The Edmonton Oilers have a plethora of problems to address, but they have kicked off the perfect summer by hiring Todd McLellan as their new Head Coach.
Todd McLellan is one of the most successful coaches in the NHL and topped off 2015 with a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship for Canada. Within a matter of days, the Edmonton Oilers made the official announcement that they hired the ex-San Jose Sharks Head Coach.
McLellan has been incredibly consistent during the regular season (311-163-66 regular season record) but was unable to experience playoff success with the Sharks. While the postseason is a bit more of a reality for the Oilers, they are oceans away from competing with the top teams in the Western Conference.
In terms of reasons, McLellan has too many to count. He is a Saskatchewan native and is clearly anticipating his return to Western Canada. He coached the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League prior to his professional coaching career and played his junior hockey in the WHL for the Saskatoon Blades. If that is not enough, McLellan is also married to a fellow Western Canadian.
Personal connections aside, McLellan spent significant time with his new franchise’s cornerstones in Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle during the IIHF tournament. They flourished under his guidance, mind you with the help of Sidney Crosby, and came out with a lot more confidence as they helped Canada win the gold medal. With that said, this will prove to be the perfect stepping stone heading into the next NHL season.
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McLellan also took the time to talk to Crosby about being an 18-year-old NHL player, obviously picking the prodigy’s brain for any secrets to a successful NHL career as a teenager. Connor McDavid is almost certainly heading to Edmonton, and having some inside knowledge on how to breed a teenage phenom could always help.
Maybe living in Wayne Gretzky‘s basement would do the trick? Obviously Mario Lemieux’s did.
McLellan has already shown success with player development in Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. Both players have become very reliable at both ends of the ice and are on the verge of superstar status. With the aging Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton losing a step every year, Pavelski and Couture should be ready to take the reins when their time comes. Hopefully McDavid, Hall, Eberle and the rest of the Oilers’ players can benefit from the same experience.
While a coaching change will not turn the team around completely, the amount of talent on the Oilers should make McLellan’s job a lot easier. He has experience with young players and has a proven track record during the regular season. However, the Oilers have significant work to do in their own zone and will likely improve their blue line during the offseason. McLellan is a power-play specialist and has developed some of the best offensive players in San Jose, most interestingly Brent Burns.
With a long list of unsuccessful coaches over the last six years, Todd McLellan will hope to break the curse as he takes over one of the toughest coaching jobs in the NHL.