Todd Nelson Not Returning

It sure seems like the man who brought light to a dark time in Edmonton this past December will not be back. Todd Nelson, who has served the Oilers well for years in multiple roles, is moving on according to Sportsnet. On Saturday night, Damien Cox broke the news with Elliotte Friedman on the Saturday Headlines panel.

This should come as no surprise. Nelson coached the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City for four full seasons and 25 games this past year. Nelson led the Barons to the post-season in all four seasons, and advanced past the first round twice.

Nelson amassed a 176-111-46 record as the coach of the Barons. On top of that, he led the Barons to the AHL’s Western Conference Finals in both 2012 and 2013.

While winning was nice, Nelson also had a hand in developing some good players for the Oilers. He coached Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Justin Schultz during the lock-out season, helping all of them further their games.

In terms of prospects, he helped F’s Mark Arcobello, Anton Lander, Magnus Paajarvi, Teemu Hartikainen, Colin MacDonald, Tyler Pitlick, Iiro Pakarinen and Andrew Miller reach the NHL or become prospects of note.

Defensively, Oscar Klefbom, Martin Marincin, Jeff Petry, Brandon Davidson and David Musil all made strides. Each of them have emerged as NHL players or prospects of note, with Petry being a featured defender out in Montreal now.

Goaltender Richard Bachman was also sensational playing under Nelson in Oklahoma City, while Laurent Brossoit was good during their short stint together too.

As for this season, Nelson might have saved some Oilers. He came to Edmonton at the perfect time, taking over for Dallas Eakins in mid-December. Eakins killed the confidence and creativeness of a few players, and had Edmonton’s power-play doing just about nothing.

Nelson, upon arrival, helped guys like Hall, Eberle, RNH and especially Nail Yakupov regain their confidence. The power-play also reemerged under his guidance, while Anton Lander and Oscar Klefbom, previously misused, began to shine.

Most importantly, the Edmonton Oilers started winning more hockey games. They didn’t win enough, no question about it, but they won more than they had under Eakins. Nelson finished his time Edmonton with a 17-25-9 record. Again, it wasn’t great, but it was better than before.

We also have to factor in that Nelson’s Oilers dealt with a lot of injuries, and that Nelson had weak goaltending and a terrible defensive unit. All things considered, Nelson certainly earned a job at the NHL level.

I like Todd Nelson a lot, I think he’s a very good coach. He knows how to get his players to be successful, and he knows how to set guys up for that success. On top of that, he’s always been a very good coach when it comes to special teams, which is valuable.

Nelson also has the valuable trait of being able to juggle both development and winning. That’s very important, and it was perfect for the Oilers this year.

Fact is, I’m sad to see Nelson leave. Yes, I think McLellan is a better coach and that the Oilers made the right call, but Nelson is a good hockey mind and was a good fit in Edmonton. All that said, he wants to be a head coach at the NHL level, and he’s earned the right to chase that dream.

With Nelson out of the picture, Todd McLellan’s coaching staff takes a little more shape. Combine Nelson leaving with Keith Acton and Craig Ramsay being shown the door, and it appears we’ll have three new assistants in Edmonton next season.

Rocky Thompson might remain on as the eye in the sky, but he could also return to his post on the farm as an assistant next season under Gerry Fleming.

We know Jay Woodcroft will be hired as an assistant at some point, but we’ll now need to look for at least one other name coming through the door.

I wish Todd Nelson the best. According to Cox, he’ll either be taking the AHL job in Carolina, Pittsburgh or Detroit. I’m sure he’ll have some success where ever he goes, and I also am sure he’ll be back coaching in the NHL someday. It’s just too bad it won’t be in Edmonton in October as Todd McLellan’s associate coach.