While the Red Wings collapsed and fell short of making the playoffs, it shouldn’t take away from the fine job Todd McLellan had done when he became head coach for this team. McLellan took over a squad that was 13-17-4 and finished the year 26-18-4, good for 56 points in that span but not good enough to make up for the late-season collapse.
Still, his performance saw him put new life into the Red Wings scoring units, and the team once again found itself playing at a playoff-caliber pace for at least a contingent of the season. He also may’ve helped shift the culture from one that struggled with a perennial loser’s mentality to one that knows it can win hard-fought games.
So, unlike quite a few organizations, the Wings know who their coach is for at least the foreseeable future. But wow, Todd McLellan proved he was human in a postseason press conference. And it goes to show you that, regardless of who you are and how cool your job is, you’re just another guy living on the edge of the galaxy.
Todd McLellan’s postseason comments were hysterical
What made McLellan’s quip so memorable at his presser? Or better yet, admission? He recalled, “We coached against Toronto [on Dec. 27], and I didn’t even know the players’ names. I was calling half of them the wrong names, but that wasn’t a bad thing because that just showed we had a human element to us and that we were human.”
And McLellan’s right. It’s not a bad thing. Fans may hold players, coaches, and even writers to higher standards because we’re following the NHL every day, even during that infamous stretch between mid-July and mid-September when virtually nothing is going on. So, you’d think McLellan would know everyone’s name, right?
Well, probably not, when you think about it. His last head coaching gig came in the Western Conference, so he probably wasn’t paying much attention to the Red Wings unless he was coaching against them.
And I can relate, having primarily written about Eastern Conference teams until February 2024, meaning most of my time and energy went into them as opposed to what was going on in the Central and Pacific Divisions.
Human element lives on in hockey, no matter who you are
About nine years ago, I ran a 6.6K in Pittsburgh, not long before the Penguins started their Stanley Cup-winning 2016-17 season. When I’m either in the gym or running, I’m often in the zone, and able to tune out everyone around me.
That day in October 2016 was no different, so I was rather taken aback when I later found out the guy whose high-five I snubbed upon finishing the run that day was none other than Mario Lemieux. Yeah. Whoops. Kind of a big name, right?
Hey, it’s the human element not only in hockey but in life. That was a point Todd McLellan drove home when he made those recent admissions, and it’s one that will without a doubt happen next season when a coach, somewhere, gets fired and a new guy steps in to replace him.
I’m sure Jim Montgomery had the same thing happen to him in St. Louis shortly after they hired him following his unceremonial dismissal from Boston. The human element is a life lesson in many facets, and none of us are exempt from it.