LOS ANGELES –- For the first time in his 21-year career coaching at various levels, Todd McLellan won’t be participating in the postseason.
The 47-year-old Sharks head coach, who completed his seventh season behind San Jose’s bench with Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Los Angeles, now faces an uncertain future with the organization. There are rumblings that McLellan, who has one year remaining on his contract, will not return next season after the Sharks failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in his tenure.
The coach indicated that team management has to make a decision, but he himself also has one to make with his family.
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“There is going to be review time. Our management group, our ownership group is going to review I’m sure every aspect of our organization, like they do most years. Our coaching staff will come under that review, but I have to do my own personal review, too,” McLellan said.
“I’m going to have my family together for the first time on Tuesday for a long time. My son will be back. We’ll get a chance to sit down, and I’ll look at the impact that I think I’ve had, and can have moving forward. We’ll go from there. I still feel close to the group that’s in the locker room, of course. We’ll see what happens.”
The Sharks players that spoke with the media after the game in Los Angeles all seemed to back McLellan.
“I think Todd's an incredible coach. He has the respect of myself and the whole coaching staff I respect a massive amount,” Logan Couture said. “I've learned a lot from every single one of those guys and I wouldn't be the player I am right now without them.
“I hope he's back and the whole coaching staff is back, but that's not my call. Whatever happens, happens. But I'll always have a massive amount of respect for those guys in the coaching room.”
Joe Pavelski said: “I've had no problems with Todd or the staff. We'd like to do better obviously as a group. Players get to play the game, coaches give us whatever, and as a group we were not good enough.
“It's not really our decision to be made, and we'll go from there. But [Larry Robinson, Jim Johnson and Jay Woodcroft] – they coach us, they put us out there, and then it comes [down] to us competing. It wasn't good enough.”
Robinson, the Sharks’ associate coach, will not return to the bench next season, as he’ll relocate to Florida while continuing in his role as director of player development.
“This last game we had here with Larry, he talks to the team and you see him kind of go out for his last hurrah, it makes you look at the big picture,” Tommy Wingels said. “His impact in our room and our organization and in the game of hockey is as impactful as anyone out there in the whole history of the National Hockey League. That’s what we’ll look at tonight, and cherish his contribution to our game. We’ll worry about other stuff later.”
As for McLellan, Wingels said: “I think Todd is a great coach. He’s done a lot of great things with this organization and he’s a big reason for the success we’re had over the years. Who knows what’s going to happen?
“It’s not the players’ job to decide that. If he’s back, we’re all for it and we’re very supportive of him. If he’s not, I’m sure he’ll have very good success wherever he lands. As a coach, as a man, he’s very well respected. I’ll leave it at that.”
McLellan, who joined the Sharks prior to the 2008-09 season, has a 311-163-66 career mark as head coach. He became the second-fastest coach in NHL history to reach 300 wins on Feb. 13.
