Todd McLellan said Tuesday he has expectations as coach of the Edmonton Oilers. They’re just not the same kind of expectations he had as coach of the Sharks for seven years.
“San Jose is a mature team,” McLellan said. “If you’re comparing the two, they’re a mature team and they’re kind of a win-now team. We’re a grow-now team, so we’re at different stages.”
McLellan will face his former team for the first time Wednesday when the Sharks visit Rexall Place in Edmonton. In his first season with the Oilers, McLellan has Edmonton in sixth place in the Pacific Division with 24 points, four points back of the Sharks going into Tuesday.
After a tough first month of the season that included an injury to rookie center Connor McDavid, the Oilers have started to go in the right direction. Entering Tuesday, they had won three straight and four of five.The Sharks were winless in three entering their game with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
McLellan and the Sharks agreed to part ways April 20 after San Jose missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. He left San Jose as the winningest coach in Sharks history with a 311-163-66 regular season record.
The Sharks also fired assistant coaches Jim Johnson and Jay Woodcroft that day. Both joined McLellan in Edmonton.
Pete DeBoer was introduced as the coach to replace McLellan on May 28.
Under McLellan, San Jose won three Pacific Division titles (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11)and one Presidents' Trophy (2008-09) and made the Western Conference final two times (2010 and 2011), but never reached the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers haven’t made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season. McLellan said he knew what he was getting into when he took the job in Edmonton.
“The pressure in San Jose is different than the pressure here,” McLellan said. “There is a win now pressure on a staff, a management team and some of the older players. That’s what they’re there for. They’re there to win now.”
McLellan he’s looking forward to seeing some of his former players when the Edmonton Oilers host the Sharks on Wednesday, but won’t get caught up in strolling down memory lane.
“San Jose was a long period for myself and my family there, and we absolutely loved it,” McLellan said. “The organization, the ownership, the management, Doug Wilson and his team treated me tremendously well.
“They gave me the opportunity to enter the league as a young coach. They gave me a tremendous team to work with. The players, the older ones from Patty (Marleau) and (Joe Thornton) all the way down. I have a ton of respect for them. It’ll be nice to see faces. But when the puck’s dropped, our job is to go out and win a game, and that what we’ll try and do.”
The post Todd McLellan says pressure in Edmonton is different than it is in San Jose appeared first on Working the Corners.
