Todd McLellan to coach Edmonton barring 'major collapse': Report

Do we have white smoke on Connor McDavid’s new coach? Not officially, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who is as good as they come in regards to breaking news, seems to strongly believe the Edmonton Oilers will hire Todd McLellan as their new head coach.

Edmonton holds the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft and the right to choose McDavid, barring an Eric Lindros type situation – there is precedent Connor, it can be done! This is what awaits you in Edmonton:

Kidding aside, I know they're building a beautiful downtown arena, and finally have good management at the helm, yadda, yadda, yadda ... said Friedman on Toronto’s Sportsnet 590:

“I think it’s going to get done barring a major collapse”

Whoa, those are strong, strong words. But why not announce it now? Because McLellan is coaching Team Canada in Prague at the IIHF World Championships.

“You don’t want to make the announcement while he’s coaching in Prague.”

Also true.

As for whether McLellan’s former boss Mike Babcock, the top coaching free agent maybe ever, could end up with San Jose, McLellan’s former spot? That seems unlikely based on the optics of how general manager Doug Wilson has sort of … not done a great job managing the Sharks the last couple of years per this interview.

And Babcock's whole thought of potentially leaving the Red Wings, his quasi current team, has a lot to do with going to a group that can win next year and beyond. Not a team that's "rebuilding" like San Jose.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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