NHL Playoffs 2012: 5 Reasons Todd McLellan and Doug Wilson Should Be Fired

The NHL playoffs have been well underway for some time now.

And they might as well be over as far as San Jose Sharks fans are concerned—the St. Louis Blues ousted the Sharks with their series-clinching 3-1 win Saturday night.

For 21 seasons, Sharks fans everywhere have been waiting to see their men in teal hoist Lord Stanley's Cup, and for 21 seasons, they've been left disappointed. 

Sure, the Sharks have had much better seasons than they had this year where fans and commentators alike believed they were legitimate contenders.

As the Sharks barely clinched a postseason berth this year, gaining the seventh seed in the Western Conference, one can only hope that they won't be referred to with their traditional "playoff choker" label.

While the Sharks may be technically have been considered the "underdogs" in the postseason this year due to being the lowest seed in the conference, they aren't.

The current Sharks roster is one of the most stacked list of players fans in San Jose have ever seen. So why can't it produce?

One answer: look behind the bench.

The Resume

On paper, just like the Sharks, McLellan is one of the best around. Not only does his record speak volumes about his supposed abilities, but McLellan is one of the friendliest and most personable head coaches I've ever had the opportunity to interact with.

That can honestly be said about the entire Sharks coaching staff. And believe me, it makes this article only more difficult to write.

McLellan's list of accolades is really more than impressive if you consider he hasn't even been a head coach for five years.

A Presidents' Trophy in his first year as a head coach, three consecutive Pacific Division Championships, two consecutive berths into the Western Conference finals. 

McLellan's impact on the Sharks has been great, during the regular season. But the playoffs are what count in the NHL, as in any sport. You play for championships, and for a franchise who has consistently hiked the price of tickets, they have absolutely nothing to show for it.

Special Teams

I've been telling people for years that if you don't have efficient special teams in the playoffs in the NHL, you will never win a Stanley Cup.

Ever.

Sure, the Sharks had the No. 2 power play in the NHL during the regular season, but at a dazzling 22 percent, I'd hardly call that an effective power play.

McLellan was charged with handling the special teams during his tenure as an assistant coach for the Red Wings. And while the Sharks may not have a whole lot of Johan Franzens, Pavel Datsyuks or Henrik Zetterbergs, they have players that can absolutely run a much better unit than the one they currently have. 

The lackluster play of the Sharks special teams units show the inability of McLellan's current cabinet of assistant coaches, and reflect as a whole on his abilities to coach his team.

Coaching

One of the most consistent complaints I found myself having about McLellan is the roster moves he makes in regards to starting players and scratches.

And it couldn't have been proven any more after he started seven defensemen in the Sharks' Game 5 loss to the St. Louis Blues, resulting in McLellan's second first-round exit in four years as head coach.

McLellan chose to skate defenseman Jason Demers over veteran Brad Winchester.

Demers instead of Winchester. Think about that for a minute.

Winchester has been such an effective player for the Sharks that there is never a game he should be scratched for. Ever.

Doug Wilson

Before I get started on my verbal assault of Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, let me blatantly state I understand being a general manager in the NHL is probably one of the most difficult jobs on the planet.

Wilson has made some tremendous moves during his tenure as general manager, but all he really has to show for it is a bunch of conference championship banners and a couple of other banners that the most seasoned of hockey fans can't even contemplate.

See those "Western Conference Regular Season Champion" banners in the rafters of the Tank?. Next time you visit, take a look and try to figure out what they mean. If you do, please get back to me because I still can't comprehend them.

Micro Mismanagement

The last two years of Doug Wilson's management of the Sharks can be described in one word: chaos.

The Sharks' biggest issues last season were their bottom pairs. That means the third and fourth lines for those of you who aren't entirely familiar with hockey lingo.

So what did he do? He traded away almost a third of the team's goals in players such as Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi. He milked our developmental system to basically only include goaltenders when he traded away a future utility star player in Charlie Coyle.

Then the season started. And the you know what hit the fan.

Replacing Kyle Wellwood with Michal Handzus was stupid. Replacing Handzus with Dominic Moore was even more stupid.

Then Wilson took it a step further when he traded away third-line star Jamie McGinn for a duo of players of which we only saw one consistently.

All in all, Wilson is destroying everything the Sharks can be while trying to mold them into what he wants them to be.

There is absolutely no excuse for the Sharks to have been the No. 7 seed in the West, and there even more of an issue with a team that has consistently raised ticket prices every year and even rebranded their ownership in the offseason exiting the playoffs in the first round.

Doug Wilson and Todd McLellan need to go. Plain and simple.

David is a lifelong fan and player of hockey. He has had season tickets for the San Jose Sharks since their inception and is always willing to talk hockey. You can follow him on Twitter, and for every 300 followers he will give 1K to an NHL Charity! Follow @TheReal_DB3