Detroit — Alex Tanguay, the former Avalanche star, is coming over to the other side.
Tanguay, who participated in the heated rivalry between the Detroit and Colorado organizations some 20-25 years ago, was named an assistant on coach Jeff Blashill's staff on Wednesday.
And Tanguay is already hearing from Red Wings' alumni from those days.
"Kris Draper called me a couple of days ago and said, 'You're the first one to cross that bridge,'" Tanguay said during a media Zoom call announcing the hiring. "It was such a unique rivalry. I missed much of the fighting from the 1990s.