Is MacT getting too much of the blame?

[beaterson]

Hear me out, I'm certainly not a fan of his by any stretch.

But do you think there's more to the Oilers' inability to pick up good players than having a crap GM? If Edmonton is on every player's NMC list is there really anything Craig can do about it? Or is he truly just clueless?

I have a feeling most GMs would be unable to get anything done in this city anyway, rather than knocking our draft pick out of the park.

Click to read more...

 

[Soundwave]

Hear me out, I'm certainly not a fan of his by any stretch.

But do you think there's more to the Oilers' inability to pick up good players than having a crap GM? If Edmonton is on every player's NMC list is there really anything Craig can do about it? Or is he truly just clueless?

I have a feeling most GMs would be unable to get anything done in this city anyway, rather than knocking our draft pick out of the park.

How many players are kicking down the door to play in Winnipeg or Calgary? Heck even Vancouver, a lot of players pass.

He was unqualified for the position and only got it because his best friend has a permanent position here. No one else was even interviewed.

Now we've had to waste two years of the rebuild so that he can get "on the job" experience.

 

[Spawn]

Hear me out, I'm certainly not a fan of his by any stretch.

But do you think there's more to the Oilers' inability to pick up good players than having a crap GM? If Edmonton is on every player's NMC list is there really anything Craig can do about it? Or is he truly just clueless?

I have a feeling most GMs would be unable to get anything done in this city anyway, rather than knocking our draft pick out of the park.

The percentage of players who have NTCs is relatively small in this league. A good GM would be able to work around the issue by picking up younger players/underappreciated players who hadn't gotten to the stage of their careers where they have those NTCs.

So no. MacT is not getting too much of the blame. He's stepped in and somehow been a worse GM than Tambo was. He's the dumbest GM in hockey AINEC.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

When you make a bad team even worse and refuse to acknowledge your mistakes and STILL retain your job...

You probably aren't getting enough of the blame.

 

[beaterson]

Haha you all make good points. Yeah I'll just go back to hating Craig.

 

[LCLM]

There are a few people you can blame for this issue. That being said, if you're putting together that list, MacTavish absolutely belongs on it.

This team has an image problem to fight around the league, and it comes from the perception of bumbling management. And you don't improve such a perception by snap firing a coach over Skype, and hiring a coach who flames out as badly as Dallas Eakins did.

Or by mishandling players who've gone on to better careers elsewhere (Dubnyk, Perron, etc.).

Or by trading useful players off the roster before he had players who could step in for them (Horcoff, Hemsky, Smid).

Or by bringing in a player to be captain before he knew if this guy would even be accepted in the room (Ference).

Or by playing hardball with decent players (Petry) while he backed up the Brinks truck for not so decent players (Nikitin).

Or blatantly over valuing certain players to the point of being a laughing stock (Schultz).

Or the fact that he's changed 70% of the roster and the team is now winning even less than before.

Is there enough there to give MacTavish some blame for the "loser" image problem the Oilers have?

Is he getting too much blame for things that happened when he wasn't here? Maybe he's getting blamed for the Lowe/Tambellini snowball effect, but that's life when you're a GM. He's seen as Lowe's boy, which means he's getting no breaks. If that's too tough for him he shouldn't have taken the job. You're making an executive level salary and you're expected to produce. Coming in and making things worse, then blaming them on your predecessor, is a weak, weak move.

Even if you don't think it's fair, recall what MacTavish said when he fired Krueger. It's not about being fair.

 

[Summary]

Only too much in the sense that it's the whole OBC team that deserves the blame, he's just the most visible right now.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

MacT was unqualified getting the job and continues to prove why...

most of his bets have been bad bets

 

[rboomercat90]

There are a few people you can blame for this issue. That being said, if you're putting together that list, MacTavish absolutely belongs on it.

This team has an image problem to fight around the league, and it comes from the perception of bumbling management. And you don't improve such a perception by snap firing a coach over Skype, and hiring a coach who flames out as badly as Dallas Eakins did.

Or by mishandling players who've gone on to better careers elsewhere (Dubnyk, Perron, etc.).

Or by trading useful players off the roster before he had players who could step in for them (Horcoff, Hemsky, Smid).

Or by bringing in a player to be captain before he knew if this guy would even be accepted in the room (Ference).

Or by playing hardball with decent players (Petry) while he backed up the Brinks truck for not so decent players (Nikitin).

Or blatantly over valuing certain players to the point of being a laughing stock (Schultz).

Or the fact that he's changed 70% of the roster and the team is now winning even less than before.

Is there enough there to give MacTavish some blame for the "loser" image problem the Oilers have?

Is he getting too much blame for things that happened when he wasn't here? Maybe he's getting blamed for the Lowe/Tambellini snowball effect, but that's life when you're a GM. He's seen as Lowe's boy, which means he's getting no breaks. If that's too tough for him he shouldn't have taken the job. You're making an executive level salary and you're expected to produce. Coming in and making things worse, then blaming them on your predecessor, is a weak, weak move.

Even if you don't think it's fair, recall what MacTavish said when he fired Krueger. It's not about being fair.

I love seeing people recycle Mactavish quotes. He was such a classless and arrogant ******* when he took over as GM. Now that he's bombed at his job himself, he deserves the same treatment.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

MacT deserves much of the blame he is getting, but I still like him better then Tambellini.

 

[rboomercat90]

MacT deserves much of the blame he is getting, but I still like him better then Tambellini.

Both of them were horrible hires by another guy who isn't responsible for this mess.

 

[LCLM]

I love seeing people recycle Mactavish quotes. He was such a classless and arrogant ******* when he took over as GM. Now that he's bombed at his job himself, he deserves the same treatment.

My feeling too.

 

[Tyrolean]

Like any GM he's made mistakes and also done some good things.

Signing Fayne, getting Roy to help Yak is good.

Getting rid of Eakins maybe was not his doing, but he got Nelson to salvage the team.

Of course no GM can ever hope to get all the quality players he needs regardless of the situation. The best you can do is try and learn from your mistakes. As a fan I'd pray he can fluke off some trades and picks.

I agree he should not have been hired in the 1st place as he was unqualified and there were many better candidates. Tambo also was a huge mistake and a rookie.

The fault is mainly on Lowe and Katz tbh.

 

[McArthur]

Like any GM he's made mistakes and also done some good things.

Signing Fayne, getting Roy to help Yak is good.

Getting rid of Eakins maybe was not his doing, but he got Nelson to salvage the team.

Of course no GM can ever hope to get all the quality players he needs regardless of the situation. The best you can do is try and learn from your mistakes. As a fan I'd pray he can fluke off some trades and picks.

I agree he should not have been hired in the 1st place as he was unqualified and there were many better candidates. Tambo also was a huge mistake and a rookie.

The fault is mainly on Lowe and Katz tbh.

Edmonton offered David Clarkson more money than Toronto did.

 

[LTIR]

Blame for what? he hasnt done anything significant...

 

[LTIR]

MacT was unqualified getting the job and continues to prove why...

most of his bets have been bad bets

Yzerman was also unqualified... shanny in Toronto is also unqualified..

MacT is the opposite of Tambo... One didnt say anything...the other says way too much ..
In the end both hurt themselves when no one good joins the club.

 

[McShogun99]

Who hired Eakins?

Who signed Ference and Nikitin?

Who gambled on long shot defenceman like Grebeshkov and Belov?

Who gambled on Scrivens and Fasth?

Who thought that starting a season with 2 proven NHL centers was a good idea?

Who publicly blasted his starting goalie before the season started?

Who made the decision to fire a well liked coach that had the team trending up?

Who promised bold moves and still hasn't delivered?

All the blame he gets is well deserved.

 

[CupofOil]

Hear me out, I'm certainly not a fan of his by any stretch.

But do you think there's more to the Oilers' inability to pick up good players than having a crap GM? If Edmonton is on every player's NMC list is there really anything Craig can do about it? Or is he truly just clueless?

I have a feeling most GMs would be unable to get anything done in this city anyway, rather than knocking our draft pick out of the park.

Players not wanting to come to Edmonton has more to do with management (MacT included) than the city itself.

Management has taken a fairly undesirable location and has turned it into an outpost worse than Siberia so yes, a lot of it is his fault and his cronies as well.

If the Oilers had a competent front office that showed to be capable of building a winner, more free agents would take notice.

 

[WayneGreatzky]

Who hired Eakins?

Who signed Ference and Nikitin?

Who gambled on long shot defenceman like Grebeshkov and Belov?

Who gambled on Scrivens and Fasth?

Who thought that starting a season with 2 proven NHL centers was a good idea?

Who publicly blasted his starting goalie before the season started?

Who made the decision to fire a well liked coach that had the team trending up?

Who promised bold moves and still hasn't delivered?

All the blame he gets is well deserved.

 

[Up the Irons]

I think its the players he let get away that are worse then the players he's brought in.

IMO, here's his biggest FUs in order of impact:

1. Eakins
2. Dubnyk (could be fallout from Eakins)
3. Petry
4. Centre position/Draisaitl
5. Nikitin
6. Gagner.
7. Horcoff/Hemsky

Six and seven are not major FUs, but the first 5 and especially #1 are huge. They may never recover from Eakins.

 

[Seedling]

Who hired Eakins?

Who signed Ference and Nikitin?

Who gambled on long shot defenceman like Grebeshkov and Belov?

Who gambled on Scrivens and Fasth?

Who thought that starting a season with 2 proven NHL centers was a good idea?

Who publicly blasted his starting goalie before the season started?

Who made the decision to fire a well liked coach that had the team trending up?

Who promised bold moves and still hasn't delivered?

All the blame he gets is well deserved.

Well, other than that, he's pretty good.

 

[Pablo Aimar]

So no. MacT is not getting too much of the blame. He's stepped in and somehow been a worse GM than Tambo was. He's the dumbest GM in hockey AINEC.

Sums it up. It takes some doing to be worse than Steve Tortellini but MacT has pulled it off (while managing to be an arrogant and unlikeable ******* in the process).

 

[Mr Positive]

horrible results fall on the GM. The reasons are irrelevant.

The best thing MacT could do is be honest with himself about his results and learn from it. I think he can do better than this, and he definitely hasn't been all bad.

The fans will embrace any logic that paints him in the worst light because we are 2nd worst in the league at a time when we should be a bubble squad. Maybe some of the logic isnt' fair, but the sentiment sure is.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

I get the point about FAs and trades, but he has done horribly in other areas as well.

MacT gets exactly as much blame as he deserves considering that (1) he was unqualified for the job, (2) hasn't subjectively done a good job with his moves, and (3) has objectively has run this franchise further into the ground. I have zero confidence that he can turn the Oilers into a contender.

 

[Jet Walters]

"I will be judged on this hire." MacTavish after bringing Eakins on board.

Well the judgement is in. Lame duck head coach, lame duck GM. He should have went down with his ship like an honourable Captain.