The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has hired Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach.
Lalonde, 52, joins the Maple Leafs after serving as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons (2022-23 to midseason of 2024-25) where he accumulated an 89-86-23 record (.508). The Brasher Falls, New York native previously spent four seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant coach (2018-19 to 2021-22), winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. During that span, he also coached internationally with the United States, working as an assistant coach at the IIHF World Championships in both 2023 and 2024.
Prior to joining the Lightning, Lalonde served as head coach of the American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild from 2016-18, compiling a 69-58-17-8 record. He also spent two seasons with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye (2014-16), leading the team to a 97-35-7-5 record. During his first season in 2014-15, Lalonde led the Walleye to a 50-15-5-2 mark, winning the Brabham Cup as the ECHL’s regular-season champion, and earning Lalonde recognition with the John Brophy Award as the ECHL’s Coach of the Year. He began his head coaching career with the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers, amassing a 114-56-8-6 record as head coach and general manager from 2011-14. He was named the USHL’s Coach of the Year in 2011-12 after the Gamblers compiled a 47-9-2-2 record and captured the organization’s fourth Clark Cup title.
Before becoming a head coach, Lalonde held assistant coaching roles at the University of Denver (2006-11), Ferris State University (2002-06), Hamilton College (2000-02), and Lebanon Valley College (1998-00). He began coaching career as a graduate assistant at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (1995-98) while earning a master’s degree in education administration.
A former goaltender, he played 41 games for SUNY Cortland from 1991–95 and was inducted into the school’s C-Club Hall of Fame in 2023.
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