Yesterday, the Edmonton Oilers announced that they hired three new assistant coaches. Is this move the beginning of the end for Todd McLellan?
The Edmonton Oilers made a splash yesterday when it was revealed that they hired Glen Gulutzan, Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros as assistant coaches. Peter Chiarelli did what he had to do to revamp his coaching staff just weeks away from the NHL Draft.
You can’t blame him since the entire organization is on the clock for next season, including himself. Unless the Oilers can make a turnaround or Chiarelli makes some big moves this summer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this team garner the same result as last year.
That’s precisely what Peter Chiarelli had in mind when he did make these moves. To specifically address the weaknesses that the Edmonton Oilers drastically need to improve on. He touched on that in a conference call with the media about these recent signings.
"“We did get a lot of names, but we targeted these three individuals for their specific talents, experiences, and compatible personalities,” “Todd and I talked a lot about the group and not so much about the individuals. Collaboratively, we looked at this and went at it methodically, and we’re happy to get these three guys. They come from different backgrounds, different experiences and with different skillsets, and together they will challenge each other.” Source."
Reasoning?
There was an article on this site nearly a month ago that addressed the possibility of Glen Gulutzan being hired by the Edmonton Oilers. This part of the article was what was hypothesized on why Peter Chiarelli would want to hire Gulutzan as an assistant coach.
"“If that’s the case, why would the Edmonton Oilers want to get Glen Gulutzan on their coaching bench. The most obvious reason is to have him as a plan B if Peter Chiarelli fires Todd McLellan next season. The question that was posed as the title of this article is should Glen Gulutzan should be a plan B for the Oilers as a head coach. The answer is a resounding yes. Why do you ask? It’s because both Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli must deliver next season in preparing the Oilers back to the postseason.If this team gets off to a rocky start, McLellan will get canned, and they would need a coach to step up to the plate and ride the ship. Gulutzan would be a perfect candidate to helm the bench and maximize the talent he has at his disposal. But let’s remember that this is all speculation, so we might not know if all this would come to fruition.” Source."
Nearly a month later and all we can say that this scenario might play out in the long run. There is no guarantee that Todd McLellan will keep his job next season unless the Edmonton Oilers look like a Stanley Cup favorite next year.