San Jose Sharks: Todd McLellan gives perspective on rebuild

The San Jose Sharks have been scrutinized a lot recently over management consistently talking about rebuilding the franchise. No one is certain as to what it means exactly. Coach Todd McLellan spoke with the NHL to give his take on what rebuild actually means.

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McLellan stated that the term rebuild originally came from wanting to reset the hierarchy and culture of the team. “We want to reset the hierarchy and culture in the organization, and that’s really where the term rebuild came from,” McLellan said. “We feel we have a tremendous talent pool. We feel the players that are with our organization are part of the solution and not the problem now… We think we have a very good hockey club and we think we need to tinker with a few things and continue to push forward.”

McLellan also admitted that the term rebuild has brought about a lot of confusion. The word can have so many meanings that of course there was going to be media attention over such phrasing. McLellan simply stated that there is a plan in place to better the organization and they know who they want to be a part of it. Does this mean that leadership is already known for the coming season?

Apparently no decision has been made, however I’m sure that there is a leaning toward certain players. Training camp is expected to be a defining factor in these decisions and I’m sure that many younger players will be eager to show they have future leadership potential. I still expect to see Logan Couture or Joe Pavelski with some sort of letter on their sweater in the coming season.

Finally, McLellan knows that the hurt from ending last season the way they did will never fully go away. “The defeat was and still is, it stings a lot,” McLellan said. “We have to look at what we did well and didn’t do well in that series and also the fact they won three Game 7s on the road against very good teams. So they were the champs. There is absolutely no doubt about it. That could mean we have a group that is close but still has to figure out a way to close the deal.” The memory of the playoffs last season shouldn’t go away. The Sharks should use this as a driving factor to better the team, to better their individual skills and to come back and show the league that the San Jose Sharks have what it takes to be a force in the West.