[News] Oilers to name Todd McLellan head coach

[GGG]

Did the oilers interview anyone for any of their positions? They appeared to take the media list of top coaches and gms and hire the ones they could get.

it shows organizationally that nothing has changed they always go after the new shiny thing.

[puffnstuff]

I thought TM would have been a great fit in Philly. But the alluring alliteration of Hextall and Hakstol, resistance was futile.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Wolfman

A new coach won't keep the puck out of the net. Still lots of work to do!

He will help....a lot.

Those young guys may not buy in right away, but they will buy in eventually.

TM is a tremendous coach....and although he hasn't got the big prize yet...he has been close for years, and the minute he got away from Thornton and Marleau he guided a group of guys who had never played together to a 10-0 record against some pretty good competition.

Once the Oilers find an on-ice leader who McClellan trusts and can run with (if there isn't anyone now), they will improve immediately....just a question of how much.

Nicholson/Chiarelli/McClellan....100% better than they finished the season with.

[Cortez]

Everyone says McLellan is a good coach, and he very well may be- I'm not smart enough to make those judgments, but with the talent he had in SJ I often wonder if he's actually a great coach or does he just appear like one? I guess I will find out with him going to Edmonton

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by GGG

Did the oilers interview anyone for any of their positions? They appeared to take the media list of top coaches and gms and hire the ones they could get.

it shows organizationally that nothing has changed they always go after the new shiny thing.

They hire management the same way they draft players, by reading THN and fueling their decisions via outside hype. Honestly surprised people think they're going to change. They're the same horse#### outfit that they were before, only difference now is they're actually trying to polish the turd.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

They hire management the same way they draft players, by reading THN and fueling their decisions via outside hype. Honestly surprised people think they're going to change. They're the same horse#### outfit that they were before, only difference now is they're actually trying to polish the turd.

You seriously don't think Chiarelli is an upgrade over Mactavish? Or Mclellan another upgrade over Eakins / Nelson? Adding a player like McDavid to the roster won't make them better?

I hate the Oilers as much as your average Flames fan, but let's be real here. Nothing is guaranteed but they certainly are in a much better position than past seasons.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

You seriously don't think Chiarelli is an upgrade over Mactavish? Or Mclellan another upgrade over Eakins / Nelson? Adding a player like McDavid to the roster won't make them better?

I hate the Oilers as much as your average Flames fan, but let's be real here. Nothing is guaranteed but they certainly are in a much better position than past seasons.

It's an upgrade

But it shows their organizational philosophy at the top has not changed. This is good news.

[Vinny01]

Not a surprising move but appears to be another good one for the Oilers. I do think that team will have a different feel next year. Likely a playoff team by the time they move into their new building in 2016/17

[browna]

Also, don't they have to fire Nelson first? He's the reason that team didn't finish at the bottom of the toilet again, no matter he didn't get any credit from Lowe/ MacT for it.

But if it wasn't good enough for Krueger to get let go person to person in the race to hire Eakins, Nelson is just another speed bump who will likely offered another position...take the severance Todd.

[FireGilbert]

Deep down inside I always knew one day the Oilers would finally clean house and hire competent management and coaching. Thankfully the team is still a disaster with no defence and goaltending, over paid forwards, and few prospects aside from being able to draft McSavior. Even with the best managers and coaches in the league they are still a few years away from being a competitive team.

It is also nice to think that in 3 years or so when Edmonton is finally an okay team the Flames will hopefully be a dominant cup contender.

[browna]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

You seriously don't think Chiarelli is an upgrade over Mactavish? Or Mclellan another upgrade over Eakins / Nelson? Adding a player like McDavid to the roster won't make them better?

I hate the Oilers as much as your average Flames fan, but let's be real here. Nothing is guaranteed but they certainly are in a much better position than past seasons.

May be. But Tambellini along with the (out of the blue) hiring of Quinn and Renney was supposed to be that respected hockey base and hockey minds to push the Oilers ahead. And then Eakjns was the Toronto media's golden child and revolutionary next breed of coach so Lowe raced to hire him (and Mudcrutch) over the perfectly good (but boring) Krueger. Now they have a coach that did something with this team in his thirty or forty games, but quickly cast aside for the first guy that becomes available with a higher profile name.

Nicholson or not (and let's not give him to much credit, running HC is still a whole different ball of wax than the day to day running of an NHL team), I think Lowe would've jumped all over hiring McClellan simply to have that name cache with now having McDavid.

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by browna

Also, don't they have to fire Nelson first? He's the reason that team didn't finish at the bottom of the toilet again, no matter he didn't get any credit from Lowe/ MacT for it.

But if it wasn't good enough for Krueger to get let go person to person in the race to hire Eakins, Nelson is just another speed bump who will likely offered another position...take the severance Todd.

They are still trying to figure Nelson's Skype address that's why they haven't fire him. Anyways, I think Nelson only have an interim coach tag so they can probably just tell him he is going back to AHL.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

You seriously don't think Chiarelli is an upgrade over Mactavish? Or Mclellan another upgrade over Eakins / Nelson? Adding a player like McDavid to the roster won't make them better?

I hate the Oilers as much as your average Flames fan, but let's be real here. Nothing is guaranteed but they certainly are in a much better position than past seasons.

I would take them a lot more seriously if they:

a) Actually conducted a comprehensive search for their new GM/coach instead of hiring the two most recognizable names (name recognition does not necessarily mean best). Their desperation couldn't be more transparent.

b) Actually fired Lowe and MacTavish. Seriously, what a joke... what team hires like this? A Mickey Mouse team, that's who.

c) Initiated change because it was needed, not because they won a lottery and had to have an 18 year old kid tell them to. I actually do believe this to be at least somewhat true, the timing is just way too coincidental otherwise. I firmly believe had they not won the lottery, Chiarelli and McLellan would still be unemployed (unless another team hired them) and their previous structure would still be in place. It's downright pathetic that it took being lucky to get them to change something, even though clearly the structure of their management is still a mess. You can't tell me Lowe/MacTavish don't have some influence, even if their titles have changed. Why keep them around otherwise? They aren't being kept around to go on coffee runs for Chiarelli. They are ALL part of the most bloated and most overrated hockey ops department in hockey history until proven otherwise.

d) Nicholson is overrated and has proven nothing at the NHL level. There is literally no reason to expect he is anything more than an empty suit at this level. The fact that he holds such a high position of an NHL team is, quite frankly embarrassing given his accomplishments to date.

e) They have the worst owner in the NHL. Enough said.

f) They may be in a better position, I'll give you that. It's kind of like how being a paraplegic is being in a better position than just being dead. They still have no defense and no goalie, and limited trade assets (assets they are actually willing to trade) to shore those areas up to respectable levels, never mind playoff contender levels, within a reasonable time frame (better hope the true new boss McDavid doesn't get impatient). It might take several years to procure 4 NHL defensemen and a goalie. Rival GMs aren't going to be doing them favors and any forays into UFA will be tempered by the fact that McDavid will get a 1000% raise in 3 years, compounded by the fact they are SOMEHOW a cap team each year. No one spends more to get less, it's the Edmonton way.

I'm not even mad about it anymore about the lotto win, I'm actually looking forward to watching them build a bad team around McDavid. It'll be fun watching them waste his potential for years. It will be a totally new level of Oiler suckitude, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

[MRCboicgy]

I hope my hair looks that good when I'm McLellan's age.

That's all I got on this hire.

[N-E-B]

All these moves will just make it that much funnier when they're in the toilet again next year.

[FlamesAddiction]

We shall see. The Oilers are coach killers, but I suspect there will be some pretty major roster overhaul over the summer.

[smiggy77]

Let's wait and see. Unfortunately poor drafting and development of their 2 to 7th rounders is what will really hurt them long term. They still have a lonG way to go.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Really makes you wonder if these moves would have still been made if they didn't win the lottery.

Nevertheless, it's a great hire for the Oilers.

[Buck Murdock]

Good hire, but brutal staff management. Todd Nelson got promoted right out the door.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Unfortunately, Edmonton keeps making good moves now. McDavid alone won't help. But McDavid + Chiarelli + McLellan will be a huge improvement for the years to come.

The biggest embarrassment in all of professional sports though. If they ever win a cup with any of that core (and if there are hockey gods, they better not!), there should be an asterisk next to their name.

Definitely expect improvement from them this season, how much depending on what moves Chiarelli is able to make, and how much autonomy McLellan has in who he benches and 'fixes' from that rotten core. I guess the disgrace of the league will start improving, unfortunately.