Elliotte Friedman revealed that a former Edmonton Oilers head coach has drawn interest from several teams in the NHL.
EDMONTON -- The coaching carousel never ends in the National Hockey League.
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The Edmonton Oilers know a thing or two about changing coaches in the middle of the season - as it's happened twice in the past three seasons. Three seasons ago it was Dave Tippett being replaced by Jay Woodcroft - then earlier this year it was Kris Knoblauch stepping in for Woodcroft.
But a former Oilers coach (who Woodcroft knows quite well) was relieved of his duties earlier this season - Todd McLellan. McLellan was at the helm of the Los Angeles Kings until early February 2024.
The Kings put their best food forward to begin the season - going 20-7-4 in the first 31 games followed by a poor 17 game stretch (3-8-6).
However, it looks like McLellan might be finding himself with a new organization as early as this summer. On the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman has reported that four teams have interviewed McLellan for vacant coaching positions.
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While Friedman could not confirm the teams he highly suspects them to be - the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken.
NHL teams aren't afraid to cycle through the same coaches. I wish McLellan nothing but the best in his future endeavors - be they in the NHL or elsewhere. But at some point, the same old coaches need to ride off into the sunset to make room for exciting and new talent.
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