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The Saginaw Spirit have lost their head coach, with the University of Michigan reportedly hiring Chris Lazary as an associate head coach.
Saginaw general manager Dave Drinkill announced that Chris Lazary is leaving the Spirit to pursue another coaching opportunity, ending a Saginaw coaching career that began in 2016.
Lazary and Drinkill did not announce the destination of his next coaching opportunity, but Jeff Marek from Hockey Night in Canada posted on X that Lazary left the Spirit for a job as the U-M associate head coach.
“He has done an outstanding job of developing young talent, creating a culture of winning and helping to build this organization into one of the premier programs in junior hockey,” Drinkill said. “He will be missed tremendously here in Saginaw, but we will continue to build on our success from the last eight years.”
Lazary joins the U-M coaching staff under head coach Brandon Naurato, who signed a five-year contract extension in February. Lazary would fill the vacancy left after Rob Rassey took the Harvard head coaching job.
Lazary came to Saginaw as an associate coach for the 2016-17 season and was promoted to head coach in 2018. He was the 10th head coach in franchise history.
Since his first season as the Spirit’s head coach, 18 of his players have been selected in the NHL Draft, including five Top 15 picks. Top 15 picks who played for Lazary include Cole Perfetti (10th, 2020), Pavel Mintyukov (10th, 2022), Zayne Parekh (9th, 2024), Michael Misa (2nd, 2025) and Nikita Klepov (15th, 2026).
“The past 10 years with the Saginaw Spirit have been the most rewarding of my coaching career,” said Lazary. “We built something I’m incredibly proud of, culminating in a Memorial Cup Championship and the development of so many outstanding young men.
“Accepting this new opportunity was an incredibly difficult decision because of what Saginaw means to me and my family. It is a unique opportunity for continued growth, but Saginaw will hold a special place in my heart. I will always be grateful to have been a part of this remarkable organization.”
Lazary led Saginaw to Ontario Hockey League West Division titles in 2019, 2020 and 2024, a 2024 Memorial Cup championship and a franchise-best 50-16-1-1 regular-season record in 2023-24.
He leaves Saginaw as the Spirit’s record-holder in wins, finishing with a 249-171-16-12 record.
The Spirit announced that the search for a new head coach will begin immediately.
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