Todd McLellan’s thoughts on an NHL return to international competition

Fans of hockey can only dream about a matchup of that caliber. Not because there aren’t superstar talents available, but because the opportunity for the NHL’s best players to play in a so-called best-on-best international tournament hasn’t been presented to them since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

LA Kings head coach Todd McLellan was one of the many millions who bore witness to one of the greatest matchups in baseball history, albeit via replay but found it just as thrilling as the rest of us. “The Shohei and Trout showdown at the end, I didn’t watch it but I watched it after. It was pretty exciting.”

McLellan isn’t a stranger to coaching in the international hockey ranks. He was the head coach for Team Canada at the 2015 World Championships leading them to a gold medal. And also coached perhaps the most electrifying team ever assembled in Team North America at the 2016 World Cup.

“I think it’s really good for the game,” said McLellan after practice Wednesday when asked about the possibility of NHL players playing in a tournament representing their countries.

“Being part of that the World Championships are a really unique event. The problem with the World Championships is there are so many good players that aren’t available to their teams. I’ve experienced that. It was unreal. And I would love to do it again. But the Team North America experience in late August, early September was perhaps one of the best international ones. A little bit different. Felt really unique for me, because I was with that team, they’re all the superstars in the league right now. And that team was pretty good there. Would I like to see it personally? Yes, I would.”

Connor McDavid, one of the players McLellan coached on that North America team in 2016 was also given the chance to speak about the opportunity to finally play for Team Canada during his post-practice presser on Wednesday and he didn’t hold back.

Risks involving the NHL

So what’s keeping the NHL from moving forward with a tournament of this caliber? Well, simply put, injuries. It would be a damn shame if a player like McDavid, Matthews, or MacKinnon got hurt during a tournament that doesn’t involve the Oilers, Maple Leafs, or Avalanche. And Todd McLellan understands that.

“What does it come with some risks, losing the best players playing? And if one or two guys get hurt, it can really throw a season off. But that can also happen during training camps and exhibition games. So there’s always risk before coaching a team like that.”

Those are some pretty big risks. But with the NHL going on seven years now since they were involved in any sort of best-on-best situation, I’m sure the fans and the players themselves would be ok with them.