Why the Oilers "rebuild" is truly doomed

[Larry Goodenough]

Tambellini uses Capgeek to manage his team!!!!

http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=4163

[Potatoe1]

Tambellini uses Capgeek to manage his team!!!!

http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=4163

I wasn't half as concerned with him using cap geek as I was with the incredibly simplistic stats they were using for evaluation or the total lack of incite shown by the "yes men" scouting team.

Billy Beane would be proud

[Larry Goodenough]

Belanger wants a 3rd year, not because he'll be 37 years old, but because he wants to be around for all that winning!

Good God.

[Fred]

I was sitting kibitzing with the locals in barber shop in a small Nova Scotia town. And like most out there you're either a Mtl, TO or likely a Bruins fan, I was deffinitley in the minority. Any way the Leaf fan announced that a couple of years and TO will be need to make plans for a parade, when I suggested the Leafs big trouble is, when they're ready to make a push Edmonton will be in the same place and with superior talent...after the silence....like who the Hell is this guy...I thought, Fred that pretty profound because that exactly what's going to happen by the time Leafs are ready to enter the play Edmonton, a young NYR and maybe Florida will be the teams competing with them and I have to think Edmonton will maybe top the poll. That's the way I see the league in maybe 5 years time

[Potatoe1]

Belanger wants a 3rd year, not because he'll be 37 years old, but because he wants to be around for all that winning!

Good God.

I actually know Tambi so I feel bad for say this, but he really comes off as a doe eyed school girl in that clip.

Belanger says something nice about the Oiler rebuild so he gets an extra year, good grief....

[Larry Goodenough]

I was sitting kibitzing with the locals in barber shop in a small Nova Scotia town. And like most out there you're either a Mtl, TO or likely a Bruins fan, I was deffinitley in the minority. Any way the Leaf fan announced that a couple of years and TO will be need to make plans for a parade, when I suggested the Leafs big trouble is, when they're ready to make a push Edmonton will be in the same place and with superior talent...after the silence....like who the Hell is this guy...I thought, Fred that pretty profound because that exactly what's going to happen by the time Leafs are ready to enter the play Edmonton, a young NYR and maybe Florida will be the teams competing with them and I have to think Edmonton will maybe top the poll. That's the way I see the league in maybe 5 years time

I disagree on Edmonton.

You need good management and coaching to round out your team to be competitive. Look what the Oilers management did over the last 5 years leading up to their recent 3rd version of a rebuild. That same management team is still in charge.

Seeing Tambellini looking at goals/assists and faceoff % and perusing capgeek on july 1st speaks volumes to how they're being managed.

Right now, Edmonton looks to have an equal chance to follow the NYI, Columbus, Atlanta, Colorado model than they do to be a contender.

Don't believe the hype.

[Fred]

Tambellini has had a good education in Hockey management, he's learned from a lot of quality people.I don't think he's an idiot and will try and do the right thing balancing marketing needs of a bad franchise with the teams future in hockey operations. It's a tough line to walk, but I can't imagine him failing. Certainly a step up from Lowe.

Having said that George McVie also apprenticed here and isn't doing to well, although he does have an owner that interferes

[Potatoe1]

Having said that George McVie also apprenticed here and isn't doing to well, although he does have an owner that interferes

How do you figure?

That team is struggling this season but the Caps have an excellent core and have had a ton of success the past number of years.

That team is loaded with quality players (many of whom are quite young) and has the Av's first round pick in June.

They are in great shape IMO.

This would be in stark contrast to the Oilers who other then making the obvious picks at the draft table have done basically zilch to make their team better in 5 seasons.

Tambellini has had a good education in Hockey management, he's learned from a lot of quality people.I don't think he's an idiot and will try and do the right thing balancing marketing needs of a bad franchise with the teams future in hockey operations. It's a tough line to walk, but I can't imagine him failing.

He's not an "iddiot" but he's running his team like it's still 1995. He does look pretty terrible in that article and when you really look at it, he really hasn't made one move with that team which he could hang his hat on.

I mean Eric Belanger, come on everyone knew he was a dud, giving him 3 years is just a putrid move.

[Larry Goodenough]

Tambellini has had a good education in Hockey management, he's learned from a lot of quality people.I don't think he's an idiot and will try and do the right thing balancing marketing needs of a bad franchise with the teams future in hockey operations. It's a tough line to walk, but I can't imagine him failing. Certainly a step up from Lowe.

Having said that George McVie also apprenticed here and isn't doing to well, although he does have an owner that interferes

HNIC showed Lowe meeting with Holland for the first 2 periods of Saturday nights game. Tambellini wasn't meeting, it was Lowe. The Oil Change series shows Lowe is right in the middle of all decisions on July 1st. Scott Howson also apprenticed under Lowe.

And if Tambellini has a good education in management, why is he looking at capgeek and rudimentary stats on Belanger?

[Fred]

Having said that George McVie also apprenticed here and isn't doing to well, although he does have an owner that interferes

How do you figure?

That team is struggling this season but the Caps have an excellent core and have had a ton of success the past number of years.

That team is loaded with quality players (many of whom are quite young) and has the Av's first round pick in June.

They are in great shape IMO.

This would be in stark contrast to the Oilers who other then making the obvious picks at the draft table have done basically zilch to make their team better in 5 seasons.

I just think the Cpas have failed to make the most of what they have, they have a franchise type player but failed to make it into a team or take them any where.

[Potatoe1]

I just think the Cpas have failed to make the most of what they have, they have a franchise type player but failed to make it into a team or take them any where.

Even if that's true, they likely have another 5 to 7 years with their current core.

They have already shown themselves to be a good team they just need a couple of small moves to get things moving in the right direction.

Again this is in stark contrast to the Oilers who look to be miles from being competitive.

Just compare the 2 teams blue lines...

Caps have Green (26), Alzner (22), Carlson (22), Orlov (20).

It will take the Oilers years to build a young blue line like that.

How does a perennial playoff team like the caps have a substantially better young blue, a comparable group of young forwards, then a perennial bottom feeder?

People love to look at the Oilers big 3 and ohh and aww, but it's fools gold. They have used all their picks on offensive minded forwards and none on defenseman or 2-way forwards, which are just as important if not more important to winning.

[Fred]

Well where I'm coming from is the likes of RNH, Eberle, Hall, and even Gagner are young .. in fact very young think of a how good were the Sedins at that age. RNH as an 18 year old may yet turn out to be a franchise player. His vision at that age is so far ahead of most players. All of the above are going to get a lot better and they're not bad now. And God dam it they will get another#1 or 2 pick this year ( funny draft this year they might trade down IMO ) and get a big young D but what ever they select I know it's going to be a player the Canucks and their fans would drool over. I don't see many bad parts to a long term plan

[Potatoe1]

Well where I'm coming from is the likes of RNH, Eberle, Hall, and even Gagner are young .. in fact very young think of a how good were the Sedins at that age. RNH as an 18 year old may yet turn out to be a franchise player. His vision at that age is so far ahead of most players. All of the above are going to get a lot better and they're not bad now.

So what?

A lot of teams have 3 or 4 awesome young players under 26.

Is the Oilers trio really better then OV, Backstrom and Green? Kane, Towes, Seabrook, and Keith? Kopitar, Daughty, and Richards? Crosby, Malkin, Latang, Neal, and Stall?

All of those teams not only have a group of young star players under 26 but they have a half dozen other quality young players on their roster which is something the Oilers do not have.

Sure the Oilers have their first line set, but they still need 4 quality young defenseman, 2 or 3 high end grit forwards, a no1 goalie, and a good 2-way second line center.

Tamby hasn't managed to add one quality player with out a lottery pick how long do you think it will take him to add 8 to 10 more good players to that roster?

[Larry Goodenough]

In 2005, the Blue Jackets drafted Vancouver Giants stud Gilbert Brule. He was a tremendous blend of skill, toughness and leadership. The centre they needed.

He was the last piece to Doug Mclean's puzzle. He got Klesla in his first draft to be his stud d-man, and Leclaire the next year to be the franchise goalie. Then an uber talent in Rick Nash who led the league in goals his second season. Adding Zherdev and Picard solidified them on the wings with a blend of skill and grit. Kris Russell was a stud on the world jr team and looked to be a perfect match for Klesla. And Dan Fritsche is a local kid who was a steal in the 2nd round.

Oh man, with all this young talent, look out for the Blue Jackets in 2 or 3 years!!!!!!


I'm not saying the Oilers don't have a great future. I'm just saying there has to be doubt there.

[ESQ]

I just think the Cpas have failed to make the most of what they have, they have a franchise type player but failed to make it into a team or take them any where.

I'm with Fred here, drafting Alex Ovechkin does not make McPhee a good GM. They are probably the worst underachievers since the lockout, far worse than the WCE-era Canucks. Could you imagine if the Canucks had gone out in the 1st round last year after winning the President's Trophy?

But I doubt highly the Leafs and the Oilers will be at the top of either conference in 5 years. Leafs are already in cap trouble and have to overpay almost everybody, with no elite prospects in the pipeline. Kessel is a UFA in 2 years, and if he stays in Toronto he will be huge money. Lupul has one year left. For the sake of argument, lets say Kessel leaves: who in the organization can replace him? Tyler Seguin would have....maybe Dougie Hamilton... but it sure ain't Nazem Kadri.

What happens if Kessel goes back to a 60-point player and Lupul goes back to a 40-50 point player? I don't think they're even close to a playoff spot without the career years from those two. In fact, I can't even think of who the Leafs fans are excited about in 5 years. All of their prospects seem to me like 3-4 dmen or 2nd-3rd liners. They're paying Luke Schenn $3.6 million, while Edler's making $3.25 million....its those kind of moves that hamstring an organization. Well, that and trading away first-round picks.

Is the Oilers trio really better then OV, Backstrom and Green? Kane, Towes, Seabrook, and Keith? Kopitar, Daughty, and Richards? Crosby, Malkin, Latang, Neal, and Stall?All of those teams not only have a group of young star players under 26 but they have a half dozen other quality young players on their roster which is something the Oilers do not have.

Totally agreed. They're reminiscent of the Lightning trio in the late-90s - Lecavalier, Richards, and eventually St. Louis. At their peak (which was very brief for Vinny) they were so dominant and provided a core to build around. With excellent veteran goaltending, and a mediocre blue-line and secondary scoring, they were able to win a cup after many years of basement-dwelling. Other than that team, I can't think of another champion built the way the Oilers are going about things. I think the Oilers trio are far less well-equipped physically to deal with the workload than the Tampa trio was.