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Todd McLellan

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Canadian ice hockey player and coach Ice hockey player
Todd McLellan
McLellan with the Sharks in 2013
Born (1967-10-03) October 3, 1967 (age 57)
Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for New York Islanders
Coached for San Jose Sharks
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
NHL draft 104th overall, 1986
New York Islanders
Playing career 1987–1989
1990–1992
Coaching career 1993–present

Todd Andrew McLellan (born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as head coach of the San Jose Sharks (2008–2015) and Edmonton Oilers (2015–2018), and as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings (2005–2008), with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008. He was drafted in 1986 by the New York Islanders and played five games with the major league club in the 1987–88 season before retiring in the minors the following season due to recurring injury.

Playing career

After living in Goodeve, Saskatchewan, and Melville, Saskatchewan, during his childhood, McLellan started his playing career with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1983 to 1987. In the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, he was drafted by the New York Islanders in the fifth round. He played a total of five games at the NHL level, spending most of two seasons with the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Indians. However, recurring shoulder injuries dating back to his junior hockey days ended McLellan's North American playing career after the 1988–89 season. He scored his only NHL goal on his league debut on December 28, 1987, in a 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

He returned home to study at the University of Saskatchewan for a year, before resuming his playing career for S.IJ. Utrecht of the Eredivisie in the Netherlands. During his three seasons there, the team hired a new coach, who moved in with McLellan and made him a player-coach, which McLellan recognizes as why he became interested in coaching.

Coaching career

Following his stint as a player-coach with SIJ Utrecht, McLellan returned to Canada in 1992. He went into full-time coaching in 1993, being hired as the coach of the North Battleford North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior League. In 1994, McLellan was hired as the head coach and general manager of the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, where he succeeded Graham James. In his six seasons with Swift Current, the Broncos qualified for the WHL playoffs in all seasons. McLellan himself was named WHL Executive of the Year in 1997 and Coach of the Year in 2000.

Following his successes at the junior level, McLellan was hired by the expansion Minnesota Wild to coach their minor league affiliate, the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL). After the IHL folded in 2001, McLellan and his staff were transferred to the Wild's new minor league affiliate, the Houston Aeros of the AHL. As coach of the Aeros, McLellan led Houston to the Calder Cup in 2003.

In 2005, Mike Babcock selected McLellan to serve as his assistant with the Detroit Red Wings. In Detroit, McLellan was tasked with handling the Red Wings' forwards and managing the team's power play, as well as reporting player performance to head coach Babcock. Under his watch, the Red Wings had the top-ranked power play in the NHL, finishing first in power play efficiency in 2005–06 and third in 2007–08. As a member of the coaching staff, McLellan won his first Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2007–08.

On June 11, 2008, the San Jose Sharks hired McLellan to become their new head coach, replacing Ron Wilson. He would end up the head coach for the Western Conference All-Star team, and lead the Sharks to their first Presidents' Trophy with an NHL-leading 117 points to finish the regular season, and finished third in voting for that season's Jack Adams Award, behind winner Claude Julien and Andy Murray. On March 14, 2013, with a 4–3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, McLellan became the winningest coach in Sharks history with 207 victories. On February 5, 2014, against the Dallas Stars, McLellan tied Darryl Sutter for the most games coached in Sharks history with 434.

After the team missed the playoffs in the 2014–15 season, McLellan and the Sharks agreed to mutually part ways on April 20, ending his tenure as the Sharks' winningest coach.

He coached the Canadian national team at the 2015 World Championship, where the team won the title for the first time since 2007 with a perfect 10–0 record.

On May 19, 2015, he was named head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, becoming the 14th head coach in team history. He succeeded Todd Nelson, who took over on an interim basis after Dallas Eakins was fired. At the time of his signing, McLellan became the highest-paid coach in NHL history, earning around $3 million per season. However, he would hold the distinction for exactly one day, as McLellan's former colleague Mike Babcock signed an eight-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth around $6.25 million per season on May 20.

McLellan's first season in Edmonton was a rebuilding one. The Oilers finished with 70 points, the second-worst record in the league. However, the following season—the first in the team's new arena, Rogers Place—saw a dramatic turnaround. The Oilers tallied over 100 points for the first time since the 1980s dynasty years. On March 28, 2017, the Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2–1 to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. They also earned home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the first time since winning their last Cup in 1990. They upended McLellan's old team, the Sharks, in six games to win a playoff series for only the sixth time since 1990.

On November 20, 2018, McLellan was fired by the Oilers and replaced by Ken Hitchcock after posting a record of 9–10–1.

On April 16, 2019, the Los Angeles Kings named McLellan head coach. On February 2, 2024, he was fired, despite signing a one-year contract extension nearly four months prior that would have kept him behind the bench through the 2024–25 season. Before his firing, Los Angeles stumbled after a strong 20–7–4 start to the season, losing 14 of McLellan's final 17 games with a 3–8–6 record.

Playing career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Saskatoon Blazers SMHL 25 6 9 15 6 — — — — —
1983–84 Saskatoon Blades WHL 50 8 14 22 15 — — — — —
1984–85 Saskatoon Blades WHL 41 15 35 50 33 3 1 0 1 0
1985–86 Saskatoon Blades WHL 27 9 10 19 13 13 9 3 12 8
1986–87 Saskatoon Blades WHL 60 34 39 73 66 6 1 1 2 2
1987–88 New York Islanders NHL 5 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1987–88 Springfield Indians AHL 70 18 26 44 32 — — — — —
1988–89 Springfield Indians AHL 37 7 19 26 17 — — — — —
NHL totals 5 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
AHL totals 107 25 45 70 49 — — — — —

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result
SJS 2008–09 82 53 18 11 117 1st in Pacific 2 4 .333 Lost in Conference quarterfinals (ANA)
SJS 2009–10 82 51 20 11 113 1st in Pacific 8 7 .533 Lost in Conference finals (CHI)
SJS 2010–11 82 48 25 9 105 1st in Pacific 9 9 .500 Lost in Conference finals (VAN)
SJS 2011–12 82 43 29 10 96 2nd in Pacific 1 4 .200 Lost in Conference quarterfinals (STL)
SJS 2012–13 48 25 16 7 57 3rd in Pacific 7 4 .636 Lost in Conference semifinals (LAK)
SJS 2013–14 82 51 22 9 111 2nd in Pacific 3 4 .429 Lost in first round (LAK)
SJS 2014–15 82 40 33 9 89 5th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
SJS total 540 311 163 66     30 32 .484 6 playoff appearances
EDM 2015–16 82 31 43 8 70 7th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
EDM 2016–17 82 47 26 9 103 2nd in Pacific 7 6 .538 Lost in second round (ANA)
EDM 2017–18 82 36 40 6 78 6th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
EDM 2018–19 20 9 10 1 19 (fired) — — — —
EDM total 266 123 119 24     7 6 .538 1 playoff appearance
LAK 2019–20 70* 29 35 6 64 7th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
LAK 2020–21 56 21 28 7 49 6th in West — — — Missed playoffs
LAK 2021–22 82 44 27 11 99 3rd in Pacific 3 4 .429 Lost in first round (EDM)
LAK 2022–23 82 47 25 10 104 3rd in Pacific 2 4 .333 Lost in first round (EDM)
LAK 2023–24 48 23 15 10 56 (fired) — — — —
LAK total 338 164 130 44     5 8 .385 2 playoff appearances
Total 1,144 598 412 134     42 46 .477 9 playoff appearances
  • Shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 season.

Personal life

In 1992, McLellan married his wife Debbie. They have two sons, Tyson and Cale.

References

  1. ^ Engle, Jodi (December 2008). "Fire On The Ice". San Jose Magazine. Vol. 11, no. 12. pp. 74–78.
  2. "Sharks Name Todd McLellan Head Coach". San Jose Sharks. 2008-06-11. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  3. Pashelka, Curtis (2013-03-14). "San Jose Sharks beat Los Angeles Kings 4–3". East Bay Times. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  4. Dubow, Josh (2014-02-06). "Sharks beat Stars 2–1 in overtime". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  5. Pashelka, Curtis (April 20, 2015). "Todd McLellan parts ways with Sharks". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  6. "Canada's National Men's Team wins gold medal at 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship". Hockey Canada. May 17, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  7. "Five years, $15M for McLellan in Edmonton". NBC Sports. 21 May 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  8. Mike Babcock named Maple Leafs head coach
  9. St. James, Helene (May 20, 2015). "Babcock leaves Red Wings for megacontract with Leafs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  10. "RELEASE: Oilers name Ken Hitchcock head coach". NHL.com. November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  11. "Oilers hire Ken Hitchcock as coach after firing Todd McLellan". Sportsnet. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  12. "Todd McLellan Named Head Coach of LA Kings". NHL.com. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  13. "McLellan Relieved of Coaching Duties, Hiller Named Interim Head Coach". NHL.com. February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  14. "Kings fire coach Todd McLellan after bad January". ESPN. February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  15. "McLellan fired as Kings coach, replaced by Hiller". NHL.com. February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded byRon Wilson Head coach of the San Jose Sharks
2008–2015 		Succeeded byPeter DeBoer
Preceded byTodd Nelson Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers
2015–2018 		Succeeded byKen Hitchcock
Preceded byWillie Desjardins
(interim) 		Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings
2019–2024 		Succeeded byJim Hiller
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