[News] Oilers to name Todd McLellan head coach

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by transplant99

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.

Canada had an amazing roster. He did well but I wouldn't call it a stunning coaching effort having a team with Tyler Ennis as the 13th forward winning a tournament that stunning.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by 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.

I don't think they would have. Winning the draft lottery is exactly what made hiring Chiarelli and McLellan possible. Especially McLellan... there is no way he would have walked into that hot mess without looking forward to coaching a team with McDavid on it.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I don't think they would have. Winning the draft lottery is exactly what made hiring Chiarelli and McLellan possible. Especially McLellan... there is no way he would have walked into that hot mess without looking forward to coaching a team with McDavid on it.

I still think Nicholson was going to make changes regardless. I think winning the lottery only served to make them an easier sell but even if they don't win the lottery they would be getting a pretty good player at #3. Was Chiarelli going to find work this season if he doesn't accept the Oilers job? Not guaranteed so I can see why he took it. I don't think McLellan takes a job with the Oilers with MacT as the GM so I believe Nicholson knew he had to get rid of the dumpster fire in Lowe and MacT regardless of how anything else played out.

[Northendzone]

TM seemed to be a consensus picas the top guy availible - but then again so was Eakins.

Of course TM has more NHL expereince - one would have to think that the Oilers improve eventually

[burn_this_city]

Thankfully he doesn't have a good track record of having perennial losers shake the stink of losing.

[Robbob]

I think without a doubt they are a better team right now then they were 8 months ago. The trick will be how long does it take TM to overcome the stank from the the last decade. It will take a monumental effort to correct the culture, work ethic, and bad habits that the team has. I would expect them to bring in some credible veteran presence to help, as throwing McDavid into that toxic environment is a recipe for disaster.

Only time will tell if this new group can get this team to turn just the one corner to move forward rather then the four corners the previous group continually turned to end up in the same spot over and over and over.

[Ozy_Flame]

Oilers will likely be better next season. Too many good things coming their way, even if we Flames fans don't want to admit it.

[troutman]

Can he teach Hall to pass, back-check and not turnover the puck?

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by troutman

Can he teach Hall to pass, back-check and not turnover the puck?

I think yes

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I think yes

It's a question of whether Hall's hockey IQ is good enough that his play in those aspects can be improved.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by troutman

Can he teach Hall to pass, back-check and not turnover the puck?

Not sure where you got the idea that he can't pass, but he had 53 assists in 2013-14 and he's had more assists than goals in every season but one.

And good players always turn the puck over a lot. Look at the players with the most turnovers in the NHL. All elite players.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's a question of whether Hall's hockey IQ is good enough that his play in those aspects can be improved.

Is always been a question of will with him and there's never been any motivator strong enough. That's what coaches should be teaching every young player. Most aren't like Monahan and they believe they're the offensive dynamo like they've been their whole careers and don't need to change

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by codynw

Not sure where you got the idea that he can't pass, but he had 53 assists in 2013-14 and he's had more assists than goals in every season but one.

And good players always turn the puck over a lot. Look at the players with the most turnovers in the NHL. All elite players.

I don't think Hall's issue is amount of turnovers -it's the timing of them, and where they occur (usually at one of the blue lines).

[Enoch Root]

I am long past the point of giving the Oilers the benefit of the doubt with respect to a new coach, or GM, or trade or whatever.

They have been such an epic and consistent failure for so long, and through so many changes, that all I can say is:

"call me when you have actually ACHIEVED respectability, then we'll talk"

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I don't think Hall's issue is amount of turnovers -it's the timing of them, and where they occur (usually at one of the blue lines).

They're just magnified because their whole team is prone to those kind of rookie mistakes, especially but not necessarily late in close games. The fact that he's a top line forward means he should always have two competent Dmen behind him if he does turn it over, but it looks way worse than it really is when he's got Schultz and Scrivens behind him.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

They're just magnified because their whole team is prone to those kind of rookie mistakes, especially but not necessarily late in close games. The fact that he's a top line forward means he should always have two competent Dmen behind him if he does turn it over, but it looks way worse than it really is when he's got Schultz and Scrivens behind him.

He is a 5 year veteran

[CaptainCrunch]

If Renney and Krueger can't get a solid backchecking effort out of guys like Hall and Eberle, then its unlikely that TM will get it either.

I don't care what anyone says, this Oilers core is a coach killing core and that won't change unless there are consequences.

Where is Chia going to put his stamp on this team, if its forbidden for him to move Hall, Eberle, NNH and Yak for example?

And as someone mentioned before, no GM is going to do the Oilers a favor.

As it stands, the Oilers are going to have to find a way to shed payroll, and not add to payroll.

[northcrunk]

Mclellan had a stacked team in San Jose and couldn't get anything done there. What makes people so sure he is doing to do jack squat in Edmonton? Haven't we learned our lesson in counting the Oiler eggs before they hatch. For F sakes they haven't even DRAFTED Mc######bag yet.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by codynw

Not sure where you got the idea that he can't pass, but he had 53 assists in 2013-14 and he's had more assists than goals in every season but one.

And good players always turn the puck over a lot. Look at the players with the most turnovers in the NHL. All elite players.

You can collect a lot of assists through rebounds and being on the PP.

When I watch him his head is down and he shoots first.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Mclellan had a stacked team in San Jose and couldn't get anything done there. What makes people so sure he is doing to do jack squat in Edmonton? Haven't we learned our lesson in counting the Oiler eggs before they hatch. For F sakes they haven't even DRAFTED Mc######bag yet.

Nobody is suggesting they're winning, multiple cups here. Most of us are simply saying they've corrected some major reasons why they were historically bad. An average team can make the playoffs, but it doesn't mean they're going to win a cup