Former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Trent Yawney joins Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings decided that they'd seen enough of coach Derek Lalonde behind their bench following an abysmal 13-17-4 stretch to begin the year.

Lalonde was dismissed from his position along with assistant Bob Boughner this afternoon by general manager Steve Yzerman, who hired former Stanley Cup-winning assistant Coach Todd McLellan as his successor.

Additionally, former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Trent Yawney has been hired as an assistant on McLellan's staff.

McLellan returns to the Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup as an assistant on Mike Babcock's staff in 2008; he's since served as head coach of the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings.

Meanwhile, Yawney comes to town with head coaching experience of his own as the former bench boss of the Chicago Blackhawks, a former bitter divisional foe of the Red Wings.

Before entering the world of coaching, Yawney had nearly 600 games of NHL experience as a defenseman over two separate tenures with the Blackhawks, along with the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames.

He later was named an assistant coach with the Blackhawks for 1999-2000 before taking a job in the American Hockey League as coach of the Norfolk Admirals.

As the infamous lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 year ended, Yawney was named the head coach of the Blackhawks.

During his 1st year as coach of the Blackhawks, he faced the Red Wings a total of eight times thanks to the NHL's desire to create more rivalries with forced additional divisional matchups.

After starting the following year with a 7-12-2 record, he was dismissed in favor of Blackhawks legend Denis Savard.

He's previously worked with McLellan, serving as an assistant on his staff for three years with the Sharks and another four years with the Los Angeles Kings. He's also been an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.