Todd McLellan's tenure with the Los Angeles Kings ended recently, but it may only be a matter of time before the 56-year-old returns to the sidelines once again. He seems to be a popular option among teams in search of a new head coach. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that McLellan met with the Toronto Maple Leafs either on Monday or Tuesday. In addition, he's also spoken with several other franchises such as the Winnipeg Jets, the New Jersey Devils and the Seattle Kraken.

McLellan obviously won't be a candidate for the Leafs anymore, since the team just hired former St. Louis Blues HC Craig Berube. And besides, recent reports on McLellan state that he was supposedly the backup option behind Berube ahead of the Leafs' decision.

As for the Devils, the team is coming off a season where they experienced two different coaches at the helm. Following the decision to let go of Lindy Ruff, the Devils named associate HC Travis Green as the interim head coach. Green recently moved to the Ottawa Senators early this month. For now, it might be a long shot for McLellan to get the job, as rumors currently state that Sheldon Keefe and Jay Woodcroft are the team's top candidates for the position.

Moving on to the Jets, Rick Bowness just announced his retirement, so the team is presently browsing through options in the market. Despite that, multiple outlets report that interim HC Scott Arniel is the premier candidate to take over in Winnipeg.

Lastly, there's the Kraken, who finished the 2023 season without a playoff berth. Being unable to continue where they left off in 2022, the team decided to part ways with Dave Hakstol. The Kraken are now in search of their second-ever head coach in franchise history.

Todd McLellan through the years

Wherever McLellan ends up, that team will be getting a coach with plenty of experience. McLellan began his full-time coaching career in 1993 and he eventually landed his first-ever NHL stint in 2008 with the San Jose Sharks. He led the Sharks to the postseason in six out of his seven seasons with the team, accumulating regular-season totals of 311-163-66 throughout his tenure.

He then spent four years with the Edmonton Oilers, leading the team to a second-place finish and a playoff berth during the 2016-17 season.

Afterward, his most recent stint with the Kings ensued. McLellan fell short of the postseason in his first two years, but that all changed in the 2021-22 season. Following the signing of Phillip Danault, the Kings finally found a high-quality number-two center behind Anze Kopitar. This was a major catalyst in McLellan's first-ever postseason appearance with the Kings. However, they would end their campaign with a first-round exit.

In the following year, the Kings would make the playoffs again, but they would fall to the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year (in the first round). McLellan was eventually let go by the team back in February, appearing in a total of 48 games in his fifth and final season with LA.

Throughout his NHL coaching career, McLellan has amassed (regular season) totals of 598 wins, 412 losses and 134 OTL.