Edmonton Oilers: Top 10 moments from 2015
By Kris Hansen
Number Three: The Oilers Hire Todd McLellan
On May 19th, 2015, the Edmonton Oilers with new General Manager Peter Chiarelli at the helm, announced the club’s latest head coach: former San Jose Sharks Head Coach, Todd McLellan.
This was a monumental move for the Edmonton Oilers as they completely revamped their hockey operations from the top down, finishing up with snagging one of the best available head coaches on the market with Todd McLellan.
Since 2009, the Edmonton Oilers had the following Head Coaches:
2008-2009: Craig MacTavish
2009-2010: Pat Quinn
2010-2012: Tom Renney
2012-2013: Ralph Krueger
2013-2014: Dallas Eakins
2014-2015: Craig MacTavish (for a few games), Todd Nelson.
That’s count em: 7 different head coaches over the span 7 years (alright, MacTavish double dipped). This was nearing Cleveland Browns territory of badness when it came to instability of coaching where there would be a new one every year. Not one coach, save for Craig MacTavish prior to the 2008-09 season, lasted more than two years in their position. Also, the last three Head Coaches were complete rookies as head coaches at the NHL level.
From Lowetide, it’s a vastly different record under Todd McLellan:
- Oilers in October 2014: 4-5-1
- Oilers in October 2015: 4-8-0
- Oilers in November 2014: 2-9-3
- Oilers in November 2015: 4-7-2
- Oilers in December 2014: 2-8-4
- Oilers in December 2015: 7-3-0
- Oilers after 35 in 2014-15: 7-21-7, 21 points (-51 GD)
- Oilers after 35 in 2015-16: 15-18-2, 32 points (-15 GD)
I think the most significant number are the wins: The Oilers had a rocky October, doubled their November total and could quadruple their December total.
So far, they’ve doubled their wins after 35 games and their goal differential, while still negative, has improved by 36. That’s a great number, considering the youthful and sup bar defence and goaltending that has started to play more consistent throughout the season.
As an Oiler fan, we are fortunate to have an experienced man like Todd McLellan behind the bench knowing that he won’t get fired within a season and a half. He’s here for the long run.