Todd McLellan Morning Skate Media | Nov. 20, 2025

Todd McLellan Morning Skate Media | Nov. 20, 2025

my purple for a good cause. Hi boss, how are you? Good. Well Todd, uh you recently said that the Rangers victory was arguably the most complete defensive game. Obviously, you have the Islanders tonight and they’re a stingy defensive team, at least been known that way. What is the biggest key to counteracting them tonight? Well, they’re a stingy defensive team, but they’re also a very sneaky offensive team. Um, you know, when I look at the game we played in their building, um, they it led to us coming back from that that road trip and spending, you know, a good chunk of time, two good practices and working on sort outs coming into our end because they they drilled us in that area. Their their entries are as good as anybody in the league. They’ve got obviously active defenseman um and they play with pace. So, um, if we understand that’s coming and if we can handle it and accept it and deal with it, then we’ll give ourselves a chance to win. If we behave the way we did on the island, we’ll end up with the same results. And then, how great was it to see the other game the the connection between Nate and EMTT there? Um, you know, we’ve talked a lot about this. He’s uh I don’t know if we’re trying to make something up because they are like they’re two rookies and yeah, they went out and played and they scored goals and they did look like they belong together. Uh but there’s no magic to it just you know because they’re rookies. They’re from Western Canada. They haven’t they’re not twins. They’re not the Sadines. um they are two good players that had real good um you know two periods together and we’re going to keep them together and we hope that continues on but I don’t want to put the pressure on those two two young men to be as I said maybe the Sadines or whoever else like they they have their own games they can complement each other and they play for the team right now so that’s a a real positive thing where do you feel Albert Johansson’s game has been at to start the year Albert Johansson’s Albert quietly goes about doing his thing. Um rarely do we come into the uh coaches room after and you know evaluate the game and go, “Holy Christ, what was he doing?” Like um and just steady Eddie. He just does his thing. And um I think when him and Hammer play together, they they tend to get things done. When when you look at this Islanders team, what stands out to you about Schaefer and what he’s kind of been able to do early in his career as such as as such a young player? Wow. Well, three letters. Um, anytime a young man goes first overall, you expect a lot from him, but I don’t think we we on the outside, obviously the Islanders know him way better than anybody else does, but from the outside, we didn’t expect to see um, you know, quite uh, this type of performance. So, um, hats off to to him as an individual. Um, you know, to their organization. Obviously, Patty W has done a a real good job in their coaching staff of bringing him along. So, um they’re lucky to have him and the fans in that community be really lucky to watch him for many years. And we’ve talked about it with with your young guys and you watch him play. Just you think about the confidence and we’re kind of you guys are at 20 NHL games now for the season and you you talked the other day about EMTT and um Axe have played almost 30 between all that. when you look at kind of how their confidence has grown with with that, how much is it have you is it is it basically just been an upward thing or for you have you seen moments where hey they’ve had to get over lumps that maybe we don’t see we we’ve seen moments for sure we’ve seen moments um Axe Emmett Brance and Danny and all 20-year-olds that we’ve been playing at some point throughout the year we we have seen moments some of them have been able to push through to the next level real quick others uh carry things with them. Um, but you don’t know what you don’t know until you know. And the kids coming in here, um, they can watch the NHL, they can hear about it. Um, they can ask players that have played in the NHL, but until they actually feel it and live it and understand the pace of practice, the intensity of meetings, the preparedness that goes on. You don’t know until you know. And they’re still learning all of that. and and as bumps show up in the road, uh we have to be there to stabilize them and help them push through. And if they continue to do that, they’re completely ready to play here. If they don’t, well, then they they may have to do other things, but uh right now they’ve proven they have. You talk about the purple on your shirt, hockey fights cancer tonight. Can you just expand on the importance of a night like tonight and what that does? Yeah, it’s um there’s I I know I can speak for all of us in here. There’s nobody here that hasn’t had to deal with somebody either really close or or um within the family or a friend that that hasn’t had to deal with this disease. I’ve had to. And um you know, it’s a worldwide fight um against it. And one of the special things about our league, in my opinion, our moments and months like this where every team participates in some real good cause, players were excited to put the jerseys on. Um I could hear them kind of talking in the background, you know, like if they ask you who you you fight for, who is it? Like they’re asking each other. They probably don’t share that with with one another a lot. Some of it’s private, but now it opens it up and you talk and you learn a little bit more about families and and what’s really important. Um, now I got Kelly Chase. Most of you know Kelly Chase, real good buddy of mine. He’s he’s fighting for his life and and I know what he’s going through every day and uh I’m almost 60 years old and I’m dealing with 20-year-olds begging them to to work hard in practice. Sometimes things get upside down and not just 20-year-olds, some 35 year olds, too. But, uh, sometimes things get upside down in our world real quick. We’re real blessed to be in this game and in this league, and then there’s others that don’t quite have it that way, and this is a real good reminder that life is real. Uh Todd, I’m not sure how much you follow the Griffins, but 110 and one start that some of their players that they probably expected to be down there are up here. They’ve had some injuries. Just what what do you uh just how impressed are you by the way they’re they’re playing and how much kind of optimism for the future does that provide? Well, we we do follow them. Um you know, anytime we can throw a game up or portions of the game, uh we follow them. Um, our management team, Hark was was just in the room before this. We were talking about, you know, their games lately and who’s playing well and, um, the team’s well organized. Wad’s done a real good job of of putting it together. Um, they have tremendous veterans there. Uh, Gus and Holler and those type of individuals that have gone down to play have gone down with outstanding attitudes. Um, they’re excited about the team doing well. Uh, that doesn’t always happen. So that combined with coaching and the youth that’s there, uh, they they’ve given themselves a chance to to be successful so far, and we couldn’t be happier. Good.

Todd McLellan speaks with the media following Red Wings morning skate on Thursday November 20, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena.