Former Oilers and Sharks coach linked to another NHL head coaching job

It’s been over four months since the Edmonton Oilers fired head coach Todd McLellan and replaced him with Ken Hitchcock and very little has been heard from or about McLellan since the firing. 

The ten year NHL head coaching veteran is one of a handful of prominent coaches without a job currently and maybe the most experienced outside of former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. McLellan may have flamed out in Edmonton, but he’s still a quality NHL head coach… isn’t it weird that he hasn’t been linked to any vacant positions around the league? At least as an assistant coach? Well, as it turns out, he has.

Last week NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that McLellan is a candidate for a head coaching position with the Los Angeles Kings, a position currently held in interim by former Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins. For good measure, Friedman also threw long-time Arizona Coyotes and Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett into the mix, as well.

Check it out: 

Last week, I mentioned Todd McLellan as a high-level candidate for Los Angeles’s permanent coaching job. Add Dave Tippett. Four months ago, he said, “I’m happy in Seattle, and I will be staying here.” But there is word the coaching bug has bit him again, and it is believed at least one team this season asked him about a return.

Interesting. Suffice it to say that a McLellan or Tippett hiring in LA would spice up the Pacific Division quite a bit. For what it’s worth, LA’s cross-town rival Anaheim Ducks are also on the hunt for a new head coach this upcoming offseason. The Oilers could potentially move off of Hitchcock, as well. No matter how it all shakes down, the Pacific Division will look a LOT different in 2019-20.