Nick Polano, the first Red Wings coach under new owner Mike Ilitch in 1982 and who participated in the covert missions that brought Sergei Fedorov and Vladimir Konstantinov to the franchise, died on Thursday after battling Alzheimer's disease. He was 78.

Born March, 25, 1941, in Sudbury, Ontario, Polano was the first coaching hire made by general manager Jimmy Devellano, who was Ilitch's first hire. Polano coached for three seasons, through 1984-85, making the playoffs in his final two seasons to usher the franchise out of the "Dead Wings" era of hockey. It was the first time in 19 years the Red Wings had made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Devellano and Polano had worked together with the New York Islanders.

"He was a very good hockey man and worked hard," Devellano wrote in his 2008 memoir, "The Road to HockeyTown."

"I've always believed it's important to surround yourself with quality people and with people you know, if at all possible. He'd gained a wealth of experience as an assistant to Scotty Bowman in Buffalo, and he became my first head coaching hire that summer."

In 1983, Polano's Wings added a small, young center in Steve Yzerman, who Devellano drafted at fourth overall in the '83 draft. In three seasons as coach, Polano finished 79-127-34.

"Bottom line, I think Nick Polano as a coach never got as much credit as he deserved for helping turn around this franchise," said Keith Gave, the Free Press' former longtime hockey writer and author of the book, "The Russian Five: A Story of Espionage, Defection, Bribery and Courage." "He wasn’t a favorite among players. He was really tough. But he brought playoff hockey back to Detroit in the early ‘80s. He meant more to this franchise than people realize."

Polano transitioned to the front office as assistant GM to Jimmy Devellano in 1985, and played a role in kick-starting the "Russian Five" era of Red Wings hockey.

Along with Jim Lites, now the general manager of the Dallas Stars, Polano helped convince Fedorov and Konstantinov to defect from the Soviet Union in 1990 and 1991. Also in 1991, Polano lured Slava Kozlov to Detroit after a long recruitment that extended beyond Kozlov's recovery from a near-fatal car crash.

Fedorov, Konstantinov and Kozlov joined Yzerman to help make the Red Wings a perennial playoff contender. And when the Wings added Slava Fetisov (in 1994) and Igor Larionov (1995) to form the Russian quintet, the championships eventually started coming.

The Wings won back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998, which brought the Stanley Cup back to Detroit for the first time since 1955.

According to his obituary, Polano grew up in Copper Cliff, Ontario, and his first love was hockey. He was a player in the American Hockey League and World Hockey Association, before getting his start in coaching with the Erie Blades in the Eastern Hockey League, where he won three consecutive championships over five years.

His success helped him land with the Buffalo Sabres as an assistant. A year later, Ilitch hired him to lead the Red Wings, where he spent 10 seasons, including seven as assistant GM and director of player personnel. In total, Polano spent 34 years in the NHL, including front-office stops with the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015. He is survived by his wife Elva, of 56 years; his son, Michael; his daughter, Jodi (and spouse Jeff); his granddaughters, Jordan and Jenna; and his brothers, Dave (Marilyn) and Robert (Mary Lynn).