LaLonde Fired. McLellan Hired in DET

newfy

Registered User
Jul 28, 2010
15,064
8,898
McLellan is a guy who has his teams good at things that the wings are currently not good at. Don't necessarily love the hire but the kings were a great possession entry/exit with rush chances team. I think that's actually a system Detroit could be successful in

Getting fresh eyes on the PK will help too
 

Docgonzo

Triple Crown Line
Jan 9, 2010
2,481
2,389
Chino, Ca
As a Kings fan TMac would definitely bring stability and help get your team towards the playoffs, I have no idea why he did the 1-3-1 in LA though.

The bad, especially for more rebuilding teams is he leans heavily on Vets and puts younger players in bottom 6 positions. Even when he had Byfield on the 1st line he wasn’t on PP1 and played him 13mins a night. He rode Kopitar and Doughty into the ground by the time playoffs rolled around.
 

Our Lady Peace

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Aug 12, 2014
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Where did Yzerman find lalonde anyway? Seemed totally out of his depth
SY hired him in Tampa after two AHL playoff misses and then left a year later to Detroit. Lalonde was Cooper's assistant coach in Tampa during the cup runs. Yzerman then brought him over for his first NHL head coach stint but it just wasn't working out

Maybe he figures it out elsewhere, but I think he's better suited as an assistant coach if anything
 

creg

Registered User
Dec 25, 2024
2
1
Cal Foote,1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th for Jeannot compared to Moser, Geekie, a 2nd, and a 7th for Sergachev is pretty damn close, even if you have a rosy view of Geekie's future.
I guess I just disagree - Cal Foote was pretty firmly a bust at this point (which even Nashville saw when they didn't qualify him prior to the WJC situation becoming public), the bulk of the value of the trade comes from the 1st and 2nd, & I think that Moser and Geekie are worth significantly more.

Obviously it's very different situations, but I think Utah would hang up immediately if they were offered the Jeannot haul for what they gave up for Sergachev.
 
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Bleedred

#InstagramHockey
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May 1, 2011
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Please don't tell me they're giving him a raise from the $5,5 million LA was paying him? He was literally the highest paid coach other than Babcock for a while there, but a few other guys had big extensions that would later kick in. I'm not sure if puckpedia has the coaches salaries like cap friendly had most of them listed.
 

Our Lady Peace

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Aug 12, 2014
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Very successful coach pre-NHL. Asst at TB under Cooper. He and Carbery were being floated around the same time as guys who would be good NHL head coaches. Caps chose well.
I wouldn't say Lalonde was very successful as a head coach pre-NHL. Won a USHL championship in 2012 but that's a far-cry from pro hockey and he only head coached 2 years ECHL and 2 more AHL. From the latter he missed the playoffs both years
 

Ghost of Murph

Registered User
Dec 23, 2023
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I wouldn't say Lalonde was very successful as a head coach pre-NHL. Won a USHL championship in 2012 but that's a far-cry from pro hockey and he only head coached 2 years ECHL and 2 more AHL. From the latter he missed the playoffs both years
USHL coach of the year and Clark Cup winner. ECHL coach of the year and consecutive Brabham Cups. He climbed the ladder fairly fast and has always been regarded as a great coach. That's why Cooper brought him aboard and kept him around.
 

iCanada

Registered User
Feb 6, 2010
20,785
22,184
Edmonton
McClellan will do well in Detroit.

He's a great coach honestly. He's proven consistently he can take struggling barely bubble teams and make them into locks for the playoffs that based on their regular season record, you kind of expect to do damage.

He does a great job developing players, he sets a string plan for how the team needs to play to win and to a man gets the entire team buy in, and just generally standard that's necessary for success in this league. And he's done it for decades.

The bad obviously is that he's fairly tactically stale, and isn't amazing at firing up the boys - as such I don't really see him as a cup winning coach. But again - he's brought multiple teams from the brink of mediocrity and despair into the light of the leagues top 10.

He's exactly what Detroit needs right now.
 
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theVladiator

Registered User
May 26, 2018
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Not mad SY gave Lalonde a shot. The first high level gig is often tough, so I am not writing off Lalonde's career as NHL HC. Best of luck to him.

Not expecting miracles from Mclellan, but accountability demanded a change, and hopefully team can do a bit better for the rest of the season.
 

The don godfather

Registered User
Jul 5, 2018
20,996
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Woodbridge Ontario
At least darth yzerman didn't do it on Christmas.
 

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iCanada

Registered User
Feb 6, 2010
20,785
22,184
Edmonton
So Detroit will switch to the 1-3-1.. Maybe that is what they needed to do. Pile of incompatible parts but I think they will find that guys like Tarasenko and Kane are not made for 1-3-1... so they may need to consider what they do with them.

It's bad when your GM of this many years has to look at his team and say, what do we need? hmmmm. We need to grind the game to a halt as best we can as we don't have the speed, skill nor smarts to play at a higher pace. You still need to retrieve and get out of your zone. They have some D that will handle this no prob and some D that will turn the puck over repeatedly. Will be a fascinating watch.

Todd didn't use the 1-3-1 in Edmonton or SJS.

I doubt he will in Detroit either.

That said - whatever system he decides to employ in Detroit - he won't change or adjust it even if someone had his family at gunpoint.
 
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brentashton

Registered User
Jan 21, 2018
16,058
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His career win percentage as a coach applied to last years standings would have been good enough to get just 2, two teams, into the play offs last year.

Washington and Islanders- both who got in because the metropolitan was abysmal.

Yikes.
 

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