Detroit has yet to play meaningful springtime hockey in Little Caesars Arena, which opened in 2017.  To Lalonde, the next step on the road to Cup contention isn't setting the league ablaze; it's the Red Wings announcing themselves as significant.  A worthy foe.  An opponent that demands you take it seriously.

Lalonde gushed about incoming sniper Alex DeBrincat, calling his addition "a necessity."  "We had a lot of really good team games last year, where we did a lot of things right...and we just couldn't put it in the net and we would find ways to lose some of those tight games," Lalonde explained. "We need goals.  That's something he can do.  It's a necessity for an addition, and I love the fact that he wanted to be here.  Very attractive piece for us."

Of newly acquired defenseman Jeff Petry, Lalonde said "He's been there, done that...carried a very average team to the Stanley Cup Finals [sic] a few years ago, and he was a huge part of it. You can see as [certain players] get older, it's more about what the team is doing [than individual success], and the fact that he wanted to be in Detroit, it's been a dream of us, we're ecstatic. He's gonna have a calming presence, he's gonna have a little edge to him."

Beyond external additions like DeBrincat and Petry though, Lalonde knows that the long-term success of his team rests in no small measure on the shoulders of 21-year-old Lucas Raymond and 22-year-old Moritz Seider. 

"Expectations keep increasing for them, and they took steps last year," Lalonde said.  "I love Mo Seider—the way he's managing his game now, he took a little less out of his risk on offense and he was controlling games.  I coached the U.S. World Championship team, and unfortunately, we faced Germany in the semifinals.  He didn't have a single point in that game, [but] he dominated the entire game.  He's just managing his game, he's maturing his game, and same with Razor.  He's going to take a step; he just has to do it physically, and he has.  I saw him when I came back from Dylan's wedding, and he literally put on eight, nine pounds, didn't even look like the same athlete...We want them to lead our team."

Of course, from all of that excitement, the question begs: Is 2023-24 the season in which Detroit returns to the playoffs?  Lalonde made clear that he understands the need for patience in the context of a rebuild but couldn't conceal that he has begun harboring some of the same fantasies as Red Wings fans:

"I had a little rule with the guys last year: I would never talk about the playoffs...It truly is about the process.  Game 58 last year, we'd beaten the Rangers 4-1, we'd won seven of eight, and this was three games before the deadline.  Not only were we in the playoffs, we had three games in hand on the Florida Panthers...Things turned, we did the right thing at the deadline, it's the reality of where we're trying to be, not where we were at the moment.  And they were three wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.  I get it, they're deeper, they've got a superstar like that, but this was a group that pushed last year and over-achieved.  I don't see why this group could not do that again, especially with some of our additions.  It's not a knock on us; it's more where the conference, where the division is.  There's just nowhere to go...If we played in the West, we would have made the playoffs.  What does that mean?  We're still not good enough to win the Stanley Cup, it's Steve's job to get us there.  Steve reminds me all the time—I'm a coach, I want it now—when we get there, we want to be sustainable."