Coach get fired on (enter date here)

[Soundwave]

I think 2016-2017 is a better year to assess this year's team than last year's.

If we had Sekera my expectations would be 100 points.

Even in 16/17 they were 5th worst in high danger chances against. I think Sekera stabilized the D just enough so they didn't drown but it was mainly Talbot having the season of his life.

 

[Missing smitty]

Even in 16/17 they were 5th worst in high danger chances against. I think Sekera stabilized the D just enough so they didn't drown but it was mainly Talbot having the season of his life.

Most of the teams that make the playoffs do it by riding their goaltender. Some teams might not need their goaltender to play lights out, but most do.

 

[McBigYak]

Tmacs leash is short. Very short I would imagine. Chia knows another lost season is his job as well, so he will be canned long before it's out of reach again.

But, in my opinion, firing Tmac isn't going to lead to success. I mean I'm trying to have faith, and I'm not judging the raw talent of the team on one game, but this team is so damn slow I have a hard time imagining them ever being elite.

Not to mention, there is no coach in the world that is going to be able to work with that piss poor RW depth. Yamo doesn't belong in the NHL right now. Our RWers are, and this is not even an exaggeration, AHL caliber.

 

[Soundwave]

Most of the teams that make the playoffs do it by riding their goaltender. Some teams might not need their goaltender to play lights out, but most do.

Most good teams don't allow that many chances from dangerous areas on the ice. That was always a red flag.

You can do it but you need an absolute high end multiple elite line offense to out score your chances against.

 

[Missing smitty]

Most good teams don't allow that many chances from dangerous areas on the ice. That was always a red flag.

True, but I'm still going to say it's TMacs stupid system than anything else.

 

[Missing smitty]

Most good teams don't allow that many chances from dangerous areas on the ice. That was always a red flag.

You can do it but you need an absolute high end multiple elite line offense to out score your chances against.

There are 3 maybe 4 teams that could still do relatively well without their goalie playing insanely well, so it's hard to knock Talbot for not being a robot.

Talbot is a good goalie, but he needs defense in front of him. Look at Dubnyk, he just needed a good defensive system in front of him and looks like a wall.

 

[FlameChampion]

The fact were sitting here discussing McLellan's interim replacement in Gulutzan just speaks volumes about how poorly this franchise is run. You think McLellan is bad..Gulutzan is on a whole another level of bad. Where is Todd Nelson when you need him.

Frankly speaking, this team is built by Chiarelli. There are massive holes at almost every position 4 years into his tenure. Weak defense, weak backup goaltending, question marks on the wings, mismanagement of Puljujarvi, handing out terrible contracts, losing trades. Its a comedy of errors... There is absolutely no way a team with Benning, Bouchard, Russell, Bear, Garrison will be close to 500 after 10 games looking at our schedule. Its hideous.

That backend against teams like Pittsburgh, Washington, Winnipeg, Nashville etc is going to be eaten alive. Jerseys forwards toyed with them all night and Bear and Garrison weren't even in the lineup ... lol

The problem I have when I try to analyze the team is that I cant figure how much of this is on Chiarelli and how much is on McLellan. Honestly, I think its more on McLellan but at this point ... they should both get the axe (if changes/adjustments arent made) because both are incompetent.

 

[Aerchon]

Even in 16/17 they were 5th worst in high danger chances against. I think Sekera stabilized the D just enough so they didn't drown but it was mainly Talbot having the season of his life.

See and I think the main reason Talbot was in the Vezna was because he played do much and set franchise record for wins.

Don't get me wrong he was our best player, even including McDavid, for much of that season. But show me many teams that succeed in today's NHL where that isn't the case.

As good as Talbot was 2016-2017 he was that much and more bad in 2017-2018. His play was unquestionably beyond terrible for the first 42 games and his decent second half masked the fact he was the #1 reason the Oilers were out of the playoffs as quick as they were.

 

[GameChanger]

The problem I have when I try to analyze the team is that I cant figure how much of this is on Chiarelli and how much is on McLellan. Honestly, I think its more on McLellan but at this point ... they should both get the axe (if changes/adjustments arent made) because both are incompetent.

I agree. According to what we've seen last season and during this one game:

- PP absolutely terrible, even worse so when you consider the pieces he's got
- PK sucks
- doesn't believe in linematching, which could actually be used to cover for some holes in the lineup
- doesn't play players to their strengths (Puljujarvi an utmost example)
- has his clear favourites and lets veterans earn their chances more easily
- doesn't seem to have the grasp of the team at all times (remember the amazing 0-5 loss period)
- some strange choices for the OT lineups
- changes lines constantly, removes players from lines when they click
- strange reasons for not using players (no PP time for Pulju because of his English)
- seems outdated with his hockey view
- seems as stubborn as they get, one example is from last year when the team pulled the goalie and they had at least two players (incl. Lucic) who hadn't scored for months

I actually wanted him to succeed, but now he just doesn't deserve it. I tried to think of what he's done well during this time and it's honestly tough. As mentioned earlier he can sound quite convincing when he speaks, though he's also got some bad interviews after games, which don't make it look like he can turn the ship. Of course at its best the team has played well enough so you don't need search for weaknesses, but all in all it doesn't look too good to me.

 

[Kolja]

I agree. According to what we've seen last season and during this one game:

- doesn't believe in linematching, which could actually be used to cover for some wholes in the lineup
- doesn't play players to their strengths
- has his clear favourites and lets veterans earn their chances more easily

This x 1000000

He' just thick. That's all.

Bring in Nelson!

 

[McIce Whole]

This x 1000000

He' just thick. That's all.

Bring in Nelson!

Bring in Krueger!!

But in all seriousness, I would 100% be okay with Nelson taking over. The likely scenario, as many have pointed out, will be Gulutzan taking over if Todd gets fired.

 

[Ck1]

Bring in Krueger!!

But in all seriousness, I would 100% be okay with Nelson taking over. The likely scenario, as many have pointed out, will be Gulutzan taking over if Todd gets fired.

Bring in sutter ( if possible )
Imo this team would benifit from his defence first system.

 

[FlameChampion]

I agree. According to what we've seen last season and during this one game:

- PP absolutely terrible, even worse so when you consider the pieces he's got
- PK sucks
- doesn't believe in linematching, which could actually be used to cover for some holes in the lineup
- doesn't play players to their strengths (Puljujarvi an utmost example)
- has his clear favourites and lets veterans earn their chances more easily
- doesn't seem to have the grasp of the team at all times (remember the amazing 0-5 loss period)
- some strange choices for the OT lineups
- changes lines constantly, removes players from lines when they click
- strange reasons for not using players (no PP time for Pulju because of his English)
- seems outdated with his hockey view
- seems as stubborn as they get, one example is from last year when the team pulled the goalie and they had at least two players (incl. Lucic) who hadn't scored for months

I actually wanted him to succeed, but now he just doesn't deserve it. I tried to think of what he's done well during this time and it's honestly tough. As mentioned earlier he can sound quite convincing when he speaks, though he's also got some bad interviews after games, which don't make it look like he can turn the ship. Of course at its best the team has played well enough so you don't need search for weaknesses, but all in all it doesn't look too good to me.

The other thing you missed is that he cant seem to get this team ready to play or motivate them. The team just doesnt play that hard. They didnt last year. Hopefully they do this year. Maybe all the early (and bad) goals deflate the team, I dunno. You watch other teams who have a worse roster, and their players play a lot harder. Last year I could probably count on one hand, Oilers players who put in a consistent effort (nearly) every game. I dont think the players believe in the coaches system.

 

[GameChanger]

The other thing you missed is that he cant seem to get this team ready to play or motivate them. The team just doesnt play that hard. They didnt last year. Hopefully they do this year. Maybe all the early (and bad) goals deflate the team, I dunno. You watch other teams who have a worse roster, and their players play a lot harder. Last year I could probably count on one hand, Oilers players who put in a consistent effort (nearly) every game. I dont think the players believe in the coaches system.

That's a very important thing I somehow missed. One of the most obvious ones, though in that one I'd give some responsibility to the players, too. After all they're professionals, but on the other hand human beings and thus a good coach plays a big part.

Last season for one reason or another McLellan seemed to have a lot of trouble motivating the team, but then there were suddenly some good stretches. To me that shows that the team can play some winning hockey, but for some reason McLellan can't keep them motivated enough at all times and then there are times when the ship turns too slowly if at all.

 

[FlameChampion]

That's a very important thing I somehow missed. One of the most obvious ones, though in that one I'd give some responsibility to the players, too. After all they're professionals, but on the other hand human beings and thus a good coach plays a big part.

Last season for one reason or another McLellan seemed to have a lot of trouble motivating the team, but then there were suddenly some good stretches. To me that shows that the team can play some winning hockey, but for some reason McLellan can't keep them motivated enough at all times and then there are times when the ship turns too slowly if at all.

Yeah last year was bizarre. There were times that the Oilers looked really good. They had the ability to beat anyone. Then they would turn around and lose to a bad team. So many times though the team was down early and was playing from behind. They just didnt have much swagger or confidence. They looked like that in the second period of Saturdays game.

 

[PulYou]

 

[BlackDogg]

I agree. According to what we've seen last season and during this one game:

- PP absolutely terrible, even worse so when you consider the pieces he's got
- PK sucks
- doesn't believe in linematching, which could actually be used to cover for some holes in the lineup
- doesn't play players to their strengths (Puljujarvi an utmost example)
- has his clear favourites and lets veterans earn their chances more easily
- doesn't seem to have the grasp of the team at all times (remember the amazing 0-5 loss period)
- some strange choices for the OT lineups
- changes lines constantly, removes players from lines when they click
- strange reasons for not using players (no PP time for Pulju because of his English)
- seems outdated with his hockey view
- seems as stubborn as they get, one example is from last year when the team pulled the goalie and they had at least two players (incl. Lucic) who hadn't scored for months

I actually wanted him to succeed, but now he just doesn't deserve it. I tried to think of what he's done well during this time and it's honestly tough. As mentioned earlier he can sound quite convincing when he speaks, though he's also got some bad interviews after games, which don't make it look like he can turn the ship. Of course at its best the team has played well enough so you don't need search for weaknesses, but all in all it doesn't look too good to me.

Don't forget his use of timeouts. Or lack of. And never switches goalies on time.

 

[The Nuge]

Even in 16/17 they were 5th worst in high danger chances against. I think Sekera stabilized the D just enough so they didn't drown but it was mainly Talbot having the season of his life.

I wouldn’t exactly call a goalie putting up basically dead on his career average for save percentage the “season of his life”. In fact in his 5 seasons, it sits 3rd in SV%, and 3rd in GAA. I’d call that average.

I’m going to say he isn’t fired, nor should he be. The only time the coach has legitimately been an issue is when Eakins was here. We’ve had every type of coach here. We’ve had legends, up and coming coaches, you name it. Everyone now loves to say we should have kept Krueger, yet when he was here, everyone was calling him Wreck it Ralph and wanting him fired. There was like 3 of us defending him. I mean, how many coaches can we go through?

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Hall had his worst season as an Oiler under Todd as did RNH and Eberle. Todd couldn't be bothered to try and salvage Schultz either. IMO Todd has been handling Puljujarvi poorly from the word go and last seasons special teams were a special kind of suck. Regardless of someone's feelings about Chia, I have no idea how they could have full faith in Todd. At worst it should be said that both suck at their jobs. A change of coach would just tell everyone either how badly Chia has done his job or how badly Todd has done his. Rightly or wrongly it is easier to fire a coach than a manager. IMO you can Todd and if the team rebounds Chia can stay for a bit, if the team still sucks then Chia gets the axe not long after Todd gets his. Enter the MacT era 3.0 fml.

 

[Spawn]

Hall had his worst season as an Oiler under Todd as did RNH and Eberle. Todd couldn't be bothered to try and salvage Schultz either. IMO Todd has been handling Puljujarvi poorly from the word go and last seasons special teams were a special kind of suck. Regardless of someone's feelings about Chia, I have no idea how they could have full faith in Todd. At worst it should be said that both suck at their jobs. A change of coach would just tell everyone either how badly Chia has done his job or how badly Todd has done his. Rightly or wrongly it is easier to fire a coach than a manager. IMO you can Todd and if the team rebounds Chia can stay for a bit, if the team still sucks then Chia gets the axe not long after Todd gets his. Enter the MacT era 3.0 fml.

I don't know if anyone has or would say they have full faith in McLellan. But the roster isn't there. Sure it might be easier to replace a coach than a GM. But the long term damage Chia can do (and has done) to this organization is far greater than any risk we have with McLellan.

Want to fire McLellan? Fine. But it should be a new GM who is doing it and a new GM who is getting to chose his guy for the replacement coach. Chiarelli has no right to another kick at the can. He's crippled this organization enough with his disastrous moves.

 

[ZJuice]

I also blame McLellan for killing Yakupov’s brain, confidence and future.

 

[Throttlehead]

Hall had his worst season as an Oiler under Todd as did RNH and Eberle. Todd couldn't be bothered to try and salvage Schultz either. IMO Todd has been handling Puljujarvi poorly from the word go and last seasons special teams were a special kind of suck. Regardless of someone's feelings about Chia, I have no idea how they could have full faith in Todd. At worst it should be said that both suck at their jobs. A change of coach would just tell everyone either how badly Chia has done his job or how badly Todd has done his. Rightly or wrongly it is easier to fire a coach than a manager. IMO you can Todd and if the team rebounds Chia can stay for a bit, if the team still sucks then Chia gets the axe not long after Todd gets his. Enter the MacT era 3.0 fml.

Agree! You can also add Lucic in that bunch....the guy kills player's confidence. I'm still trying to figure out what makes him a good coach, whats the appeal.

 

[fuswald]

Darryl sutter

Bin sayin this for ages

 

[Zaddy]

Honestly at this point I don't think the team is as bad as it looks to be, I think a lot of how the team is playing has to do with the coach. With the roster this team has there is no reason why they shouldn't be in the playoffs every year. Yes, there are definitely some holes and things that could be improved, but a good coach should get a lot more out of this team than McLellan is getting out of it. There are teams every year who has rosters worse / more flawed than the current Oilers but still makes the playoffs.

 

[StevenF1919]

I've always defended Todd since the roster he's been given is absolutely abysmal but the all left-handed powerplay + all right-handed powerplay setup is grounds for termination. Getting rid of him won't fix this tire fire of a team but he's definitely part of the problem here.