Proposal: Doug Wilson as Oiler GM

[Tarus]

Lowe isn't going anywhere, which means that MacT has a lifetime job with the Oilers as well.

I miss EIG.

You miss the guys who hired Lowe/Mact in the first place? The ownership group that thought it was cool to let them do whatever they wanted long before Katz came on the scene?

 

[HanSolo]

Would literally take any other GM or assistant over MacT right now

Mike Milbury

 

[oobga]

Is Wilson good friends with Lowe? Was he a part of the Oilers dynasty teams?

Need at least 1/2 of those to be a yes to meet the minimum qualifications to be a GM or above in the Oilers org.

 

[Dorian2]

Is Wilson good friends with Lowe? Was he a part of the Oilers dynasty teams?

Need at least 1/2 of those to be a yes to meet the minimum qualifications to be a GM or above in the Oilers org.

I wouldn't soubt that they are friends. Both played in the same era. I'm not sure about Wilson, but Lowe has been part of team Canada for a while. I'd think Wilson was involved in some aspect as well.

 

[McShogun99]

Would literally take any other GM or assistant over MacT right now

I would take Tambellini back before Mac T.

 

[Up the Irons]

Doug Wilson? Interesting. but, like others have said, not a chance, unless he is willing to replace Howsen, who is the only one that might get scapegoated. Mact and Lowe are as locked in as a tenured University prof.

 

[MrM]

Doug Wilson or someone who has some experience and success in the job would never come here. Being GM of the Oilers is like a guard dog without teeth. You have no bite. You can't do what you want to do, you do what they let you do.

 

[rboomercat90]

You miss the guys who hired Lowe/Mact in the first place? The ownership group that thought it was cool to let them do whatever they wanted long before Katz came on the scene?

They didn't let Lowe and Mactavish run amok until katz wedged himself into the picture and fractured them towards the end of their ownership tenure. Before that they micromanaged Lowe and kept him in check. Lowe himself alluded to that when Katz was in the final stages of buying the team when he was gushing about how he could finally make the moves he wanted to make when he wanted to make them instead of having to get their approval first. I think there were plenty of people in EIG who saw Lowe's limitations. It's been documented that plenty in the group wanted to fire him back in 2007. Too bad the other side was the dominant group maybe things might be different today.

 

[WayneGreatzky]

Mike Milbury

for all his terribleness, his teams made the playoffs

 

[Tarus]

They didn't let Lowe and Mactavish run amok until katz wedged himself into the picture and fractured them towards the end of their ownership tenure. Before that they micromanaged Lowe and kept him in check. Lowe himself alluded to that when Katz was in the final stages of buying the team when he was gushing about how he could finally make the moves he wanted to make when he wanted to make them instead of having to get their approval first. I think there were plenty of people in EIG who saw Lowe's limitations. It's been documented that plenty in the group wanted to fire him back in 2007. Too bad the other side was the dominant group maybe things might be different today.

It wasn't really plenty, and Cal Nichols bullied them back into line pretty quickly over that issue.

They micromanaged the money, not the team. Organizational decisions to hire Mactavish(Lowe/Mact have a pact to always keep each other employed in the NHL), signings(Nylander, Souray, Vanek/Penner etc), and make terrible trades(the entire Pitkanen trade line, Pronger trade etc) were under the purview of Lowe, just as long as he kept within the team budget.

 

[thadd]

I'd be willing to give it a try, but there would be a TON of pissed off fans under Wilson. You know he'd make big moves. Nobody would be protected.

He'd find a way to get our blueline in order and I have a feeling that it would cost us one of our top 3 prospects and 2 of our top 6 forwards. Heck, he'd be auctioning off our 2015 1st round pick.

 

[Spawn]

Why are we having this thread?............Doug Wilson has never won a Stanley Cup as a GM..........why is he considered a great GM?

The guy made one good trade in his whole life (for J Thornton) and like the GM in Winnipeg has tried to live off this trade forever by sitting on his hand and now the team is falling apart and you guys want him?

There are less then 10 general managers working right now that have won a Stanley Cup as GM for another team.

Here's why Doug Wilson is considered a great GM. In 10 years as the Sharks' general manager, they have never once missed the playoffs. They've broken the 100 point mark 7 times in that stretch, and have not finished with fewer than 96 points (or on pace for in lockout season) in the other 3 seasons. To put that in perspective, the last time the Oilers had a season with as many points as the fewest in Doug Wilson's career as GM of the Sharks was in 1988 in the height of their dynasty.

It's very hard to win a Stanley Cup. One in 30 teams does it in a year. Just because the Sharks haven't made it to the dance and won it before does not make their GM not a very good one.

The Oilers would be very lucky to have someone as astute as Doug Wilson leading this franchise.

 

[Up the Irons]

I understand what you're saying and that might work somewhere else. I don't know how closely you follow the Oilers. I don't recognize your username so I'm not sure if the Oilers are your team or not and if you're really familiar with how things work in this organization. Lowe is as firmly entrenched in this team as anybody in the league. I think if someone else was brought in here to run things there would definitely be a power struggle and Lowe is completely surrounded by people who he had a hand in hiring and are extremely loyal to him. People that have hung on to their jobs for years where in most cases they shouldn't have. They don't out right fire many people here they just reassign them if the heat gets too intense. The new guy would be an outsider, alone on an island. He could bring in his own people too but all that accomplishes are two sides working against each other. Total dysfunction.

The entire front office needs to be cleaned out before anybody else can come in here and effectively start cleaning up this mess. Credible people like Doug Wilson and I'm sure everyone else on the list you previously mentioned are smart enough to see this. I can't see any of them interested in coming here under the current conditions. People like Pat Quinn and even the idiot Eakins have talked about being sold a 'bill of goods' by Oilers management to come here. True or not, that's going to stick in the minds of anybody offered a job with Lowe and Mactavish still around.

So far Katz has refused to do anything about these guys, this in spite of mounting evidence it needs to be done. It's gone on so long hardcore Oiler fans still don't see it happening anytime soon.

well said. People have playfully called the Oilers an Old boys club, but that is precisely what it is, in the truest, and fullest sense of the term.

Lowe has built himself a little fiefdom. Notice that the organization made it very clear, when Nicholson was brought on, that he was not Lowe's boss. This was emphasised; it was because it was important to Lowe, himself, that everyone knows he doesn't have a boss other than his tight buddy, the ower.

Lowe hasn't been skidded because he is the Oilers. And that's why it looks so good on him to be the boss of the worst record in NHL history. He is the worst NHL executive in the league, right now, and may be vying for worst of all time.

Like you said, there is no point in bringing anyone else on as GM as long as Lowe is still here. Besides, I'm starting to like these guys disgracing themselves. they deserve everything they get (what for Eakins' book!!)

 

[oobga]

I wouldn't soubt that they are friends. Both played in the same era. I'm not sure about Wilson, but Lowe has been part of team Canada for a while. I'd think Wilson was involved in some aspect as well.

Gotta be super tight with Lowe though. Like, "Our friendship is more important than winning" close.

 

[McRobbiezyg]

There are less then 10 general managers working right now that have won a Stanley Cup as GM for another team.

Here's why Doug Wilson is considered a great GM. In 10 years as the Sharks' general manager, they have never once missed the playoffs. They've broken the 100 point mark 7 times in that stretch, and have not finished with fewer than 96 points (or on pace for in lockout season) in the other 3 seasons. To put that in perspective, the last time the Oilers had a season with as many points as the fewest in Doug Wilson's career as GM of the Sharks was in 1988 in the height of their dynasty.

It's very hard to win a Stanley Cup. One in 30 teams does it in a year. Just because the Sharks haven't made it to the dance and won it before does not make their GM not a very good one.

The Oilers would be very lucky to have someone as astute as Doug Wilson leading this franchise.

EXACTLY. anyone who says otherwise, needs to have their heads checked

 

[frag2]

I don't know if I can come up with 10. I'll give you my best shot though:

Paul Fenton, Jason Botterill, Ryan Martin, Wilson, and the assistant in Tampa.. Brisebois (sp?).

That's the best I got.

Wasnt there hearsay Botterill may have been a candidate when they were looking for a post-Tambo GM since Botterill was from Edmonton?

 

[dustrock]

I dunno.

Sharks are my #2 team so I have mixed feelings about Wilson.

I think their scouting has been great in terms of draft picks - I think Marleau, Pavelski, Couture and Vlasic are homegrown players (then there's Nieto, Hertl, Mueller, Tierney, etc.)

The Brent Burns trade was a home run, and the idea of making him a forward (McLellan?) was brilliant.

But many of Wilson's player additions are puzzling - guys like Mike Brown, John Scott.

Sharks have suffered through a series of goaltenders who were pretty great during the regular season but never got hot during the playoffs - Nabokov, Toskala, and now Niemi.

Their D was pretty solid at one time - but they've lost guys like Ehrhoff who they should have kept. Matt Carle, etc. They did get Dan Boyle, which was a great move. But once Boyle was gone, he didn't really upgrade the defence.

People talk about the Sharks choking against the Kings, and obviously they did, but Vlasic got hurt, and their D corps was terrible without him. And Niemi couldn't stop a puck.

Then Wilson says we're "kinda" rebuilding but not "rebuilding", yet does absolutely nothing to improve the team.


tl;dr - maybe Wilson just needs a change, but I'm not sure he'd be my 1st choice for GM. But over Mac T? Definitely.

 

[rosemount289]

Hey...........???

There are less then 10 general managers working right now that have won a Stanley Cup as GM for another team.

Here's why Doug Wilson is considered a great GM. In 10 years as the Sharks' general manager, they have never once missed the playoffs. They've broken the 100 point mark 7 times in that stretch, and have not finished with fewer than 96 points (or on pace for in lockout season) in the other 3 seasons. To put that in perspective, the last time the Oilers had a season with as many points as the fewest in Doug Wilson's career as GM of the Sharks was in 1988 in the height of their dynasty.

It's very hard to win a Stanley Cup. One in 30 teams does it in a year. Just because the Sharks haven't made it to the dance and won it before does not make their GM not a very good one.

The Oilers would be very lucky to have someone as astute as Doug Wilson leading this franchise.

Hey, that's YOUR opinion and you are entitled to it but my point of view is why settle for Wilson who has never won the PRIZE in fact has he made it to the finals......NO!

Isn't there a guy sitting on the side lines named Shero who has built the Penguins into a Stanley Cup winner and is currently unemployed?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Hey, that's YOUR opinion and you are entitled to it but my point of view is why settle for Wilson who has never won the PRIZE in fact has he made it to the finals......NO!

Isn't there a guy sitting on the side lines named Shero who has built the Penguins into a Stanley Cup winner and is currently unemployed?

Why on Earth does Shero want to come to this dump...

 

[TFHockey]

I understand what you're saying and that might work somewhere else. I don't know how closely you follow the Oilers. I don't recognize your username so I'm not sure if the Oilers are your team or not and if you're really familiar with how things work in this organization. Lowe is as firmly entrenched in this team as anybody in the league. I think if someone else was brought in here to run things there would definitely be a power struggle and Lowe is completely surrounded by people who he had a hand in hiring and are extremely loyal to him. People that have hung on to their jobs for years where in most cases they shouldn't have. They don't out right fire many people here they just reassign them if the heat gets too intense. The new guy would be an outsider, alone on an island. He could bring in his own people too but all that accomplishes are two sides working against each other. Total dysfunction.

The entire front office needs to be cleaned out before anybody else can come in here and effectively start cleaning up this mess. Credible people like Doug Wilson and I'm sure everyone else on the list you previously mentioned are smart enough to see this. I can't see any of them interested in coming here under the current conditions. People like Pat Quinn and even the idiot Eakins have talked about being sold a 'bill of goods' by Oilers management to come here. True or not, that's going to stick in the minds of anybody offered a job with Lowe and Mactavish still around.

So far Katz has refused to do anything about these guys, this in spite of mounting evidence it needs to be done. It's gone on so long hardcore Oiler fans still don't see it happening anytime soon.

Good questions. I've been a fan of the Oilers for decades. I fondly remember the cup runs in the 80s. This is a different era now and a troublesome one at that. I follow the team very closely.

I agree with you that moving Lowe is much more difficult than in it would be in any other organization. He would've been fired years ago if he was the GM and then President of any other NHL team. No doubt about that.

I can't say I know what is going through Katz's mind. I can only speculate as to the possible ways a Lowe and MacT move would look. To my mind it would have to be a lateral move to another area of the Katz group. I don't see either of them being fired outright.

If such a move was made and the GM chair became vacant there are some very talented and qualified names we should look at. Not Mark Messier. Not Wayne. I think everyone who has posted on this thread would agree we need a clean slate to have any hope of moving forward.

 

[TFHockey]

Wasnt there hearsay Botterill may have been a candidate when they were looking for a post-Tambo GM since Botterill was from Edmonton?

It appeared to me that no serious search occurred after Tambellini was let go. MacTavish was always going to be the next GM no matter who was available. I called Stauffer's show that very day and asked about Jim Nill being considered. Bob stated Nill would never leave Detroit. In April he became the GM of the Dallas Stars.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

I really like Fenton and Brisebois.

There are a couple lesser known guys out there who I would have on my interview list but I don't know if they would be looking to be a GM or move organizations. Guys like:

Kevin MacDonald: Assistant GM to Doug Armstrong in STL. He's worked for years with Armstrong and Larry Pleau. He's held multiple positions in pro and amateur scouting as well as being GM of their AHL team.


David Mcnab: VP of hockey ops to Bob Murray in Anaheim. Almost 40 years in the league, he deals with player development as well as being the one to navigate the CBA and cap. He's also heavily involved with their pro and amateur scouting.

 

[rboomercat90]

Hey, that's YOUR opinion and you are entitled to it but my point of view is why settle for Wilson who has never won the PRIZE in fact has he made it to the finals......NO!

Isn't there a guy sitting on the side lines named Shero who has built the Penguins into a Stanley Cup winner and is currently unemployed?

Considering what the fans of this team have been settling for in management for the last decade I find your post very odd.

 

[smokersarejokers]

Considering what the fans of this team have been settling for in management for the last decade I find your post very odd.

I think his point is that IF, for some strange reason, Lowe and MacTavish were let go, Doug Wilson shouldn't automatically be the guy you sign immediately.

Take some time and interview as many guys as you can. Wilson would no doubt deserve an interview, but so would Shero, Fenton, Brisebois, etc.

 

[Fourier]

I would easily hire Wilson, would be the best GM this team has had since maybe ever.

But yeah, pipe dream etc etc

You will have to go a long way to match what Sather was able to do in the 80's.