Todd McLellan deserves Jack Adams consideration

After the 2018-2019 season, the LA Kings opted not to bring back interim head coach Willie Desjardins. For both the players and fans it was a season to forget and one that was glad to finally be over with.

“I think we need someone that’s going to kick our ass a little bit”, Drew Doughty said after the 2018-2019 season ended.

When looking for the new head coach it was clear general manager Rob Blake wanted someone who had structure to their system but can hold players accountable. Having played two seasons in San Jose, Blake was very familiar with Todd McLellan and knew what to expect from him. On April 16th, 2019, the Kings named McLellan their next head coach, giving him a five-year contract.

McLellan, who Kings fans are very familiar with, was the head coach for the San Jose Sharks from 2008-2015, and the Edmonton Oilers from 2015-2018. Under McLellan, San Jose won the division three times, had three 50-win seasons, and made two Western Conference finals appearances. Unfortunately, the Sharks couldn’t win when it mattered most in the playoffs and Kings fans remember the reverse sweep in 2014 against those Sharks.

After mutually parting ways with San Jose, the Edmonton Oilers quickly hired him as their next head coach, and led them to the Western Conference semifinals in his second season where they lost to the Anaheim Ducks in seven games. With hope for the future, Edmonton took a step back the next two seasons and he was fired less than two months into his fourth season.

Coming into a situation the Kings were in was very new for McLellan. The Kings were just starting their rebuild and looking to acquire as many assets as possible. The Kings team he was taking over didn’t have the stacked roster that he had in San Jose or a duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to coach as he had in Edmonton.

One thing I took away from McLellan’s introductory press conference was, “we have a plan”. It was clear McLellan understood Blake’s vision for the team moving forward and was on board with it.

While the 2019-2020 season didn’t go well as expected, the LA Kings finished the season on a seven-game winning streak that got halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. The shortened 2021 season didn’t go any better as the depth was very thin and LA missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

In the Summer of 2021, Rob Blake went out and traded for Viktor Arvidsson and signed Phillip Danault. It signaled they were taking the next step in the rebuild. With the Kings starting the 2021-2022 season at 1-5-1, many people, including myself were questioning if McLellan was the right coach for this team’s future. Fast forward nearly seven months later, the Kings were playing in game seven in the first round against the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, Connor McDavid was too much for the Kings as Edmonton won game seven 2-0, ending a magical season.

With the Kings dealing with a bunch of injuries throughout the season, McLellan did a good job of getting everyone to buy in and even put together the “Nice line”, which became the best line for the Kings. Leading the Kings back to the playoffs when nobody outside the organization expected them to still wasn’t good enough apparently. When it came time for the Jack Adams voting, McLellan received only five first-place and eight second-place votes. He wasn’t even a finalist for the great job he did last season helping guide a Kings team to the postseason with a bunch of injuries, no Arvidsson or Doughty in their postseason matchup against Edmonton, and exceeded expectations. He definitely got snubbed.

After an up-and-down start this year, the Kings are now competing for a division title, four points away from 100, and the team is playing better hockey of late. It’s time Todd McLellan gets the recognition he rightfully deserves. He has been a big part of this team’s turnaround from where they were two seasons ago. I know fans want players like Jordan Spence to play over Sean Walker, or Arthur Kaliyev and Jaret-Anderson Dolan to draw into the lineup, but McLellan is going to go with the lineup that gives the team the best chance to win on a nightly basis. And it’s working. Even the goalie rotation is working so far.

While I believe Boston’s Jim Montgomery will win the Jack Adams award, McLellan should be a finalist for the award. Whatever happens in the playoffs is a story for another day. As I mentioned earlier, I was one of those people questioning whether McLellan was the right coach for this team’s future. I will gladly say I was wrong. Whether you’re a believer in McLellan now or still on the “Fire Todd” train, we all need to give him his flowers. He’s a big part of the Kings’ turnaround within the last two seasons along with Rob Blake. It’s time McLellan gets the credit he deserves and should be a finalist for the Jack Adams.

Next year is the final year of his five-year contract.