Detroit Red Wings

Hiring of Varady Completes Red Wings Coaching Staff

Jay Varady is completing the coaching staff of Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde. Varady was hired Monday to work as an assistant coach

Published

2 years ago

July 18, 2022

Bob Duff

Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde is completing his coaching staff with the addition of Jay Varady as an assistant coach. Varady, 44, has coached the past four seasons in the Arizona Coyotes organization. For three of those seasons, he was the coach of the AHL Tucson Roadrunners.

During the 2020-21 NHL season, Varady made his NHL debut. He was serving as an assistant on Rick Tocchet’s staff with the Coyotes, where he was coaching Red Wings defenseman Jordan Oesterle. Last season saw him returning to Tucson to again run the bench for the AHL Roadrunners.

“Jay has done a tremendous job developing our prospects,” Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said.

UPDATE: #RedWings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman today announced that the team has hired Jay Varady as an assistant coach.

Details: https://t.co/C5hB16Vwdj pic.twitter.com/D7sTu0r2TA

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 18, 2022

Lalonde and Varady wound up coaching against each other for one season in the USHL in 2013-14. Lalonde was at the helm of the Green Bay Gamblers. Varady was bench boss for the Sioux City Musketeers.

Varady was named the USHL’s Coach of the Year in 2016-17. That season, the Musketeers clinched the Anderson Cup as regular-season champions with a 40-13-5-2 mark. They reached the Clark Cup Final.

Varady Showing Diversified Resume

From Cahokia, Illiinois, Varady’s coaching resume shows him touching plenty of bases. Working one season as bench boss of the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs, he led the club to their first Eastern Conference final appearance in franchise history.

With the AHL Roadrunners, Varady helmed the club to their first-ever Pacific Division title in 2019-20. He ended up serving as head coach of the Pacific Division at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic.

In international hockey, Varady has won three gold medals working for USA Hockey. Two of them he was earning as head coach of Team USA at the 2014 and 2016 World Junior A Challenge. Serving as video coach for the USA at the 2010 World Junior Championship, the outcome was also golden for him.

Varady is joining former NHL head coach Bob Boughner, goalie coach Alex Westlund and Alex Tanguay, the only holdover from Jeff Blashill’s staff, on Lalonde’s coaching team.