News Article: Mclellan-set-to-become-kings-head-coach

[BlackDogg]

The media is so desperate to be first that they constantly put stories out that aren't finished.

 

[Shathar]

He will be a good coach there, plus the incentive of living back in Cali. This organization is just putrid, cursed, and unintelligible. I feel like no other teams should evaluate players/coaches based on their performance in Edmonton, it's a black hole where talent of all forms comes to die.

It seems like the rest of the NHL agrees with you.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I hope he winds up in Buffalo and was surprised to read he was going to LA. LA is a long way from being a playoff team, and I think he would do wonders for Eichels game and confidence.

 

[FlameChampion]

I hope he winds up in Buffalo and was surprised to read he was going to LA. LA is a long way from being a playoff team, and I think he would do wonders for Eichels game and confidence.

I honestly dont think hes a good fit for Buffalo. I do think he would do better than Housely though.

 

[North]

Todd was a good coach. Everyone forgets when he first came, he had to teach the Oilers how to play hockey. They were terrible in their D zone, relied on scoring off the rush, had terrible practice habits, and low morale. He turned them into a team who were 1 game away from the conference finals. Even this year there was zero improvement when they switched coaches, possibly even a regression.

Let’s be real. Every issue we identified as an issue with Todd’s coaching, Sharks fans warned us about (no line matching, no in game adjustments, time outs, etc).

He’s not that good.

When Hitch came the team was playing better even without Strome. The wheels fell off when Klefbom and Russell were injured. Add in to the fact that Chia further depleted the forward corps by trading Caggiula so Hitch had even fewer forwards to work with.

This thought that Todd is good makes me scoff.

 

[alphahelix]

Can the oilers hustle the situation and only give the kings permission to talk to him in exchange for a draft pick? Id rather keep him in player development than let a rival have him free, ffs we paid a high pick. F customary practices.

 

[TheRebuild]

Not a very good coach, but looks better than he is because the Oilers continued to suck so hard even with a mid-season coaching replacement.

 

[flashy]

brutal coach thats been exposed in two orgs.
good luck LA.

 

[Drivesaitl]

McLellan will do alright in LA I think. I think the biggest problem facing them is how the roster simply isn't as good as their management probably thinks it is.

But mostly I just want to know if this news triggers @Drivesaitl or not.

Nah, I'm all done with the Kings anyway.
As they have nothing left I say

Humpty Dumpty took a big fall,
Broken eggs easy over and all.

Tonight we have the playoffs
Which is better than layoffs

Now my Oilers dearly departed.
I made a wish but only .......


I walk among you...

 

[Bangers]

I look forward to our future 100% penalty killing record against the Kings.

 

[BlackDogg]

Sorry about your luck Kings rookies.

All the kings rookies
and all the kings men
Couldn't get Tmac winning again.

 

[rboomercat90]

He was AWFUL for us. The fact that our Gm and rest of org was terrible does not change that he was craptacular as a coach imo. I hope he does okay but I hope the Kings stink for 5 years.

Poor roster or not, I think he was really exposed as a guy who needs an elite lineup that’s playing well to succeed. We saw nothing innovative from him in 3+ seasons. His refusal to change things that weren’t working suggest a guy that doesn’t have a lot of ideas. I don’t think he’ll have much success with that old team filled with players who are nearing or at their best before dates. Those Sharks teams he had were so much better than what the Kings are today. I’m shocked he’s getting five years, he must have one hell of an agent. Anything more than three is too much for that mix.

 

[FlameChampion]

Poor roster or not, I think he was really exposed as a guy who needs an elite lineup that’s playing well to succeed. We saw nothing innovative from him in 3+ seasons. His refusal to change things that weren’t working suggest a guy that doesn’t have a lot of ideas. I don’t think he’ll have much success with that old team filled with players who are nearing or at their best before dates. Those Sharks teams he had were so much better than what the Kings are today. I’m shocked he’s getting five years, he must have one hell of an agent. Anything more than three is too much for that mix.

I think it’s because hes a good talker. You hear him talk post game and he comes across as professional, well spoken etc for the most part. He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. But then you see him in game, and he simply can’t adapt or adjust. Like you said, nothing innovative and just stubborn. He’s completely ineffective in the playoffs because he gets completely outcoached in a 7 game series. He only goes as far as his roster talent takes him.

 

[Cypress]

He'd probably be a bit better in LA since he'd have guys like doughty and Kopitar to help coach the team for him in game, freeing him up for a chance to break his own record in packs of gum chewed in a game.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Sorry about your luck Kings rookies.

All the kings rookies
and all the kings men
Couldn't get Tmac winning again.

you borrowed on my poetic reference. heh. Good stanza, fits right in.

The Kings still have some good young players too. Kempe, Iafallo, and younger uns entering the lineup. Could be bad news for all of them. Good news for other dead players on the Kings roster in thinking they might still get 1-2 more years.

 

[Porkleaker]

Good news, will be even easier beating them now.

 

[BlackDogg]

you borrowed on my poetic reference. heh. Good stanza, fits right in.

The Kings still have some good young players too. Kempe, Iafallo, and younger uns entering the lineup. Could be bad news for all of them. Good news for other dead players on the Kings roster in thinking they might still get 1-2 more years.

I could not get that out of my head after reading that.

Something about Pouty Doughty falling....

 

[Patch101]

If I was looking for work ... I would pick Buffalo every time over LA.
He won't last 2 years in LA.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

If I was looking for work ... I would pick Buffalo every time over LA.
He won't last 2 years in LA.

Buffalo's roster and youth is more enticing, but we had an enticing youth movement when McLellan came onboard and shitty management eroded the talent pool away. I think his belief level in management of the two franchises should play a role in the decision he makes not just the roster itself.

 

[Messrules11]

He can blow bigger bubbles in LA

 

[thadd]

Well, someone's tanking.

 

[MoontoScott]

I wish him well and I wouldn't be surprised if he does better in L.A. than he did here.

Bad organizations make everybody look sub-standard which in turn leads to a level of performance well below their potential.

Good on him for getting out of this mess.

 

[nuck]

Why on earth would anyone offer him a 5 year gig? He proved in SJ that he could win with a powerhouse lineup, just like Ron Wilson before him. He proved in Edmonton he couldn't problem-solve with a weaker lineup. Do the Kings most resemble last season's Oil or the Sharks from 5 years ago? Again, not necessarily a bad hire but what has he possibly done to earn 5 years? I actually think Hitch would have done better than 36 wins last season. Good luck Todd and congrats at getting more than the 2 year deal you probably deserved. A positive move for the Oilers over the next 5 years I think. Better than Joel Q in LA at least.

 

[The Nuge]

I hope he winds up in Buffalo and was surprised to read he was going to LA. LA is a long way from being a playoff team, and I think he would do wonders for Eichels game and confidence.

Disagree. We had lots of players talking about how they never had any 1 on 1 time with him. He’s a decent coach, but he’s not good at mentoring young players. He’d do fine in LA where they’ve got some veterans to lead the team. Buffalo is just a worse version of us. They’d probably be heading for last place next year with Todd.

 

[These Are The Days]

Disagree. We had lots of players talking about how they never had any 1 on 1 time with him. He’s a decent coach, but he’s not good at mentoring young players. He’d do fine in LA where they’ve got some veterans to lead the team. Buffalo is just a worse version of us. They’d probably be heading for last place next year with Todd.

This is on point.

If I can expound on it for a moment, Todd got an absolutely raw real while coaching the Oilers. By the TDL of 2017-2018 he had lost all of Hall, Eberle, Yakupov (not that he was all that great) and Maroon and it was replaced by a group of a struggling Spooner, an inconsistent Strome, a poorly developing JP and the precipitous decline of Lucic. He had his faults such as not line matching but can we please admit amongst ourselves as hockey fans that there was nothing left for him to match with. His inability to adapt the lineup and find solutions in order to get the best he could out of it was as much of the cause of his downfall as it was that there was so little he could get out of the lineup anyway. Line matching? With which of the 3 3rd lines was he supposed to be effective when McDavid-Draisaitl were on not the ice?

Chiarelli f***ed this team into oblivion and it shouldn't come to the surprise of anyone that even Hitch couldn't win much. But to your point he's not a good coach for young players.

The greatest fault I find with Todd is that he allowed horrible habits to develop within the game culture of the Oilers. It was everyone all but standing and waiting for whatever thing McDavid was he was gonna do out there. Because unless it was him warp speeding up the ice there was no break out. Unless he carried it in there was no zone entry. Unless he passed there was no passing play etc. Oh that and running Talbot into the ground so much he dug halfway to China