Sorry to break the news to everyone, but he's not getting canned. Team showed improvement under McLellan and he'll get a full season next year. Marco Kasper showed he's an NHL scoring line forward and will likely fill the 2C role next season as a 21 year old which will give them a top 3 at center of Larkin, Kasper and Copp. They'll have a top 3 on defense of Seider, Edvinsson and Sandin-Pelikka. There's a good chance Brandsegg-Nygård and Danielson make the team next season to build out depth at forward.
Everyone can say 9 years until they're blue in the face, they're the exact reason Yzerman never said the team would make the playoffs within X years. He said his goal was to build a core that will hopefully have a long window to compete. And he's just about filled all of the core spots through the draft.
Forwards: Raymond, Kasper, Brandsegg-Nygård, Danielson, Berggren, Söderblom, Mazur
Defense: Seider, Edvinsson, Sandin-Pelikka, Albert Johansson
Guys who will get a look in training camp: Lombardi, Wallinder, Buium
That's 14 guys who are 24 and under and are all legit NHL players. Some will make it, some will be moved in trades, the bottom line is the hard work has nearly paid off as Detroit is close to having a core that will be competitive.
So keep saying 9 years, it literally makes no difference.