Todd McLellan Interview - 2009 NHL Awards

Last week we met with the President's Trophy winning coach of the San Jose Sharks Todd McLellan at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas to discuss his team's playoff letdown against the Ducks and next season strategy. These are his stories.

Q: Discuss the impact of Jeremy Roenick and Claude Lemieux on your team this year.
A: Well we’re talking about two Hall of Fame players so anytime they walk into the locker room they have instant credibility and respect. Jeremy had been there for a year prior and had created a number of relationships with players and people in the community. Claude, his experience in the playoffs and winning Stanley Cups and Conn Smythe trophies speaks volumes. Obviously we didn’t get the job done that we wanted to but it wasn't because of the impact they had. They made a real positive one and it’s certainly been an honor having them involved in our organization.

Q: What’s the next step for the San Jose Sharks?
A: Well right now we’re in that evaluation process. What we can’t do is get caught up in the emotion that we went out in the first round. We did a lot of really good things during the regular season, attained a lot of the goals that we set, team records, and league records. We have to keep that in mind as we move forward. Ultimately the goal is the Stanley Cup. So there will be some changes personnel wise and perhaps with the way we approach things and play a little bit but that will show up in September, October, and November.

Many thanks to Todd for speaking with us. Best of luck next season.