DETROIT, July 16 (UPI) -- The Detroit Red Wings said Tuesday they would hold a Wednesday news conference amid reports they will announce the hiring of assistant Dave Lewis as the new head coach of the team.
The 49-year-old Lewis would have the difficult task of following Scotty Bowman, the greatest coach in hockey history who announced his retirement last month after guiding the Red Wings to their third Stanley Cup in six years and the record ninth of his career.
Lewis played 14 seasons in the NHL before joining the Red Wings as an assistant in 1987. He has no previous experience as a head coach, excluding a five-game stint at the start of the 1998 season that he co-coached with Barry Smith while Bowman recovered from surgery.
Lewis, who also worked under coaches Jacques Demers and Bryan Murray in Detroit, would likely have no honeymoon period in Detroit. With most of the key players back from last season, the Red Wings are expected to contend for another Stanley Cup title. The one major change will be in goal, where free agent Curtis Joseph replaces the retired Dominik Hasek.
Lewis played in 1,008 NHL games with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Detroit and had 36 goals, 187 assists and 953 penalty minutes.
