Player Discussion Todd McLellan

[CycloneSweep]

Preaching to the choir, my man. I agree with a different look 100% and you have a solid basis for yours.

I've been lucky enough to be around some world class coaches/teams and they would change their PP and breakout in the intermission depending on what the opposition was doing. Yet the Oil ALWAYS look the same regardless of their opposition.

Coaching is about maximizing your strengths and exploiting opponents weakness...I don't see a lot of those in-game adjustments from this staff.

Todd's biggest flaw is his stubborness. Refuses to line match which destroys home ice advantage and makes either baffling in game adjustments or just simply doesn't. They have one play book,that's it.

It's baffling that I can come up with a workable pp structure and I have never played hockey. Yet these bozos can't figure it out.

 

[Aerrol]

Todd's biggest flaw is his stubborness. Refuses to line match which destroys home ice advantage and makes either baffling in game adjustments or just simply doesn't. They have one play book,that's it.

I don't always hate stubbornness, but only if it makes sense. E.g. Sticking with Klefbom Larsson a long time made sense due to the success they had last year. But as you two just very nicely laid out, the PP is terrible, makes no sense, and MUCH BETTER CONFIGURATIONS ARE VERY OBVIOUS. I'd love to hear Todd at least explain what in the f*** they're going for other than suck because I just don't see anything. I see what he's going for at evens and the PK. But not the PP.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Todd's biggest flaw is his stubborness. Refuses to line match which destroys home ice advantage and makes either baffling in game adjustments or just simply doesn't. They have one play book,that's it.

It's baffling that I can come up with a workable pp structure and I have never played hockey. Yet these bozos can't figure it out.

Is this it?

 

[CycloneSweep]

Is this it?

I feel like the team would be as successful if not slightly better if they just used that lol

 

[Aerrol]

Also would love to hear the rationale behind his favourite strategies of playing Letestu and our bottom defensive pairings with McDavid when we need to score.

 

[ujju2]

If this team wants to load up a single unit to score ...

Lucic parks his ass up front.
Pulju in the left slot.
Klefbom at the line.
McDavid QB from half boards
Nuge playing the right side shot/secondary net front guy
Goal of this unit is for one of the shooters to get a puck on net and then Nuge or Lucic to clean up in front.

Agreed. That's a much better setup than what we have.

 

[ujju2]

Honestly, I wouldn't mind having a guy like Maroon on the powerplay with the primary role of just going behing the opposition net (Gretzky's spot) to dish the puck. Seems to be the only kind of pass Maroon can make, for some odd reason. His passes from there have paid dividends this season.

 

[BB88]

He does stuff like this all the time and it's only hurting his own team. I wish someone in the media would ask why he doesn't match lines.

Oh yeah I remember seeing Letestu on the ice against Kane and thought that shouldn't be happening.

Lineup has potential for so much more.

 

[MoontoScott]

I honestly believe that the Oilers have the talent to be in the playoffs for the next 5 years and there is no need for serious player changes in the now looming summer break. There is a lot of skill on this team and certainly enough talent to put together some special teams that can get the job done.

As for coaching, TM reminds me of another HC we have in Edmonton. He is stubborn and makes baffling decisions in close games. There are times, even as the boss, when you have to take the advice of others around you. Taking your hottest winger and 2nd best skater off the 1st line is an example of saying "I know something that everybody else doesn't." That might hold if your name is Scotty Bowman but it doesn't hold up here.

 

[Del Preston]

Game #2: Losing 2-1, 9:29 into 1st
Game #3: Losing 1-0, 8:56 into 1st
Game #4: Losing 2-0, 9:31 into 1st
Game #5: Losing 2-0, 4:53 into 1st
Game #6: Losing 1-0, 7:33 into 1st
Game #7: Losing 1-0, 3:36 into 1st
Game #13: Losing 2-0, 9:10 into 1st
Game #15: Losing 1-0, 5:33 into 1st
Game #20: Losing 2-0, 8:57 into 1st
Game #21: Losing 2-0, 7:35 into 1st
Game #22: Losing 1-0, 7:25 into 1st
Game #25: Losing 1-0, 6:22 into 1st
Game #26: Losing 2-0, 5:55 into 1st
Game #30: Losing 1-0, 0:34 into 1st

14 out of 30 games they've been down by at least a goal less than ten minutes into the first period.

Game #34: Losing 1-0, 6:15 into 1st
Game #39: Losing 1-0, 2:34 into 1st

Now 16 out of 39 games.

Also given up a goal on the first shot six times this season, and have given up the first goal 23 times in 39 games.

 

[VainGretzky]

Time to fire this stubborn fool

 

[Tyrolean]

Time to fire this stubborn fool

Who do you replace him with?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Who do you replace him with?

Somebody worse no doubt. Not saying don't fire him but if you're expecting a better coach coming in you're likely to be disappointed

 

[tinfish]

Easily the worst oiler coach since dallas eakins

 

[Tyrolean]

Easily the worst oiler coach since dallas eakins

They had a guy that lasted only a month into the season. He was the worst coach but I forgot his name.

 

[MoontoScott]

Who do you replace him with?

Jason Maas

 

[CycloneSweep]

Honestly?
Fire him. Let MacTavish hold the fort until we find an actual replacement.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Honestly?
Fire him. Let MacTavish hold the fort until we find an actual replacement.

This sounds like dumping bleach into your pool to clean it.

 

[CycloneSweep]

This sounds like dumping bleach into your pool to clean it.

No point keeping a coach that has completely lost the room and coaching the team with the worst special teams and effort. Having the assgm on the bench might get a few of them going until we find a coach.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

No point keeping a coach that has completely lost the room and coaching the team with the worst special teams and effort. Having the assgm on the bench might get a few of them going until we find a coach.

I agree that a change is likely needed but if your solution is MacT you might as well hold onto Todd.

MacT shouldn't even be in this organization let alone on the bench. If you fire a coach you better have his replacement immediately available.

 

[Hockey Nightmare]

Problem is, you let him go now then who do you replace him with? His assistants are coming under heavy fire as well. There's no one waiting in the wings. You don't want to just hire a new coach all of a sudden. You want at least a summer to evaluate all your options.

 

[Shibumi]

They had a guy that lasted only a month into the season. He was the worst coach but I forgot his name.

I think his name was something like Bugsy Watson.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I agree that a change is likely needed but if your solution is MacT you might as well hold onto Todd.

MacT shouldn't even be in this organization let alone on the bench. If you fire a coach you better have his replacement immediately available.

MacT, as much as I dislike this guy got more out of shit players than Todd doesn't out of good once.

 

[oobga]

Always chasing the overhyped names. Can never just be happy with what you have or look for the right fit. Bought the Eakins hype created by TO media and threw a massive deal at him. Bought the McLellan hype after he got a coach an all-star team that won their division before he got there, riding the same 5 or 6 guys, mostly elite experienced vets, his entire time there getting nothing from any depth players. Conveniently ignoring how he burned every bridge he could in that dressing room in SJ, with 2 captaincies being stripped along the way.

Sucks.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Problem is, you let him go now then who do you replace him with? His assistants are coming under heavy fire as well. There's no one waiting in the wings. You don't want to just hire a new coach all of a sudden. You want at least a summer to evaluate all your options.

Darryl Sutter?

Dunno, just throwing that out there. But I think and have thought for a long time that Todd is an idiot, and have been saying so far a long, long time. Incredibly stubborn moron, loyal to a fault (and then some). His stubborness got San Jose no where far (with a superior team, to boot) and it'll likely be the same fate for us. Best to look elsewhere.