Around The Watering Hose: Todd McLellan Rumor

Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan; will he be fired or won’t he be fired? If he is fired where will he go? If he gets another job can he keep it? Did the Sharks fail because of him or because of a weak meld this past season? Oh so many questions and with all of those questions come a whole lot of “answers” (read rumors).

The bay area has a great insider with the Sharks, and I was not surprised at all when Comcast’s Kevin Kurz posted briefly last week about the rumors surrounding the fate of TM. Fueled by comments made by Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald, Kurz wrote:

"“…coaching in Calgary might give him a fresh start. After a tough season with San Jose, he knows that all the pressure will be on him to deliver better results—if he remains with the Sharks. In Calgary, he would have a chance to make a strong first impression.At the very least, it would be a nice change of scenery, coaching an NHL team right next to his hometown.”"

Fair enough, but really, I think the time for first impressions have passed at this point. Everyone knows TM, he was a coach at the All Star Game this year if  you recall, and many die hard fans are familiar with his coaching techniques. Now, some may argue that going to a new place and breathing fresh air may rejuvenate the coach who was struggling behind the bench just as much as his players were struggling in front of it; but I have to pose the question, since when does changing your scenery actually really work? I suppose for awhile the excitement of moving can invogorate and inspire, but after a few years that tends to wear off. Just ask another former Sharks coach, Ron Wilson…not that he ever really got started in Toronto…in his defence, it’s the Leafs…enough said.

I’m not saying that TM would fail in Calgary, nor am I saying he will continue to struggle in San Jose. Hockey is unpredictable and sometimes it just takes the right combination of players and coaches. A lot of people hated Heatley when he played for San Jose and thought he was a terrible player. I find it odd that even though statistically speaking he was a stronger player in San Jose than he is in Minnesota, he is simply received better by fans of the Wild. He fits better there overall, even if he dropped 11 points from the 2010-2011 season.

So will McLellan be heading up North to coach the Flames and perhaps find a better fit? Only time will tell, but I personally would be a bit surprised if he was let go at this point. I think the team has enough time to figure it out and to get it going, but it’s going to take more than just the coaching staff to get them on the right path. If TM does head  to Calgary I suppose it gives me one more excuse to watch the Flames and Mikka Kiprusoff get to work. I feel like the flames have a lot of potential and are well worth a serious look…I wonder if TM is thinking the same thing…

~ALH

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