Oilers Interview McLellan for Head Coaching Position

[LawMan]

Chiarelli flew over to the World Championships to interview McLellan. It will be interesting to see if any team in need hires a coach before Babcock makes his decision.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7...d=nhl:topheads

[JagrBomb]

McDavid has already done more for the franchise than any other of their other 1st round picks.

[hockeymanG23]

McDavid has already done more for the franchise than any other of their other 1st round picks.

All the more impressive since he's not even officially on the team at all yet!

[Axeman33]

Todd Nelson is next up for an interview. You have to think he has a good story to tell Chiarelli.

https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/sta...81594291720193

Todd Nelson will interview for the Oilers head coaching job this weekend. Obviously, Chiarelli wants to get to know Nelson a bit better...

https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/sta...81901767778306

Nelson still has term remaining on his AHL contract, but if not a fit in Edmonton it's expected he will attract other NHL interest.

[marshal]

Possibility of McLellan becoming head coach and Nelson being asked to serve as one of his assistants?

Think it'd be beneficial to have Nelson included in the coaching staff to some degree - he knows Marincin, Klefbom and Lander well from OKC and I'd assume he deserves a significant amount of credit for their recent solid play.

[Axeman33]

Personally I'd be happy to see Nelson stay. He seemed to have the Oilers perform at a much stronger rate than Eakins and the players quite simply seemed to enjoy hockey again. There's something to be said for stability in the locker room.

I realize that a new GM wants his own guy, but it has to be hard to disregard the good work put in by Nelson and the trust regained by the players in their new coach.

If Dreger is right in saying he'd attract interest from other NHL clubs, I dont see him sticking around in EDM as an assistant.

[LawMan]

I'd also like to see Nelson stay, the Powerplay was noticeably better when he took over and he seemed to get a few key players to really play hard: Lander and Yakupov especially.

If he'll stay is another story. If he doesn't get the head job in Edmonton I hope the Oilers would allow him to interview for head coaching jobs elsewhere and if he gets a heading coaching offer elsewhere I'd have to think he'd take it.

[Axeman33]

Apparently, Hall and Eberle think quite highly of McLellan in their short time playing for him at the Worlds.


http://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/05/0...-todd-mclellan

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Brent Burns told them so.

“Obviously I’m getting a lot of questions,” said Burns of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, the two guys on Team Canada who might end up with Todd McLellan being their coach next season with the Edmonton Oilers.

“I tell all the guys what I think about Todd. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the NHL,” said the defenceman who has had McLellan as his head coach with the San Jose Sharks the last four years after winning a Calder Cup with him in Houston in the AHL.

“I’ve had him as my head coach for a long time and he has a really uncanny ability to demand respect but at the same time be very approachable.

“He’s one of the smartest tacticians of all the guys out there in the game. I think he’s just a great coach. Whoever gets him is going to be lucky.”

Both Hall and Eberle are quite open about their admiration for McLellan at this stage of proceedings of their IIHF World Championship experience.

“He’s been great,” said Hall of the coach who parted ways from the Sharks just prior to catching his flight overseas to begin this challenge.

Hall agreed that they saw a lot about what McLellan was all about when Canada was down 3-0 after the first period to Sweden in what turned out to be a 6-4 win.

“He pushed all the right buttons. What he said in the first intermission certainly resonated with our group. We have a lot of respect for him and I think that’s really shining through.”

Obviously, admitted Hall, the thought has occurred to him that McLellan night be his next NHL coach.

“That’s definitely a possibility. You don’t know what he’s thinking but I saw Peter Chiarelli. I don’t know if they interviewed but he’s a great coach. I have a ton of respect for what he teaches and I’ve learned a lot so far.”

Chiarelli, of course, is the new Oilers general manager who did, indeed, interview McLellan on his short trip over here.

“I’ve been impressed,” said Eberle, who, like Hall, has played for Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Ralph Krueger, Dallas Eakins, Craig MacTavish/Todd Nelson and Nelson in his five years as an Oiler.

“In a short term event like this, sometimes the coaches can be a little light hearted, but so far McLellan has been on track and on the ball every step of the way.

“He showed us what he’s all about when we went down by three to Sweden and he kind of rallied us. I have nothing but positive things to say so far.

“Hopefully he’s one of the candidates. I look forward to see what’s going to happen there.”

DUCHENE O.K. WITH ‘DEMOTION’

Matt Duchene has two goals and four assists and, other than Taylor Hall, is the only Canadian in the top 10 of tournament scoring.

And he was demoted as the centre of the line featuring Hall and Jordan for some guy by the name of Sidney Crosby?

“I loved playing with these two guys,” said Duchene as he stood between Eberle and Hall doing the mixed zone interview routine after practice Thursday.

“I know we can end up back together because we had such great chemistry. But I’m looking forward to playing with Jason Spezza and Tyler Ennis or Nathan MacKinnon, however that works out on left wing.

“Those guys are great players. You can’t go wrong with the guys you are playing with here.

“The thing right now is that you just have to be aware of what’s coming. We have to take care of business right now but we have to make sure our game is at as high a level as possible going into the elimination games. That starts against France Saturday and continues to the game after and the last game Tuesday against Austria. We’re trying to elevate our game every game.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, if it’s the team we think is the best team or the team we think is the worst team.”

NOW PLAYING, BRAYDEN SCHENN

With 1-3 up next in a noon local time Saturday game, head coach Todd McLellan has decided to put his designated sitter into the line-up.

Brayden Schenn of the Philadelphia Flyers has been the odd man out throughout the first four games of the round robin. Cody Eakin of the Dallas Stars will get the game off.

Goaltender Martin Jones of the Los Angeles Kings is expected to get the start.

[gainerama]

I would be ironic if Chiarelli hires McLellan as the coach and then trades both Hall and Eberle out.