For coaches who have ties to the Detroit Red Wings, it’s been difficult.

It’s been a tough nine months for NHL coaches with ties to the Detroit Red Wings.

Todd McLellan was the latest to lose his job, fired Friday by the Los Angeles Kings despite the team holding onto the first wild card playoff spot in the West.

McLellan was an assistant coach for the Red Wings from 2005-06 to 2007-08, when he was hired as head coach by the San Jose Sharks after Detroit won the Stanley Cup.

He was replaced on an interim basis by Jim Hiller, a former Red Wings player and assistant coach who has never been an NHL head coach.

The Kings (23-15-10) are fourth in the Pacific Division but are 3-8-6 in their past 17 games following a strong start (20-7-4).

McLellan, 56, posted a record of 164-130-44 in four-plus seasons with Los Angeles, He has a career coaching record of 598-412-134 in 16 seasons, including stints in San Jose and Edmonton.

The trend of former Red Wings (players and/or coaches) getting fired started after the 2023 playoffs when the New York Rangers parted ways with Gerard Gallant, who played for Detroit for nine seasons from 1984-1993.

Days before training camp, Mike Babcock stepped down as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets after less than three months on job following an investigation by the NHLPA on invasion of privacy allegations (going through players’ cell phones). Babcock coached the Red Wings for 10 seasons from 2005-2015 before leaving for Toronto.

Edmonton fired Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12 following a 3-9-1 start. He was the Red Wings video coach under Babcock and later an assistant under McLellan in San Jose and Edmonton.

The Oilers have since gone 26-6-6 under Kris Knoblauch and are riding a 16-game winning streak.

The New York Islanders fired Lane Lambert, who played for the Red Wings from 1983-86, on Jan. 20, less than two years into his first head coaching gig. He was replaced by Patrick Roy.