Todd MacLellan's seat has grown considerably warmer in recent days.
The small fire developed after last season's ridiculously epic playoff meltdown, then reduced to smoldering coals of red-orange after general manager Doug Wilson offered him a vote of confidence in the offseason. In recent days though, MacLellan's job security has come in question as the Sharks continue to underperform and look generally disinterested on a night in, night out basis.
MacLellan, rumored in recent weeks to be on the verge of an unceremonious exit in San Jose, could be even closer to the door than most think, according to Eklund of Hockeybuzz.com:
"In San Jose however...things appear to be further along....I am hearing Dan Bylsma is a "definite possibility" should the Sharks decide to make a change...Bylsma could be a good fit for that group."
Dan Bylsma, former Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, spoke earlier this week with Craig Custance of ESPN, stating that he was ready and willing for whatever opportunity would come next - but admitted he had no idea when or where that opportunity would come from.
"In the first 10 games, there seemed to be a couple teams you heard rumors about," he said, per Custance. "A lot of those things went away for 15 games. Recently, you've heard a few more things."
Bylsma, who stood behind the bench for the Penguins from 2008 to 2014, made it to the playoffs in every one of his six seasons and won the Stanley Cup in his inaugural year with the franchise.
Should MacLellan actually be replaced, it sounds like he won't be out of a job for too long, Eklund writes.
The potentially scariest aspect of this for San Jose fans? MacLellan is a quality coach and there's every possibility that the team will continue to underperform even after he's gone.
If he is replaced, it will reveal whether he has been a major factor in the current dysfunction permeating the Sharks, or whether it really stems from an issue of roster chemistry and makeup that should, ultimately, fall at the feet of Wilson.
