The Detroit Red Wings brought in Todd McLellan. It’s a surprising name as McLellan is a veteran head coach with a successful track record in the best league in the world. Yet, he chose the Detroit Red Wings. Here’s maybe why he did so
We’ve already discussed the recent change to Todd McLellan as the new head coach and Trent Yawney as the new assistant coach.
I looked to the Winged Wheel Podcast for insight. While there are plenty of other voices that I respect, the Winged Wheel Podcast tends to make content easily digestible for me. They offer various perspectives without getting too high or low on things, so I appreciate their input on the hiring of McLellan.
As I performed my casual fan research, I found arguments that McLellan is a defensive-minded coach, then other reports that he’s an offensively-minded coach. Brad Krysko on the Winged Wheel Podcast helped clarify that McLellan isn’t a coach who uses one system. Instead, he molds to the players that he has, so with some teams, he’s more defensively-minded (think Los Angeles Kings), and with others, he can be more offensively driven (think Edmonton Oilers).
Regardless of where McLellan went, he was handed a competitive roster. Every team he’s coached in the National Hockey League (NHL) is lightyears ahead of the team that dresses in the Winged Wheel tonight. So, it begs a huge, thought-provoking (at least for me) question.
Why is Todd McLellan the new head coach of the Detroit Red Wings?
Here are some initial points as to why he might have been interested in coaching the Detroit Red Wings.
The easiest answer is usually the right one, which might be that the Detroit Red Wings were the only option. Or at the very least, the best option financially for McLellan.
Even though he’s no longer coaching for the Los Angeles Kings, they are still paying McLellan (or at least were until he signed with the Detroit Red Wings). There is likely an agreement between the two teams on who is paying when, but McLellan is making a pretty penny. Also, it’s for multi-years with the Detroit Red Wings.
In short, not only is the money a draw, but the fact that he’s signed for multiple years means that McLellan has financial security for a few years.
However, I’d argue that it’s the biggest gamble of McLellan’s head coaching career to agree to coach the Detroit Red Wings.
If the Edmonton Oilers resembled the Bad News Bears back in the day (when McLellan was their head coach), I hate to know what the Detroit Red Wings might be. Oh yeah….this is a breath of fresh air
