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Detroit names ex-Oilers bench boss Renney associate coach

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EDMONTON, AB. OCTOBER 10, 2010 - Coach Tom Renney of the Edmonton Oilers, playing the Florida Panthers at Rexall Place in Edmonton. (SHAUGHN BUTTS/EDMONTON JOURNAL)

Shaughn Butts

After being let go by the Edmonton Oilers less than two months ago, Tom Renney’s back behind an NHL bench.

The Detroit Red Wings announced Thursday they’ve hired Renney as their associate coach. It’s presumed he’ll take the place of Mike Babcock’s former assistant Jeff Blashill, who recently took the head coaching gig in AHL Grand Rapids.

The Detroit Free Press reports Renney signed a three-year deal with the Wings.

Renney, 57, is regarded as a good teacher of the game and well-liked in hockey circles, especially among media members (his hire got glowing reviews from Darren Dreger, Brad May and Mark Spector.)

Many hockey folk are pleased Renney found work after what transpired with the Oilers.

The club waited 40 days after the regular season to tell Renney of his fate, a move longtime Edmonton Journal scribe Jim Matheson called “disrespectful.”

Renney has a 260-255-9-68 career record as a head coach, making the playoffs three times.