A blast from the Edmonton Oilers' past became one of the top headlines in the NHL on Thursday morning. Todd McLellan has been named as head coach for the Detroit Red Wings, taking over from the fired Derek Lalonde.
As per Thomas Roth of NHL.com, associate coach Bob Boughner has also been relieved of his duties. McLellan is the 29th head coach in Red Wings history and has been signed to a multi-year deal, but financial terms had not been revealed at the time of writing.
McLellan has extensive experience as a head coach in the NHL, dating back to 2008-09 with the San Jose Sharks. He has an overall record of 598-412-134, has coached nine teams to the playoffs, twice going as far as the Conference Finals (both with the Sharks).
Fleeting success in Edmonton with the Oilers
In terms of the Oilers specifically, McLellan came in as head coach for the 2015-16 season and oversaw the early development of Connor McDavid. He took the team to the playoffs once in 2016-17, where they were knocked out in the second round by the Anaheim Ducks. (He was also named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.)
The 57-year-old was eventually fired by the Oilers, 20 games into the 2018-19 campaign. For what it's worth, he is fourth in club history with both 266 games coached and 123 victories, while his .508 winning percentage is eighth-best.
Even after being fired by the Oilers, McLellan couldn't quite escape from their shadow. His next coaching gig with the Los Angeles Kings, saw them knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Oilers in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
A major challenge in the Motor City
The Melville, Saskatchewan native faces a significant task in Detroit, attempting to revive one of the most storied franchises in NHL history. They haven't been to the playoffs since 2015-16 and as of the Christmas break they are second-bottom in the Eastern Conference, with a 13-17-4 record.
This will not be McLellan's first experience with the Red Wings, which should help at least from a familiarity standpoint if nothing else. He was an assistant coach in Detroit between 2005-08 under Mike Babcock, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2007-08.
As a final point, McLellan apparently beat out another former Oilers head coach to get the job in Detroit. It was previously reported by The Fourth Period that Jay Woodcroft was also an option; Woodcroft was at the helm of the Oilers when they beat McLellan and the Kings in the playoffs in 2021-22 and 2022-23.