McLellan is not new to the NHL. He has been coaching NHL teams as a head coach since the 2008-2009 season with the San Jose Sharks. McLellan stayed with the Sharks until the 2014-2015 season, where he then got hired by the Edmonton Oilers as head coach from the 2015-2016 season to the 2018-2019 season. McLellan then bounced back to California to coach the Los Angeles kings from the 2019-2020 season to the 2023-2024 season. Even though the Kings fired McLellan, it was not long until the Red Wings decided to hire him as head coach. What many people and Wings fans also don’t know is that McLellan was an assistant coach for the Red Wings from 2005 to 2008, where they won the Stanley Cup in the 2007-2008 season. This led up to the start of his career as head coach in San Jose. While the Red Wings could have gone the year with an interim coach, Yzerman said, “Ultimately, I believe Todd McLellan is an excellent coach and someone who I really want to work with. He’s going to need some time as well. This move isn’t made just for this year. It’s made for the organization moving forward for next year and beyond.” Yzerman also said, “For me, what I want to do and where we’re at, I believe he’s definitely the right guy.”

Yes, McLellan has been a coach of different teams in the NHL for a long time now, but has he actually been a successful coach? So far in his NHL career as head coach, McLellan has an overall regular season record of 598-412-134 and a postseason record of 42-26. Since taking over the Red Wings, as of now, he has a record of 7-1, on a 7-game win streak. In McLellan’s first game as head coach, the Red Wings fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. The following day at practice, he said to his new team, “play f—— hockey. You’ve been doing it your whole life.” This must have struck something in the player’s heart because since the moment he said this, the Red Wings have been on a 7-game winning streak, which included a huge 4-2 win over one of the best teams in the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets. In an interview with Red Wings Forward Patrick Kane, He said that “[McLellan] is trying to make it simple for us” and that “it’s a good way to play”. After being only a few weeks in with the Red Wings, McLellan seems to be having a positive impact on the team and fans. While McLellan’s time in Detroit has been short, what seems so hopeful for Wings fans is that they seem to be winning again. The Red Wings still have one of the most extended current playoff droughts in all of pro sports, extending back to the 2016-2017 NHL season. So far McLellan has been an incredible coach for the Wings, but in only a couple of games. What Yzerman and the city of Detroit still long for is a playoff-caliber Red Wings team, which McLellan still has time to prove he can create.