McLellan hired as Sharks coach - McCrimmon to replace him with Wings

[WTFchris]

Ex-Wings assistant McLellan hired as Sharks coach

Associated Press
Updated: June 12, 2008, 10:28 AM

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks hired former Detroit Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan as their head coach on Wednesday, bringing in a leader with Stanley Cup-winning credentials to replace the fired Ron Wilson.
McLellan will be formally introduced at a news conference with general manager Doug Wilson on Thursday.
Todd McLellan, who helped the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup, will be the Sharks next coach.

"It's a very good feeling," McLellan said in a statement released by the team. "From the first moment Doug called to the moment he offered the job, I felt comfortable. I think the Sharks have done a tremendous job. You don't get that close to 50 wins for a number of years in a row without a lot of talent. It's a matter of getting over the hump. There are some real parallels between the Wings and the Sharks."
McLellan had spent the past three seasons as an assistant in Detroit, where he was considered a bright offensive coach who led Detroit's power-play units. The Red Wings had the NHL's top power play in McLellan's first season and the second-best over his three-year tenure at 20.1 percent. McLellan helped the Red Wings knock out the Sharks in the second round of the playoffs in 2007 and win the Stanley Cup over Pittsburgh this past season.
"Todd McLellan has an excellent track record and has had success at every level of coaching in his career," Doug Wilson said. "He comes from one of the top organizations in all of sports and has been exposed to some of the brightest hockey minds in the game including Jim Devallano, Ken Holland, Scotty Bowman, Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock, along with Jacques Lemaire, to name just a few. We feel that Todd is an excellent fit for our hockey team."


Ron Wilson was fired last month after the Sharks followed another outstanding regular season with yet another early exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was hired as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
The Sharks won the Pacific Division this season and compiled the NHL's second-best record with 49 wins and 108 points, but the Dallas Stars knocked them out of the second round in six games. San Jose ended its past three seasons with six-game series losses in the second round, and the Sharks lost to a lower-seeded team in three of their four postseasons under Wilson.
At the time of the firing, Doug Wilson said further changes are in store for the roster that is led by former MVP Joe Thornton, captain Patrick Marleau and goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
Before joining the Red Wings, McLellan spent four seasons as coach of the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros, winning the Calder Cup championship in 2003. He was also a head coach for Cleveland in the International Hockey League and at Swift Current in the WHL.
McLellan played five games with the New York Islanders in 1987-88, recording one goal and one assist.

[WTFchris]

Wings hire Brad McCrimmon as assistant coach

Posted by George James Malik July 21, 2008 15:39PM



The Sporting News's Craig Custance reports that the Detroit Red Wings have hired former Atlanta Thrashers assistant coach (and Wings alumnus) Brad McCrimmon to fill the assistant coaching spot left vacant by Todd McLellan's departure for San Jose:

July 21, The Sporting News: The Detroit Red Wings have hired Brad McCrimmon as an assistant coach on Mike Babcock's staff, filling the vacancy created when Todd McLellan left to take the head job in San Jose.

McCrimmon was the associate coach for the Atlanta Thrashers last season and a finalist for the head job with the Thrashers. He told the Sporting News he has agreed to terms to join the Red Wings and expects to sign the deal when he goes to Detroit next week. "I was there for three years as a player and loved it," said McCrimmon, who played for the Red Wings from 1990-93. "Now it's a great opportunity to go back. It's a good situation in the sense of the city, the team and what they've been doing there for a long time."
McCrimmon was a popular assistant in Atlanta, where Ilya Kovalchuk, Bobby Holik, Marian Hossa and Mark Recchi all made pitches for him to get the head job after Bob Hartley was fired at the beginning of the 2007-08 season. The Thrashers instead promoted John Anderson from their AHL affiliate after Anderson won the Calder Cup this season with the Wolves.
McCrimmon spent four seasons in Atlanta and also has been an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders. As a player, McCrimmon was a physical defenseman who helped the Flames win a Stanley Cup in 1989.

Custance says this about McCrimmon in his blog:

July 21, The Sporting News: When I spoke with Ken Holland last week, he said Brad McCrimmon was Mike Babcock's No. 1 choice to hire as an assistant coach. Here's what we know about the Red Wings -- if they have a top choice, they usually get him. McCrimmon was no different. He agreed to terms on a deal to move from Atlanta to Detroit to be an assistant under Babcock and he told me today that he expects to sign the deal next week. It's a great fit for McCrimmon who was a finalist for the head coaching job in Atlanta that ultimately went to John Anderson. McCrimmon turned down a chance to become the Thrashers head coach when the position was offered around the All-Star break. The two sides couldn't agree on guarantees beyond last season. But he has no regrets with how things went down with the Thrashers.
"You go in, do your best and try and help any way you can," McCrimmon said today. "At the end of the day, decisions are made."
It's not the head coaching job McCrimmon desires and will eventually get, but Detroit is a great opportunity and perfect fit for the former NHL defenseman. In Paul MacLean and McCrimmon, Babcock now has former NHL players who played on both sides of the ice. One year ago, McCrimmon and Marian Hossa were about to embark on a roller coaster season with the Thrashers. Now they're reunited in Detroit - the Stanley Cup favorites.
"It would have been hard to put all that together," said McCrimmon who summed it all up this way: "One door closes and another one opens."