| Todd McLellan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 McLellan with the Sharks in 2013 | |||
| Born | (1967-10-03)October 3, 1967 (age 58) Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | New York Islanders | ||
| CurrentNHL coach | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Coached for | San Jose Sharks Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings | ||
| NHL draft | 104th overall,1986 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 1987–1989 1990–1992 | ||
| Coaching career | 1993–present | ||
Todd Andrew McLellan (born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian professionalice hockey coach and former player who is thehead coach for theDetroit Red Wings of theNational Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as head coach of theSan Jose Sharks,Edmonton Oilers, andLos Angeles Kings, and as an assistant coach with the Red Wings, with whom he won theStanley Cup in 2008. He was drafted in 1986 by theNew York Islanders and played five games with the major league club in the1987–88 season before retiring in the minors the following season due to recurring injury.
After living inGoodeve, Saskatchewan, andMelville, Saskatchewan, during his childhood, McLellan started his playing career with theSaskatoon Blades of theWestern Hockey League (WHL) from1983 to1987. In the1986 NHL entry draft, he was drafted by theNew York Islanders in the fifth round. He played a total of five games at the NHL level, spending most of two seasons with the Islanders'American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theSpringfield Indians. However, recurring shoulder injuries dating back to his junior hockey days ended McLellan's North American playing career after the 1988–89 season. He scored his only NHL goal in his debut on December 28, 1987, in a 6–4 loss to theNew Jersey Devils.
He returned home to study at theUniversity of Saskatchewan for a year, before resuming his playing career forS.IJ. Utrecht of theEredivisie in the Netherlands. During his three seasons there, the team hired a new coach, who moved in with McLellan and made him aplayer-coach, which McLellan recognizes as why he became interested in coaching.[1]
Following his stint as a player-coach with SIJ Utrecht, McLellan returned to Canada in 1992. He went into full-time coaching in 1993, being hired as the coach of the North Battleford North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior League. In1994, McLellan was hired as thehead coach andgeneral manager of theSwift Current Broncos of the WHL, where he succeededGraham James. In his six seasons with Swift Current, the Broncos qualified for the WHL playoffs in all seasons. McLellan himself was named WHLExecutive of the Year in1997 andCoach of the Year in2000.[1]
Following his successes at the junior level, McLellan was hired by the expansionMinnesota Wild to coach their minor league affiliate, theCleveland Lumberjacks of theInternational Hockey League (IHL). After the IHL folded in 2001, McLellan and his staff were transferred to the Wild's new minor league affiliate, theHouston Aeros of the AHL. As coach of the Aeros, McLellan led Houston to theCalder Cup in2003.[1]
In2005,Mike Babcock selected McLellan to serve as his assistant with theDetroit Red Wings. In Detroit, McLellan was tasked with handling the Red Wings' forwards and managing the team'spower play, as well as reporting player performance to head coach Babcock. Under his watch, the Red Wings had the top-ranked power play in the NHL, finishing first in power play efficiency in 2005–06 and third in2007–08. As a member of the coaching staff, McLellan won his firstStanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2007–08.[1]
On June 11, 2008, theSan Jose Sharks hired McLellan to become their new head coach, replacingRon Wilson.[2] He would end up the head coach for the Western Conference All-Star team, and lead the Sharks to their firstPresidents' Trophy with an NHL-leading 117 points to finish the regular season, and finished third in voting for that season'sJack Adams Award, behind winnerClaude Julien andAndy Murray. On March 14, 2013, with a 4–3 victory over theLos Angeles Kings, McLellan became the winningest coach in Sharks history with 207 victories.[3] On February 5, 2014, against theDallas Stars, McLellan tiedDarryl Sutter for the most games coached in Sharks history with 434.[4]
After the team missed the playoffs in the 2014–15 season, McLellan and the Sharks agreed to mutually part ways on April 20, ending his tenure as the Sharks' winningest coach.[5]
He coached the Canadian national team at the2015 World Championship, where the team won the title for the first time since 2007 with a perfect 10–0 record.[6]
On May 19, 2015, he was named head coach of theEdmonton Oilers, becoming the 14th head coach in team history. He succeededTodd Nelson, who took over on an interim basis afterDallas Eakins was fired. At the time of his signing, McLellan became the highest-paid coach in NHL history, earning around $3 million per season.[7] However, he would hold the distinction for exactly one day, as McLellan's former colleague Mike Babcock signed an eight-year contract with theToronto Maple Leafs worth around $6.25 million per season on May 20.[8][9]
McLellan's first season in Edmonton was a rebuilding one. The Oilers finished with 70 points, the second-worst record in the league. However, the following season—the first in the team's new arena,Rogers Place—saw a dramatic turnaround. The Oilers tallied over 100 points for the first time since the 1980s dynasty years. On March 28, 2017, the Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2–1 to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. They also earned home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the first time since winning their last Cup in 1990. They upended McLellan's old team, the Sharks, in six games to win a playoff series for only the sixth time since 1990.
On November 20, 2018, McLellan was fired by the Oilers and replaced byKen Hitchcock after posting a record of 9–10–1.[10][11]
On April 16, 2019, theLos Angeles Kings named McLellan head coach.[12] On February 2, 2024, he was fired, despite signing a one-year contract extension nearly four months prior that would have kept him behind the bench through the 2024–25 season.[13] Before his firing, Los Angeles stumbled after a strong 20–7–4 start to the season, losing 14 of McLellan's final 17 games with a 3–8–6 record.[14][15]
On December 26, 2024, McLellan returned to the Red Wings, with the team hiring him as head coach after the dismissal ofDerek Lalonde.[16]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | Saskatoon Blazers | SMHL | 25 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 50 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 41 | 15 | 35 | 50 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 27 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 1986–87 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 60 | 34 | 39 | 73 | 66 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1987–88 | New York Islanders | NHL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 70 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 37 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 107 | 25 | 45 | 70 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win% | Result | ||
| SJS | 2008–09 | 82 | 53 | 18 | 11 | 117 | 1st inPacific | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in Conference quarterfinals (ANA) |
| SJS | 2009–10 | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 113 | 1st in Pacific | 8 | 7 | .533 | Lost in Conference finals (CHI) |
| SJS | 2010–11 | 82 | 48 | 25 | 9 | 105 | 1st in Pacific | 9 | 9 | .500 | Lost in Conference finals (VAN) |
| SJS | 2011–12 | 82 | 43 | 29 | 10 | 96 | 2nd in Pacific | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost in Conference quarterfinals (STL) |
| SJS | 2012–13 | 48 | 25 | 16 | 7 | 57 | 3rd in Pacific | 7 | 4 | .636 | Lost in Conference semifinals (LAK) |
| SJS | 2013–14 | 82 | 51 | 22 | 9 | 111 | 2nd in Pacific | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in first round (LAK) |
| SJS | 2014–15 | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 89 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| SJS total | 540 | 311 | 163 | 66 | 30 | 32 | .484 | 6 playoff appearances | |||
| EDM | 2015–16 | 82 | 31 | 43 | 8 | 70 | 7th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| EDM | 2016–17 | 82 | 47 | 26 | 9 | 103 | 2nd in Pacific | 7 | 6 | .538 | Lost in second round (ANA) |
| EDM | 2017–18 | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 78 | 6th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| EDM | 2018–19 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1 | (19) | (fired) | — | — | — | — |
| EDM total | 266 | 123 | 119 | 24 | 7 | 6 | .538 | 1 playoff appearance | |||
| LAK | 2019–20 | 70* | 29 | 35 | 6 | 64 | 7th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| LAK | 2020–21 | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 49 | 6th inWest | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| LAK | 2021–22 | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | 3rd in Pacific | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in first round (EDM) |
| LAK | 2022–23 | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 104 | 3rd in Pacific | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in first round (EDM) |
| LAK | 2023–24 | 48 | 23 | 15 | 10 | (56) | (fired) | — | — | — | — |
| LAK total | 338 | 164 | 130 | 44 | 5 | 8 | .385 | 2 playoff appearances | |||
| DET | 2024–25 | 48 | 26 | 18 | 4 | (56) | 6th inAtlantic | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| DET total | 48 | 26 | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | ||||
| Total | 1,192 | 624 | 430 | 138 | 42 | 46 | .477 | 9 playoff appearances | |||
In 1992, McLellan married his wife Debbie. They have two sons, Tyson and Cale.[1]
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Head coach of the San Jose Sharks 2008–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers 2015–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 2019–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings 2024–present | Incumbent |
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