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

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

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.

As far as I know there was only 1 player who said he didn’t get much one on one time and that was Iiro Pakarainen which was sour grapes on his part and also a false assertion according to TMac.

I don’t share the Todd is a bad coach sentiment. He’s not perfect. Al Arbor, Scott Bowman and Glen Sather would all fail with this roster.

 

[North]

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 ****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

The problem though is that Todd did many of the same things with San Jose. It's partially why he couldn't take a stacked team with prime Thornton, Marleau, Vlasic, etc very far.

He will look better with a veteran team but he won't move the dial in any meaningful way for them.

 

[The Nuge]

As far as I know there was only 1 player who said he didn’t get much one on one time and that was Iiro Pakarainen which was sour grapes on his part and also a false assertion according to TMac.

I don’t share the Todd is a bad coach sentiment. He’s not perfect. Al Arbor, Scott Bowman and Glen Sather would all fail with this roster.

Iirc, there’s been quite a few guys currently on the team that mentioned it since he was fired. I could be wrong (I’ll do some digging), but I seem to recall like Drai and Pulju mentioning it.

I agree. I still say Todd is one of the best coaches we’ve ever had here. Nobody is perfect, and he only had a proper roster one season here, and that team had over 100 points.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Iirc, there’s been quite a few guys currently on the team that mentioned it since he was fired. I could be wrong (I’ll do some digging), but I seem to recall like Drai and Pulju mentioning it.

I agree. I still say Todd is one of the best coaches we’ve ever had here. Nobody is perfect, and he only had a proper roster one season here, and that team had over 100 points.

I actually spoke with TMac about Iiro and his whining. It was amusing to hear the other side of the story. I know PJ was frustrated with not knowing where he would be but TMac was butting heads with Chia over where PJ should be, Bako or here.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

The problem though is that Todd did many of the same things with San Jose. It's partially why he couldn't take a stacked team with prime Thornton, Marleau, Vlasic, etc very far.

He will look better with a veteran team but he won't move the dial in any meaningful way for them.

An even more stacked LA Kings team that won 2 Stanley Cups also had a little bit to do with why San Jose didn't get out of the div/conference. A team does play competition and not even the BlackHawks beat the Kings those years the Kings won. Sharks were a good team, just not good enough to beat the Kings in Prime LA Time.

 

[frag2]

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 ****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

Chia f***ed the team but Tmac okayed some of the moves himself [ie. Hall trade]. He was cool with moving him, just not what Chia brought back haha

 

[Ritchie Valens]

An even more stacked LA Kings team that won 2 Stanley Cups also had a little bit to do with why San Jose didn't get out of the div/conference. A team does play competition and not even the BlackHawks beat the Kings those years the Kings won. Sharks were a good team, just not good enough to beat the Kings in Prime LA Time.

I do agree with you for the most part as Quick was a top 3 goalie in the league then and L.A. had a damn good roster. However, a Mclellan-lead San Jose team choked away a 3-0 series lead against them. If memory serves, Sutter made all kinds of adjustments and Mclellan didn't. Looking back at the scores, they weren't even close from games 4-7 as LA outscored San Jose 18-5 in the process. I was surprised they didn't fire him after that collapse and it sure seemed apparent he lost the room the next season as the Sharks missed the playoffs altogether.

Iirc, there’s been quite a few guys currently on the team that mentioned it since he was fired. I could be wrong (I’ll do some digging), but I seem to recall like Drai and Pulju mentioning it.

Just another trait of Mclellan it seems. Thornton threw this shade at him in San Jose when Mclellan was talking about stepping down/away from San Jose:



You can interpret that shot in a couple of ways...did Thornton mean he didn't talk much to the Sharks players at all and this was a dig referencing that or was it just about Mclellan not saying he would be possibly leaving and wouldn't return the next season to the team first.

 

[MCMIL OIL]

Todd isnt signing with LA. He is going to be Buffalo next head coach. Read into it what you well but expect it to be announced soon.

 

[Todd from Leduc]

I would take Todd back but only for min salary.

 

[North]

An even more stacked LA Kings team that won 2 Stanley Cups also had a little bit to do with why San Jose didn't get out of the div/conference. A team does play competition and not even the BlackHawks beat the Kings those years the Kings won. Sharks were a good team, just not good enough to beat the Kings in Prime LA Time.

LA has nothing to do with San Jose’s play in general during the McLellan years. They played other teams during the season.

 

[Messrules11]

I would take Todd back but only for min salary.

What does his salary have to do with anything?

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

LA has nothing to do with San Jose’s play in general during the McLellan years. They played other teams during the season.

If your judging TMac by the season they always had successful seasons save the last and that was when Wilson created chaos by stripping Big Joe of the C. They were always a playoff team that couldn’t get over the hump and some years that hump was a cliff called LA.

Again he’s not the worst coach in the world as he’s made out to be.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

Todd isnt signing with LA. He is going to be Buffalo next head coach. Read into it what you well but expect it to be announced soon.

Props if you're right.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I do agree with you for the most part as Quick was a top 3 goalie in the league then and L.A. had a damn good roster. However, a Mclellan-lead San Jose team choked away a 3-0 series lead against them. If memory serves, Sutter made all kinds of adjustments and Mclellan didn't. Looking back at the scores, they weren't even close from games 4-7 as LA outscored San Jose 18-5 in the process. I was surprised they didn't fire him after that collapse and it sure seemed apparent he lost the room the next season as the Sharks missed the playoffs altogether.



Just another trait of Mclellan it seems. Thornton threw this shade at him in San Jose when Mclellan was talking about stepping down/away from San Jose:



You can interpret that shot in a couple of ways...did Thornton mean he didn't talk much to the Sharks players at all and this was a dig referencing that or was it just about Mclellan not saying he would be possibly leaving and wouldn't return the next season to the team first.

Blowing a 3-0 series lead was bad no doubt but at the same time Quick became a brick wall in those games. That was the biggest adjustment and had little to do with Sutter.

The year he “lost the room” was the year Wilson threw a grenade into the room by asking Big Joe to waive his NMC and then stripping him of the C when he refused. That was on Wilson and the unrest he created.

The “family” comment by Thornton was not a shot but more of a plea. Players there loved playing for TMac and wanted him to stay. They felt they had something to prove especially to Wilson who came close to dismantling the team.

Certainly a coach has a shelf life but TMac is a good coach and it’s why he is being courted by 2 teams. I wish him well.

 

[Beerfish]

An even more stacked LA Kings team that won 2 Stanley Cups also had a little bit to do with why San Jose didn't get out of the div/conference. A team does play competition and not even the BlackHawks beat the Kings those years the Kings won. Sharks were a good team, just not good enough to beat the Kings in Prime LA Time.

The kings were the 8th seed in their 1st cup win and had the 6th most points in the west their second cup win. San jose had a 3-0 series lead and lost. TMac had more talent than LA and perhaps more than anyone in the league and they choked. TMac is not a good coach.

 

[North]

If your judging TMac by the season they always had successful seasons save the last and that was when Wilson created chaos by stripping Big Joe of the C. They were always a playoff team that couldn’t get over the hump and some years that hump was a cliff called LA.

Again he’s not the worst coach in the world as he’s made out to be.

The tendencies existed throughout his tenure. They became amplified when the games mattered in San Jose.

Here we could see the issues right away because we didn’t have a lineup that could cover off his coaching mistakes.

You’re wrong on this one.

 

[Aerrol]

If your judging TMac by the season they always had successful seasons save the last and that was when Wilson created chaos by stripping Big Joe of the C. They were always a playoff team that couldn’t get over the hump and some years that hump was a cliff called LA.

Again he’s not the worst coach in the world as he’s made out to be.

I agree with the bolded, and that he's probably the best coach we've had since Sather (maybe MacT in 2006?), but you're going way past this to defend him. He had some pretty notable flaws and definitely was part of the reason the powerhouse sharks never got over the hump IMO. Both Todd and Wilson really dropped the ball that year, not just Wilson.

 

[joestevens29]

Would love to see a third team come out of no where and hire him in the next couple hours.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I agree with the bolded, and that he's probably the best coach we've had since Sather (maybe MacT in 2006?), but you're going way past this to defend him. He had some pretty notable flaws and definitely was part of the reason the powerhouse sharks never got over the hump IMO. Both Todd and Wilson really dropped the ball that year, not just Wilson.

How am I going way past? Seems to me others are hammering him pretty hard?

He made the playoffs in every year except that final year and there were extenuating circumstances that created chaos in that room beyond his control.

In any case, he is not as bad as he is made out to be and I stand by that.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

The tendencies existed throughout his tenure. They became amplified when the games mattered in San Jose.

Here we could see the issues right away because we didn’t have a lineup that could cover off his coaching mistakes.

You’re wrong on this one.

No I'm not.
We just agree to disagree.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

The kings were the 8th seed in their 1st cup win and had the 6th most points in the west their second cup win. San jose had a 3-0 series lead and lost. TMac had more talent than LA and perhaps more than anyone in the league and they choked. TMac is not a good coach.

LA didn't fluke out 2 Stanley Cups sorry. If he were a bad coach he would not be getting offers of $25 million over 5 years guaranteed to coach an NHL hockey team.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Blowing a 3-0 series lead was bad no doubt but at the same time Quick became a brick wall in those games. That was the biggest adjustment and had little to do with Sutter.

The year he “lost the room” was the year Wilson threw a grenade into the room by asking Big Joe to waive his NMC and then stripping him of the C when he refused. That was on Wilson and the unrest he created.

The “family” comment by Thornton was not a shot but more of a plea. Players there loved playing for TMac and wanted him to stay. They felt they had something to prove especially to Wilson who came close to dismantling the team.

Certainly a coach has a shelf life but TMac is a good coach and it’s why he is being courted by 2 teams. I wish him well.

Yeah that whole thing was a gongshow stripping Thornton of the C. I'm surprised they still co-exist together. Anyways, I think Mclellan is just an "ok" coach, not terrible, not good, not great, just okay. I still believe he didn't make any adjustments or the right adjustments to counter LA's attack but that's neither here nor there and based on his time in Edmonton, that was one of the biggest problems as a coach.

We can agree all coaches have their warts and I certainly don't wish Mclellan any ill-will. I also don't put the blame all at Mclellan's feet for the past two Oilers seasons as most of that goes at Chiarelli's for the team he gave him to work with. I also believe he and Chiarelli didn't speak cordially with each other by the end of his tenure. On the flip side, I also agree with other posters who believe he didn't change his tactics to the Oilers roster. He had some pretty loaded San Jose teams and tried that same kind of system, style, whatever you want to call it with a slow Oilers squad. As you said, I also wish him well and think he'd be better suited for Buffalo.

 

[Stoneman89]

At least the vets he plays into the ground are the guys they already play into the ground. Seems like a good match.

You mean like Hitchcock did here?

 

[Stoneman89]

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.

Several players on the team took steps backward, in terms of performance when Hitchcock took over, despite having a full lineup.

 

[Stoneman89]

The kings were the 8th seed in their 1st cup win and had the 6th most points in the west their second cup win. San jose had a 3-0 series lead and lost. TMac had more talent than LA and perhaps more than anyone in the league and they choked. TMac is not a good coach.

Interesting, because Barry Trotz was considered a failure as a coach for many years while having stacked teams in Nashville and Washington, until his goalie finally figured out he needed to stop more pucks than the other guy when it really counted.