The Sabres fired coach Phil Housley after they missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second straight season since he was hired June 15, 2017.
The Kings fired coach Willie Desjardins after they missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
Buffalo (33-39-10) finished 22 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. It was an eight-win improvement from Housley's first season (25-45-12), when the Sabres finished last in the NHL standings.
Los Angeles (31-42-9) hired Desjardins to replaced John Stevens on Nov. 4 after starting 4-8-1.
McLellan was 434-282-90 in 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers. He was fired by the Oilers on Nov. 20 after going 9-10-1 in the first 20 games of his fourth season with them.
His teams have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs seven times, including six of his first seven seasons with the Sharks. McLellan is 37-38 in 75 playoff games.
