Former Kings coach; Todd McLellan has interviewed the Maple Leafs for their head coaching vacancy
Former Los Angeles Kings head coach Todd McLellan was interviewed for the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach vacancy this past weekend.
The Kings relieved him of his duties back on February 2nd and promoted Jim Hiller to interim head coach. The club went on to clinch a playoff berth but later lost in the first round to the Edmonton Oilers for the third straight season.
The Maple Leafs cut ties with their now-former head coach, Sheldon Keefe, this past Thursday after not having the playoff success that the management group expected.
Now, the search is on for the Maple Leafs, and one of their potential candidates is McLellan. He had spent five seasons as the bench boss in Los Angeles; before that, he spent time with the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks.
McLellan has been an NHL head coach for 16 years and has made the playoffs in nine of those seasons. Unfortunately, over time, the coach's message goes stale, and change is needed.
That is not to say McLellan is not a good coach or well-respected by the players; he just ran his course with the Kings and is now one of the lead front-runners along with Craig Berube.
The Maple Leafs are expected to name their next head coach in the next week, and with McLellan still in the race for the job, Kings fans may see him back in the NHL sooner than expected.