The Kings arrived in Nashville for Wednesday night’s showdown with the Predators, the final game before an extended break and one that could signal the end of the Todd McLellan era in Los Angeles.
The break, which runs from Feb. 1 to Feb. 9, is partly because of the pause for All-Star weekend, where the struggling Cam Talbot will, fittingly, represent the struggling Kings. It could provide time for the Kings to evaluate and make a change behind the bench to replace McLellan, a well-reputed coach with the highest salary among active NHL stewards.
McLellan, whose team has lost 14 of its last 16 games, seemed well-prepared for a recent query about his job security. He confronted the question head on after a recent loss to Buffalo. That was defeat No. 12 in this dismal stretch.
“Well, that’s a very fair question. If I was sitting in your seat, and you were standing here, I’d ask you that. I’m responsible for this. When you look at the team that played the first 25, 30 games, if you will, it doesn’t look like the team that’s playing right now and I’m responsible for it,” McLellan said.
“Our staff is doing what we can, or what we believe we can, to get them to turn it around. We’re trying different things at different times, but I’m going to keep pushing away. I’m going to try and push buttons, poke people, praise people and look at how we do things. Our numbers, our underlying numbers, say we’re more the first-half team than the second-half team, but the win column doesn’t say that and that’s all that matters. So, it’s a very fair question.”
McLellan’s accountability was complete and more in step with that of the Kings’ prominent players than its management. But McLellan and his leadership group’s forthrightness didn’t help matters in a 5-1 inundation by the Colorado Avalanche. Nor did it save them when the St. Louis Blues took a more respectable effort from the Kings and handed them the same disrespectful result they get…
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