After Lewis' playing career ended with the Red Wings in the
1987–88 season, he stayed with the team as an assistant coach. He helped Detroit win three
Stanley Cups in
1997,
1998, and
2002. When
Scotty Bowman retired in
2002, Lewis was named head coach of the Red Wings. In two seasons, he guided the Red Wings to two 48-win campaigns, including a
Presidents' Trophy. In the playoffs, however, he had a record of 6–10. After the
lockout ended, his contract was allowed to expire on June 30, 2005. He was re-hired by the Red Wings on August 9, 2005, as a
scout. On June 29, 2006, Lewis was named the 27th head coach of the
Boston Bruins. His one and only season with the Bruins was not successful, as they finished with a 35–41–6 record, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row, and finishing in last place in the
Northeast Division. In June 2007, Lewis was fired as coach of the Bruins by general manager
Peter Chiarelli because of the team's highly inconsistent play throughout the season. Lewis subsequently signed on as an assistant coach for the
Los Angeles Kings for the 2007–2008 season. On August 4, 2008, it was announced he would not return for the 2008–2009 season. On November 5, 2010, Lewis, whose maternal grandparents were from Ukraine, was hired as the coach of the
Ukraine national team, though his association with that team was short-lived. On June 7, 2011, Lewis was hired as the assistant coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. Lewis was fired along with head coach
Kirk Muller and assistant coach
John MacLean on May 5, 2014. In December 2014, Lewis was hired as the head coach of the
Belarusian national team. The contract was for one year with the possibility of extension up to the
2018 Olympics. Lewis has been the head coach for Belarus at the
2015,
2016,
2017, and
2018 World Championships. However, the team fell just short of qualifying for the 2018 Olympics. Lewis was fired just three games into the 2018 World Championships after Belarus lost all three games. ==Career statistics==