Time to roll up the sleeves and get dirty friends, the off-season targets series is off and running. This year, we start with the coaches. On Monday, we looked at the shopping list, and today begin to look at candidates to fill the spots.
The first coach on the list? He’s likely the favorite to land the job right now, and is probably the second best coach slated to hit the market this summer, behind only Mike Babcock. His name is Todd McLellan, former head coach of the San Jose Sharks and the AHL’s Houston Aeros and former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach.
We know the Oilers are interested in McLellan, and looked at that last week when the news broke, compliments of HNIC’s Elliotte Friedman.
McLellan’s Resume:
Todd McLellan has an interesting coaching background, starting all the way back in the early 1990’s as a player-coach in Europe. He returned to Canada in 1992, and has been a bench boss ever since then, with stops in multiple major North American leagues.
In 1994, McLellan was hired as the coach and GM of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, where he built a solid program that both won and graduated some good talent to the AHL/NHL. He made the playoffs in all six years with the Broncos, and won coach of the year in the WHL in 2000.
He made the jump to the professional leagues for the 2000-01 season, coaching the IHL’s Cleveland Lumberjacks, the top affiliate for the Minnesota Wild. After the league folded just one year into McLellan’s tenure, the Wild relocated him with their affiliate to Houston, in the AHL.
In the AHL, McLellan again had success, winning the Calder Cup in 2003 and developing many NHL players for the young Minnesota franchise, including current NHL’er Zbynek Michalek. Following the lockout, he joined the Red Wings as an assistant, where he learned under Mike Babcock for a number of years.
In Detroit, McLellan transformed the Wings’ power-play into a juggernaut, while also collecting a Stanley Cup ring in 2008, as the Wings defeated the Penguins. Following the win, McLellan went to San Jose, taking his first NHL head coaching job.
McLellan coached the Sharks for seven seasons, qualifying for the post-season in six of them, with the lone exception being this year. He led San Jose to two Western Conference Finals appearances (2010, 2011) and won the President’s Trophy there in 2008-09.
His final record with the Sharks? A very solid 311-163-66 mark. That’s a points percentage of .637, quite good.
What Does He Do Well:
Todd McLellan can run a power-play, there is no debating that. He had solid special teams units in the AHL, and created one of the best power-plays of the mid-2000’s when running that unit for the Red Wings. That power-play was key in Detroit’s 2008 run to the Championship.
That success followed him to San Jose, as the Sharks had one of the best power-play units just about every year he was there. If the skill is there, Todd McLellan can use it to create a killer power-play. In Edmonton, the skill is certainly there.
McLellan is also very good with skill players, having worked with some of the best during his stints in Detroit and San Jose. A guy who has worked with guys like Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau should be able to know how to get Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to perform at higher levels as well.
He’s a guy known for getting the most out of his players, and is someone who most players generally enjoy playing for. Yes, there was some tension with Joe Thornton at the end of his tenure with the Sharks, but honestly, McLellan isn’t the only guy Thornton is a little tense with currently.
McLellan rides his guys and gets the most out of them, we’ve seen it before.
Another major positive? McLellan works well with young defenders. He developed a few for the Wild while coaching their AHL team, and has had success with a few during his time with the Sharks. That bodes well if he comes to Edmonton, because Oscar Klefbom, Martin Marincin and Justin Schultz could all be on the roster.
Is The Fit Right?:
I’d say yes, 100%. McLellan is an experienced, respected and proven coach at the NHL level, he’s a veteran. The Oilers need a veteran coach who can stabilize the position for a decade, and this is a guy that can do that.
His style fits with this group, and he’s very good at coaching skill. On top of that, the power-play is a huge positive for McLellan. Imagine what he could do with Hall, McDavid, Eberle, Yakupov, RNH and Pouliot?
McLellan also knows the division quite well, and understands what it takes to win in the tough western conference. Sure, there are concerns with his playoff record, but every coach on the market will come with warts. Besides, are we REALLY going to bicker about a dude’s playoff record when we haven’t been there in a decade? Didn’t think so.
Personally, I think Todd McLellan is the second best coach on the market this off-season, and is arguably the second best fit for Edmonton too. I’d wager he is the favorite, and I suspect he’ll land the job following the conclusion of the World Championships in May.
The smoke has been there for months, there is no way there isn’t some sort of fire behind this. Tomorrow, we look at the top dog on the market*, Mike Babcock.
* errrrrr, maybe
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