Ranking the Best Candidates to Replace Todd McLellan as Sharks Head Coach

Six days after San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan revealed that he'd be heading to Prague to coach Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, the Sharks and their bench boss mutually announced on April 20 that the time had come for the two sides to part ways, according to the team's official website.

Hired to start the 2008-09 season, McLellan built a record of 311-163-66 over seven seasons in San Jose. He guided the Sharks to a Presidents' Trophy with 117 points in his first season. He then took his team to the Western Conference Final in both 2010 and 2011. McLellan's shortcoming was his inability to deliver a Stanley Cup Final berth to the Bay Area's rabid hockey fans.

One year ago, San Jose posted a 111-point season and jumped out to a 3-0 first-round series lead against the Los Angeles Kings before collapsing to lose four straight games. After that, the winds of change started to blow through a Sharks team that has tried to rebuild while simultaneously allowing veteran leaders Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau to remain at the top of the pecking order.

Without a clear identity in 2014-15, the Sharks failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2003. With just one year left on his contract, McLellan and general manager Doug Wilson agreed it was time for a change behind the San Jose bench.

Here's a look at the best possible replacement candidates. Ranking factors include each coach's experience, championship success and how his style would mesh with the team culture in San Jose.

6. Larry Robinson

STEVE NESIUS/Associated Press

Coaching History

After a stellar playing career that included two Norris Memorial Trophies and six Stanley Cups, Larry Robinson won another Cup as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 before embarking on his head coaching career. During eight years as bench boss, Robinson added an eighth championship to his resume in New Jersey in 2000.

Why He's Available

Robinson has been an associate coach with the Sharks since 2012 and was appointed as the team's director of player development in 2014. On Monday, it was announced that he'd be leaving the bench to move into his player development role full time, according to The Canadian Press (via TSN).

Biggest Shortcomings

Robinson's already on the Sharks' payroll, but at age 63, he's trying to move out of a coaching role. If San Jose can't reel in an ideal candidate this summer, Robinson may be asked to help out in an interim role, but he doesn't seem to be seeking the gig at this time.

5. Marc Crawford

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Coaching History

Marc Crawford played 176 games over six seasons as a left wing with the Vancouver Canucks before starting his NHL coaching career with the Quebec Nordiques in 1994-95. He won a Stanley Cup when the team relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995-96 and went on to coach three other Western Conference teams: the Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars.

Crawford's NHL coaching resume totals 1,186 games and includes a Jack Adams Award from his rookie coaching season with the Nordiques.

Why He's Available

Crawford's NHL ticket expired in 2011 after he failed to guide the Los Angeles Kings or the Dallas Stars to playoff berths over two-year tenures with each team. Since 2012, Crawford has coached the ZLC Lions of the Swiss National League, where he won a championship in 2013-14.

During the summer of 2014, Crawford actively campaigned to get back into the NHL, pursuing coaching vacancies in Vancouver, Washington, Carolina and Florida, according to Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel (South Florida). 

Biggest Shortcomings

Though he has a lengthy NHL resume, Crawford hasn't guided a team to a playoff series win since the Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues in the first round in 2003. A Crawford-coached team hasn't even made the playoffs since the 2003-04 Canucks, which is more than a decade ago.

Over the course of his career, Crawford has been known for his short fuse on the bench. He'd have to show that he has mellowed like fine wine before he could be considered as an option to preside over a Sharks group that includes strong veteran personalities like Thornton.

4. Kevin Dineen

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Coaching History

Kevin Dineen played 1,188 games over 19 NHL seasons before following in the footsteps of his father Bill and turning to coaching.

The younger Dineen led the Florida Panthers to their first playoff berth in 12 years in his first season behind their bench. He ultimately spent 146 games with the team over three seasons before being dismissed. He then led Canada's women's national team to an Olympic gold medal in Sochi in 2014.

Why He's Available

Dineen signed on as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2014-15 season but is almost certainly biding his time until another head coaching offer comes along.

Dineen has worked at a high degree of difficulty in his short career, guiding the Panthers to their first playoff berth in more than a decade and healing a fractured Canadian women's team in time for them to eke out a gold-medal comeback win over Team USA in Sochi. 

Biggest Shortcomings

Dineen's NHL head coaching resume isn't as long or as decorated as some of the other available candidates, and he only flirted with star status during his playing career.

Sharks management will be looking for a coach who can take the team deep into the playoffs. Dineen's only NHL postseason coaching experience was a first-round series loss to the New Jersey Devils when he was with the Panthers in 2012.

3. Jeff Blashill

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Coaching History

McLellan served as an assistant coach to Mike Babcock in Detroit, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2008 before being hired by the Sharks. These days, Jeff Blashill looks like the next candidate from the Red Wings' coaching tree who's ripe for the picking.

Blashill served as an assistant coach for one year next to Babcock in 2011-12 before becoming the head coach of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins for the last three seasons. The Griffins captured the Calder Cup as league champions in 2013.

Why He's Available

Blashill's under contract to Grand Rapids for two more seasons, but the Red Wings would be expected to release him if an NHL team came calling.

As the first coach in Griffins history to record three consecutive 40-win seasons, Blashill looks like he's ready to make the jump to the NHL.

Biggest Shortcomings

If Babcock ends up leaving Detroit for a new job this summer, Blashill is considered to be a top replacement candidate with the Red Wings.

Grand Rapids is currently just starting its playoff run after finishing second in the AHL's Western Conference. Once Blashill's season wraps up, Detroit general manager Ken Holland might be reluctant to allow him to speak with other teams until he knows whether or not he has a job to fill with his own club.

2. Dan Bylsma

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Coaching History

After an unremarkable pro career in which he played 429 NHL games over nine seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Dan Bylsma took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins midway through the 2008-09 season as a 38-year-old. Within four months, he had guided his group to a Stanley Cup championship.

Bylsma spent six seasons in Pittsburgh before being relieved of his duties after the 2013-14 season.

Why He's Available

Bylsma and Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero were both shown the door after the Penguins failed to convert a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers in the second round of the 2014 playoffs. The incident capped off a string of disappointing postseason performances that had plagued the talent-laden Penguins in the years following their 2009 Stanley Cup victory.

After the Penguins were swept by the Boston Bruins in the 2013 conference final, Bylsma's contract was extended through the 2015-16 season, meaning he had two years remaining on his deal when he was dismissed. The cost of matching that existing deal may have scared off teams that were looking for new bench bosses during the summer of 2014's coach-hunting season.

Biggest Shortcomings

During his time in Pittsburgh, Bylsma was known as a players' coach who left much of the responsibility for the team's inner workings to the group inside the dressing room.

If veteran leaders Thornton and Marleau stay in San Jose for another season, a kid-glove approach like Bylsma's might hit the right tone as the Sharks look to get back on the same page going into next season.

1. Mike Babcock

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Coaching History

Babcock has not yet won a Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year, but he's the only coach in hockey history to be a member of the Triple Gold Club. He won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2004 and an Olympic gold medal—two, in fact—with Canada in 2010 and 2014.

Why He's Available

Widely regarded as the best coach in the game today, Babcock will be a free agent once his Red Wings are eliminated from the playoffs this spring.

Babcock has allowed his contract to expire, fuelling speculation that he'll sell himself to the highest bidder at a price as high as a record-setting $5 million a season, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. At the very least, he should be able to write his own ticket with the team of his choice.

If Babcock's decision comes down to money, the free-spending Sharks should be able to compete for his attention. In terms of personnel, San Jose also appears to have more tools in the box to start winning again immediately compared to other currently coachless teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers or Toronto Maple Leafs.

There's also a history between the Sharks and Red Wings. McLellan was one of Babcock's assistants when he was poached by San Jose back in 2008.

Biggest Shortcomings

Babcock has positioned himself at the center of a bidding war. He and his family will likely be set for life when he signs his next contract, but the term and value could prove crippling for the team that signs him if Babcock isn't able to deliver immediate success.

He's a great coach, but Babcock's price will likely be high. Wilson should proceed with caution before offering the keys to the kingdom.

Coaching stats courtesy of Hockey Reference.