[News] Oilers to name Todd McLellan head coach

[heep223]

The Oilers have lost all credibility at this point. Selling hope in the future will no longer work for anyone with a brain.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

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.

Who called it stunning?

It was a tremendous job by him though. .....anytime you can cobble together 20 guys who have never played with each other and go undefeated for 3 weeks....is a stellar effort, regardless of your roster.

[dino7c]

SJ underachieved for a decade under this guy...not sure why he is the second coming of Scotty Bowman

[Erick Estrada]

I don't know how anyone can say McLellan isn't a good coach. He just came off a great job at the WHC as regardless of the talent level that team was flying. There is no doubt that the Oilers will improve as they have better management and coaching. It's just a matter of how fast and how much they improve. It could be fast or it could be slow like the Jets.

[Ashasx]

It's simple math.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by dino7c

SJ underachieved for a decade under this guy...not sure why he is the second coming of Scotty Bowman

I guess since he's already proven he can slowly turn a contender into an also-ran, maybe there's hope he can slowly turn a disgraceful abomination into an also-ran as well?

[Buff]

Originally Posted by dino7c

SJ underachieved for a decade under this guy...not sure why he is the second coming of Scotty Bowman

I don't know if they underachieved per say, but they failed to get the job done in the playoffs. Twice they made it to the 3rd round, twice eliminated in the 2nd, trice in the 1st and this year they missed the playoffs. I think much of their lack of success can be put on management as much as it can be put on players and coaches. I don't think Thornton, aka "No Show Joe" was ever going to be the guy to lead a team to a championship, and the way management handled things recently I don't think McLennan was going to do much.

He didn't bumble a good team into mediocrity, he did well. He will also do well in Edmonton assuming Chiarelli and McLennan can change the loser environment. That will be a tough roadblock to overcome and will take a bit of time to accomplish.

[Sylvanfan]

Lets be honest going from MacTavish and Eakins to even average or below average coaching and management is a quantum leap forward for the Oilers. I think McLellan and Chiarelli are both at least capable of doing an average job in their postions. So to me that would be a massive upgrade over what they have been doing.

I do personally think Chiarelli should make a move to trade one of their untouchable core players. I think he needs to do it to send a message to the rest of the group that things are different this time and that they better their ways in line with what the coach wants because the coach won't be the one run out of the organization. Core players who survive too many coaches become a bit of an issue when it comes to reforming their game.

I think McLellan was a victim of a lack of management support in San Jose in regards to this. Management gave a couple of guys too much power as players to the point where the manager or coach could do little about it. I think Todd was happy to leave San Jose knowing that the problems there are too big for him to be able to fix. Whereas he's willing to go to this new regime in Edmonton. That's sort of telling to me.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by dino7c

SJ underachieved for a decade under this guy...not sure why he is the second coming of Scotty Bowman

Again, no one is suggesting he is

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Lets be honest going from MacTavish and Eakins to even average or below average coaching and management is a quantum leap forward for the Oilers. I think McLellan and Chiarelli are both at least capable of doing an average job in their postions. So to me that would be a massive upgrade over what they have been doing.

I do personally think Chiarelli should make a move to trade one of their untouchable core players. I think he needs to do it to send a message to the rest of the group that things are different this time and that they better their ways in line with what the coach wants because the coach won't be the one run out of the organization. Core players who survive too many coaches become a bit of an issue when it comes to reforming their game.

I think McLellan was a victim of a lack of management support in San Jose in regards to this. Management gave a couple of guys too much power as players to the point where the manager or coach could do little about it. I think Todd was happy to leave San Jose knowing that the problems there are too big for him to be able to fix. Whereas he's willing to go to this new regime in Edmonton. That's sort of telling to me.

This has already happened in Edmonton but those guys are just younger and probably harder to deal with.

[Burke Salad]

Do the 6X6'ers have no movement or no trade clauses? Or should I be assuming no one takes those deals in Edmonton?

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

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

bingo.

Saying the oilers appear to be finally moving in the right direction is hardly a kind of concession...

the vehement responses to the contrary are really odd to me... veering into the territory held by the delusional Oiler fans we like mock on this board, like some bizzaro mirror universe...

[Southern_Canuck]

I'll be on the lookout for the inevitable "Value of Outcoaching" article...

Anyhoo, I was wondering what happened to their pre-2006 1st rounders after the Cup run...? and also the "next core" they used to be building - so here are all of their 1st round picks over the last 15 drafts:

2014 (3rd) Leon Draisaitl
2013 (7th) Darnell Nurse
2012 (1st) Nail Yakupov
2011 (1st) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, (19th) Oscar Klefbom
2010 (1st) Taylor Hall
2009 (10th) Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
2008 (22nd) Jordan Eberle
2007 (6th) Sam Gagner, (15th) Alex Plante, (21st) Riley Nash
2006 --- (traded to Minnesota for Dwayne Roloson)
2005 (25th) Andrew Cogliano
2004 (14th) Devan Dubnyk, (25th) Rob Schremp
2003 (22nd) Marc-Antoine Pouliot
2002 (15th) Jesse Niinimaki
2001 (13th) Ales Hemsky
2000 (17th) Alexei Mikhnov

They still have Draisaitl, Nurse, Yakupov, Nugent-Hopkins, Klefbom, Hall, and Eberle... what happened to the rest?

Jan 2, 2015
To Pittsburgh: David Perron
To Edmonton: 1st round pick in 2015 and Rob Klinkhammer

June 29, 2014
To Tampa Bay: Sam Gagner
To Edmonton: Ted Purcell

March 5, 2014
To Ottawa: Ales Hemsky
To Edmonton: 5th round pick in 2014 (Liam Coughlin) and 3rd round pick in 2015

Jan 15, 2014
To Nashville: Devan Dubnyk
To Edmonton: Matt Hendricks

Jul 10, 2013
To St. Louis: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, 2nd round pick in 2014 (Ivan Barbashev) and 4th round pick in 2015
To Edmonton: David Perron and 3rd round pick in 2015

Jul 12, 2011
To Anaheim: Andrew Cogliano
To Edmonton: 2nd round pick in 2013 (Marco Roy)

June 26, 2010
To Carolina: Riley Nash
To Edmonton: 2nd round pick in 2010 (Martin Marincin)

Decent trades for Paajarvi-Svensson (and then Perron) and Riley Nash... the rest seem kind of sad.

S_C

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I think McLellan was a victim of a lack of management support in San Jose in regards to this. Management gave a couple of guys too much power as players to the point where the manager or coach could do little about it. I think Todd was happy to leave San Jose knowing that the problems there are too big for him to be able to fix. Whereas he's willing to go to this new regime in Edmonton. That's sort of telling to me.

If McLellan thinks Thorton and Marleau had too much power, he's in for a rude awaking when he sees how much power McDavid, Hall, and Eberle will have with the Oilers. Those guys essentially walk on water as far as management is concerned.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

If McLellan thinks Thorton and Marleau had too much power, he's in for a rude awaking when he sees how much power McDavid, Hall, and Eberle will have with the Oilers. Those guys essentially walk on water as far as management is concerned.

Except management has changed.

I would suspect a big Culture change in Edmonton.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Burke Salad

Do the 6X6'ers have no movement or no trade clauses? Or should I be assuming no one takes those deals in Edmonton?

No movement/trade clauses are in place to prevent players from going to Edmonton not prevent them from getting the hell out.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Except management has changed.

I would suspect a big Culture change in Edmonton.

It hasn't really changed. It visually different but they have only added 1 guy without subtracting the dumb dumb that got them where they are.

[vicarious]

The Oilers are in a WAY better position now then they were.
Chiarelli is orders of magnitude upgrade over MacT/Lowe
McLellan is orders of magnitude upgrade over Eakins/Nelson

McDavid will have positive an impact in his first year.

The problem will come for Oilers fans when the upcoming season gets over-hyped and the media starts trumpeting over-the-top expectations. You've already seen it since they won the draft lottery, Oilers fans that have been lurking in the bushes, ashamed to show their faces, have suddenly reappeared to proclaim how bright their future is.

But let's be real... Are the Oilers going to be a better team next year? Absolutely.

But will they make the playoffs?
Let's see.. All their hopes riding on an 18 year old "next one"...
A culture of entitled brats with attitude problems in Hall, Nuge, Eberle and Schutlz.
They still need 4 top-4 defencemen.
They still need a bonafide starting NHL goalie.
So I wouldn't count on them making a post season appearance but they will improve.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

It hasn't really changed. It visually different but they have only added 1 guy without subtracting the dumb dumb that got them where they are.

The 2 people in charge of hockey related decisions have changed. How is that not changed?

Sure MacT is still there doing god knows what, and Lowe still works with the business side, but to think there isn't going to be change or those 2 will have a big say in anything is terribly naive.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Weitz

The 2 people in charge of hockey related decisions have changed. How is that not changed?

Sure MacT is still there doing god knows what, and Lowe still works with the business side, but to think there isn't going to be change or those 2 will have a big say in anything is terribly naive.

My bet is that this was a deal cooked up by Katz to shelter Mac-T and Lowe and get them out of the public limelight while still allowing them to participate in the Organization.

Since they didn't move Mac-T out of the hockey department my bet is that he still has a say in the decision making process, and he still has they ear of Katz.

The minute that the Oilers have any bit of success the praise will be heaped on Lowe and Mac-T for their vision with a throw out to Chia for faithfully executing that vision.

This is a public relations move at the top.

We'll see if Chia has any stroke or not, and that's based around what happens with the core group in the offseason.

But I'm thinking that Chia is going to find himself Tambellini'd and end up sitting on Mac-T's lap with Lowe's hand jammed into his back.

Even the TM thing seems to follow the Oiler tradition, they didn't look at or interview anyone else, they just jumped at the sexy name.