The Detroit Red Wings are looking for their third straight win on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings. Detroit has already beaten the St. Louis Blues twice in a row. And they now head West to try and continue the momentum. This game against Los Angeles has more relevance than just a late-October hockey game, though. At least, it does for head coach Todd McLellan.
McLellan is returning to Los Angeles for the first time since early 2024. He was fired by the Kings after five years in charge. He led Los Angeles to the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice, but failed to get them out of the first round. Both losses came against another former team of McLellan’s — the Edmonton Oilers.
No one would blame the veteran bench boss for having this game circled on the schedule. However, he has moved on from his firing. He is tasked with helping the Red Wings achieve their goals, and that’s all that matters at this point.
“I think we’re all in a situation where we’ve got so much work to do with our own team,” McLellan said, via The Athletic. “I don’t know who it was, maybe Jacques Lemaire, said it’s hard enough to coach one team and follow one team and figure out your own team. That you shouldn’t be worrying about what the other team is doing. I have enough issues with our team and how we’re playing and what we need to do.”
Todd McLellan Harbors No Ill Will Toward Kings
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesThe Los Angeles Kings moved on from Todd McLellan during the 2023-24 season.
Though McLellan has moved on, there are certainly still a lot of emotions at play. He served as head coach for four teams throughout his career, including the Red Wings. His time in Los Angeles was his second-longest coaching tenure, behind the seven years he spent with the San Jose Sharks.
Things did not end how he wanted them to. But he harbors no ill will toward the Kings. In fact, he still has a ton of respect for the organization. And he still maintains relationships with various figures in Los Angeles.
“I know the players — the texts and calls that I got after that — I know (ex-Kings GM Rob Blake) and the management team, nobody feels good about any of that. You never want it to happen. I haven’t lost any friendships over what happened. I understand how it works,” McLellan said, via The Athletic.
Red Wings’ McLellan Focused On Stacking Wins
McLellan’s focus is now on the Red Wings. And so far, they’ve played quite well. They have had some stumbles, such as a 7-2 loss to the New York Islanders. For the most part, though, Detroit has shown that it has the ability to win games.
As mentioned, Detroit is coming off back-to-back wins over the Blues. They have won seven of their last nine games. And they are getting important contributions from all over the lineup.
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs in nine seasons. Additionally, they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since McLellan worked as an assistant coach on the team. Now the head man, McLellan is looking to break both of those droughts. There will be time for further reflection on what happened in Los Angeles at a later time.
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