In the business world - there are "safe" moves, and "hi-risk" moves. Smart organizations (or GM's/POHO) have enough maturity to understand where they are at, evaluate the risks, and then make a smart decision. Those team understand the risks, make plans to mitigate it, and then proceed. Poor GM's/POHO's are like goldfish with a 3 second attention span, see a bright shiny object, and then decide to make a move because they are smarter than everyone else.
As a brand new GM with a young team, the "safe" move is hiring an experienced NHL coach who has delivered results in the past (Laviolette, Hartley, even Bodreau). The "hi-risk" move is giving some AHL guy with no history a shot.
MacT swung for the fences, when from my perspective the Oilers absolutely COULD NOT afford to strike out. The Oilers had a REALLY young core that needed a guy who understood what it takes to win the league, effectively implement a team strategy, and could help them mature and develop. That is what makes the hiring Eakins such a TERRIBLE decision that is just gutting this franchise.
When you make a "Hi-Risk" move and it turns out - you look like a genius (Desjardin in VAN). When you strike out with Eakins, you end up getting "fixed".
2007:
Scott Howson - Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations
Red Wings fan here. That bolded part is the most troubling one. As long as Darryl Katz stays inert, nothing changes. For him, having the essential old boy network present is far more important than competence within the front office. That's somewhat similar to how Bill Wirtz ran the Blackhawks. Being loyal to Wirtz was the main factor when hiring hockey people, not competence.
Here's the bleak scenario: If Katz doesn't purge his dear old boy buddies, the Oilers are in for a similar path the Red Wings went through. Bruce Norris owned the team from 1952 to 1983 when Mike Illitch took over. The Red Wings averaged 66!!! points from 1966 to 1982.
I wasn't around back then. Maybe fans pondered that player X is a favourite of the GM, so he got gifted with ice time without earning it. Several young players were rushed into lineup way too early. Certain glaring deficiencies in the roster were not addressed. The defence did not have enough quality veterans. All those faults are symptoms of the biggest problem. Lack of accountability, just like the Oilers fan said in that Youtube-video. The owner is the only one who can correct that by his actions. Hiring a competent president and GM and supplant the irreplaceable cronies.
Until Darryl Katz hires a new president and GM, I'm afraid nothing changes. In Katz's tenure, the Oilers have averaged 73 points in seven seasons. That's better than the Red Wings during their era of suck, but the Oilers' current trend is directly downwards. I wonder if it will take nine more years for Katz to sack his vital golf buddies Lowe and MacT.
In the business world - there are "safe" moves, and "hi-risk" moves. Smart organizations (or GM's/POHO) have enough maturity to understand where they are at, evaluate the risks, and then make a smart decision. Those team understand the risks, make plans to mitigate it, and then proceed. Poor GM's/POHO's are like goldfish with a 3 second attention span, see a bright shiny object, and then decide to make a move because they are smarter than everyone else.
As a brand new GM with a young team, the "safe" move is hiring an experienced NHL coach who has delivered results in the past (Laviolette, Hartley, even Bodreau). The "hi-risk" move is giving some AHL guy with no history a shot.
MacT swung for the fences, when from my perspective the Oilers absolutely COULD NOT afford to strike out. The Oilers had a REALLY young core that needed a guy who understood what it takes to win the league, effectively implement a team strategy, and could help them mature and develop. That is what makes the hiring Eakins such a TERRIBLE decision that is just gutting this franchise.
When you make a "Hi-Risk" move and it turns out - you look like a genius (Desjardin in VAN). When you strike out with Eakins, you end up getting "fixed".
If we hired Gretzky I would officially give up on the Oilers. How do you think he is a good idea?
1) he's king of the old boys club. Maybe you've heard of it?
2) he couldn't do **** all with the Coyotes
3) has no experience in winning (yes Lowe I'm aware of the cups)
Finally, why is this even a thread? I apologize if you are new to hockey or the oilers which you appear to be
End rant
Well at least it's now rock bottom and can't get any worse.
Man, how many times have we said that one over the last few years?
I'm not that good with photoshop I did mine quick lol
It is very obvious that MacTavish is jackass. He iced purposefully the team that is composed more than less from players that belong to development league. He will not bring here this season a center, starting goalie or top pairing defenseman. He just wants to be sure that the Oilers will draft either John Eichel or Connor McDavid. This will happen if the Oilers will be in the last spot in the final standings.
This means long losing streaks and seeing some veterans to be shipped out of town prior to deadline. Are you guys buying out this plan? What would you do for the team? Are there really any other alternatives available for the Oil anymore? Only way I can be involved with Oilers this season is speculating who will be traded and who will be drafted maybe who are keepers.
With exception to finding more NHL centers, what exactly could we have done to get a top pairing defenseman or goalie? It's not like these are readily traded parts.