[News] Eakins fired. MacTavish interim head coach. Presser 11:45am

[Ozy_Flame]

From HF:

[GioforPM]

Posted the story of the tank job of the Pens in 83-84 in the no good thread by accident.

[DuffMan]

How many X coaches are on the payroll for how long and how much $$ ?

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Professional athletes offended that they are expected to be in shape.

First world problems.

Oh frick, can you imagine if Sven had received a letter like that and got offended by it from Burke and crew. The usual suspects on here would have been all over Burkie and Hartley for hurting poor Sven's feelings and messing with his head.

[CaptainCrunch]

So I'm assuming the players walk around the dressing room asking them questions like. Hey Hallsy do these jeans make my a$$ look fat.

While scarfing down donuts while saying "Toot Toot fat train to thightown"

What a bunch of, well I don't know what they are, but if they're offended by that kind of letter from a coach they're not professionals.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Players don't play to lose, but organizations can.

Maybe they aren't trading guys away for scraps, but it has been clear for a month that they are the worst team in the league, and yet they have made no attempt to fix things.

Their lack of action speaks volumes.

But what action could they take?

If they trade their first-round pick in 2015 for immediate help, they will be crucified in the media and the fans will go into mass rebellion.

Trading later picks isn’t going to get them the kind of return that will make a material difference to the rest of the season.

If they try to trade players, they are guaranteed not to get full value. Every NHL team places a higher value on players who are defensively sound than on one-dimensional, run-and-gun guys. The trouble is, the Oilers’ system has been so inept, it makes all their players one-dimensional. Nobody plays defence in that system; nobody can. So if they try to trade players, every GM will value those players at a discount because they look so bad defensively. Maybe they look bad because of the system, but what if they really are that bad? No GM wants to take that risk.

At this point, the least damaging thing they can do is fire the coach and get rid of the ‘swarm’ nonsense. If MacTavish puts in a real, live NHL defensive system, maybe he will make some of his players look good enough to be tradeable for more than scraps. I would never call MacTavish a great defensive coach, but we know he’s better than Eakins.

If the Oilers had done nothing today but fire Eakins and put MacTavish behind the bench, I would actually say they were doing something right. However, this nonsense about promoting yet another AHL guy to a (future) head coaching position, with no hiring process and no other candidates, gives me confidence that it’s really just business as usual in No Good Land.

Which is to say, they’re not tanking. They really are doing their feeble best.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Because as much as the term "tanking" gets thrown around on this site it just isn't done.

No one plays to lose. If that were the case they would be trading guys away for scraps to try and lose. They are not. They just suck.

Are you kidding? They lost 10 games in a row and their GM went out in front of the media and said that all was well and that there would be no changes.

Thats tanking.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Locke

Are you kidding? They lost 10 games in a row and their GM went out in front of the media and said that all was well and that there would be no changes.

Thats tanking.

No, that's incompetence.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Locke

Are you kidding? They lost 10 games in a row and their GM went out in front of the media and said that all was well and that there would be no changes.

Thats tanking.

Well, he didn't exactly say that there would be no changes, nor that all was well.

He had lots of stupid excuses (especially for himself), and said he was trying to make trades but they were hard. And now they've made a big change.

[old-fart]

They started the season with 2 NHL centers on the roster, and now one of them is injured. There have been legitimate NHL centers pass through waivers and yet still the Coilers do nothing.

That is tanking.

They can't trade for scraps from other teams because other teams don't want the Coiler crap. They could pick up players off waivers though, players that are better than 90% of the craptastic team they have up there. Hell, 'Guchi would have been better than most of their team, and he's now in Addy.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by old-fart

They could pick up players off waivers though, players that are better than 90% of the craptastic team they have up there.

That wouldn’t fix their problems, though. They only have a little over $3 million in cap space to work with. ($5 million prorated, as of today.) That means they can’t pick up anyone expensive on waivers without going over the cap. And they certainly can’t afford to pay any free agents a premium to hold their nose and move to Edmonton.

But all this presupposes that they know what the problem is. Remember, these are the same guys who thought it would be a good idea to build their roster in that idiotic way. What makes you think they have any idea how to fix it?

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Locke

Are you kidding? They lost 10 games in a row and their GM went out in front of the media and said that all was well and that there would be no changes.

Thats tanking.

Yes, he said all is well and there would be no changes. That's exactly what he said.

He also said he believed in Eakins.

There is a difference between Tanking and Incompetence.

[calgarygeologist]

I would love to hear some honest comments regarding the team from Eakins now. Surely he couldn't have actually believed what he was telling the media. It is time for a Barbara Walters tell-all interview.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Yes, he said all is well and there would be no changes. That's exactly what he said.

He also said he believed in Eakins.

There is a difference between Tanking and Incompetence.

Its a fine line. And while I may have been paraphrasing a bit, thats basically the gist of his presser last week.

[dammage79]

I'm actually a little curious as to how many players are in fact trying to play their way off of this team but Management isn't budging.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

But what action could they take?

If they trade their first-round pick in 2015 for immediate help, they will be crucified in the media and the fans will go into mass rebellion.

Trading later picks isn’t going to get them the kind of return that will make a material difference to the rest of the season.

If they try to trade players, they are guaranteed not to get full value. Every NHL team places a higher value on players who are defensively sound than on one-dimensional, run-and-gun guys. The trouble is, the Oilers’ system has been so inept, it makes all their players one-dimensional. Nobody plays defence in that system; nobody can. So if they try to trade players, every GM will value those players at a discount because they look so bad defensively. Maybe they look bad because of the system, but what if they really are that bad? No GM wants to take that risk.

At this point, the least damaging thing they can do is fire the coach and get rid of the ‘swarm’ nonsense. If MacTavish puts in a real, live NHL defensive system, maybe he will make some of his players look good enough to be tradeable for more than scraps. I would never call MacTavish a great defensive coach, but we know he’s better than Eakins.

If the Oilers had done nothing today but fire Eakins and put MacTavish behind the bench, I would actually say they were doing something right. However, this nonsense about promoting yet another AHL guy to a (future) head coaching position, with no hiring process and no other candidates, gives me confidence that it’s really just business as usual in No Good Land.

Which is to say, they’re not tanking. They really are doing their feeble best.

Lots they could do. Including firing Eakins a month ago, while there was still time to make a difference. They could have benched players. They should have traded one of the core to shake things up. Of course they won't get full value, but sometimes you have to make changes, if only to get more value out of everyone else.

Sitting around and doing nothing for 2 solid months is not incompetence, it is intentional.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Very sad day I was a big Eek fan

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Because as much as the term "tanking" gets thrown around on this site it just isn't done.



No one plays to lose. If that were the case they would be trading guys away for scraps to try and lose. They are not. They just suck.

I don't believe any player or coach go into a game with the intention of losing. However... It was painfully obvious to absolutely everyone that this team was not good enough. This was apparent to most of us before the season even started but it was no doubt 100% obvious 20 games into the season. At that point... When management and ownership remains idle and does nothing, THAT'S tanking. They knew as well as everyone that they could not make the playoffs but were afraid to make any kind of move that might spark the team. That included trades, firings, benching top players.... Anything. Cause anything like that might spark the team into maybe winning a few games. Suddenly they would be sitting 5th or 6th from the bottom and out of the McDavid/Eichel guarantee.

So management waited until now... The oilers are dead last in the league with no games in hand on the teams above them in the standings. They are about to play 8 straight games against western conference opponents and within a few days will have a 7 point cushion for a 29th/30th overall position. This firing is meant to look like management is doing something but they have all but assured themselves a bottom 2 finish. In fact, dead last is almost as certain with how bad they are and how little change they will do to the team the rest of the season. Plus Carolina is in the east, has 2 games in hand, more wins, and is much more likely to have a better record for the rest of the year than the oilers.

This is the most blatant tank job anyone has seen since 83-84 where it was practically revealed as an intended tank within the organization. Worst part is that everyone seems to be ok with it. Fans and media alike. I mean... Even Don Cherry said on HNIC that it's ok... That they'll get McDavid and it will be fine!! Unbelievable!!

Sure the fans moan at the games but we all know that all will be forgiven when they get a top two pick. Management will even pretend this was all part of the plan. They'll then trade away eberle and/or yakupov before the draft... Pretending it's a bold move. Get some B level veteran defencemen, another unproven goalie, and call it a day. The media and fans will drink it up all over again and call them the next powerhouse team of the league. It's disgusting that everyone seems fine with a team tanking for these kids. The team plays with no pride cause they know it too. I wish the league would step in and do something to stop this. I know that's impossible and won't happen without catching management actually saying out loud that they are losing intentionally.

My hope lies in McDavid and Eichel both coming forward before the draft and saying they refuse to sign with the oilers. That would be some real karma.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Locke

Its a fine line. And while I may have been paraphrasing a bit, thats basically the gist of his presser last week.

You are not "paraphrasing" you are saying what you wanted to hear.

The gist was there are issues throughout the organization and everything was going to go under investigation.

He did say Eakins was his guy and now he is fired. Right move? Yes. Right timing and follow up hiring/interim coach? Not likely.

But to say he claimed everything was fine and nothing would change is just wrong.

[CaptainCrunch]

Some day soon, I guarantee that we're going to hear the story of that disaster in Edmonton right from Eakin's mouth. I mean I doubt that he see's an NHL coaching gig for a long time. But when that contract expires, he's gonna vent.