Speculation: Did Dallas Eakins have the right idea?

[LaGu]

It was ridiculous from the start, a desperate move to do something/anything to turn things around. Of course it didn't work because it was last of a long list of issues more important. The history is a big part of the team and it should stay that way. Many teams in sports have similar issues, but I have never ever seen anyone trying to just remove all references to it to "fix it". If you want them to create their own identity you show them the photos and tell them that this was the great era and players of the Oilers, and that in 20 years your photo should be be hanging next to the other great ones on that wall.

If the players cannot handle the pressure of playing for a once great franchise how will they ever manage the pressure of playing deep in the SC playoffs, if we ever get there...

 

[ohheyhemsky]

Not really. Getting your ass kicked by Dallas in round 1 or not making it at all. Nah. You can't really play "grinder" hockey in today's game and win anyway.

The late 90s teams with Weight/Guerin/etc. were fun at least, but the 2000s? Meh.

All we really had was Weight during those years as a clear "star" in the league. We have two 100 point players, and Nurse could hit 50 next year at 23 years old if he keeps progressing. That's what I mean by having somewhat of a balance, if we can get some of those heart players back on this team.

I'd argue a big part of our run three years ago was due to that balance of hitting/grinding and our top players performing to star level.

 

[lakai17]

He did that for himself to ease the pressure. He couldn't handle pressure.

 

[McSuper]

Eakins sucked the high hard one all the way out of the NHL . f***ing moron and his swarm D was wrong about everything .

 

[TheRebuild]

I agree with the original poster about cutting ties with the Oilers of the 80s though. I used to think that history was kind of neat (I don't remember the 80s, so that's as much of an emotional attachment as I have ever had with it), but now it seems more like a blight then anything else. The level of entitlement in some of these guys for something they did a million years ago is so mind numbing.

 

[BudBundy]

There is nothing worse than a boss who is arrogant, yet knows far less than he thinks he does. Nice hair, pushed hard by the Toronto Media from his Marlies days, but turned out to be a bonehead with nothing but empty slogans. He’s hockeys’ Trudeau.

 

[Rpenny]

Response: Montreal makes sure . all players know what it means to be a Montreal Canadian. For me, unless they are a loser organization like Vancouver or Buffalo, teams need to embrace their past to make the players realize they are part of something special .

 

[bone]

Response: Montreal makes sure . all players know what it means to be a Montreal Canadian. For me, unless they are a loser organization like Vancouver or Buffalo, teams need to embrace their past to make the players realize they are part of something special .

Agreed. But it can't just be focussed on the Dynasty era. Most players just can't aspire to those heights particularly with where the team is today. If you're bringing new players link them to past players they can relate to or aspire to play like. Look at guys like Weight, Smyth, Grier, Moreau (before he lost his mind), Smith, Guerin, Marchant, Niinimaa, Chimera, Pisani or other key players from 96-2006. Lots of those guys would do everything in their power to gut out a victory despite being undermanned to do so.

If you combine the elite play of guys like McDavid and Draisaitl with the hard working crew that regularly made playoffs but were undermanned to make an actual run, you'd have a pretty good team.

Picture the MGM Grand line as a third line on the current Oilers. Couple that with the offense you get out of our top 3, and you have a pretty formidable top 9 regardless who you plug into the empty winger spots with McDraiNuge.

 

[Soundwave]

All we really had was Weight during those years as a clear "star" in the league. We have two 100 point players, and Nurse could hit 50 next year at 23 years old if he keeps progressing. That's what I mean by having somewhat of a balance, if we can get some of those heart players back on this team.

I'd argue a big part of our run three years ago was due to that balance of hitting/grinding and our top players performing to star level.

Unfortunately for the Oilers the NHL doesn't just stay static like that. "McDavid + Draisaitl + a bunch of grinders" doesn't work today either.

The league has moved on and become about speed, skill and having that in waves. The Oilers did not see that sea change coming and are now paying the price for it.

If anything trying to build a low-rent version of the 80s Oilers (balls to the wall offence) would have fit better with what the league is today.

If they kept Hall, IMO they're in the playoffs today instead of on the golf course.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

Unfortunately for the Oilers the NHL doesn't just stay static like that. "McDavid + Draisaitl + a bunch of grinders" doesn't work today either.

The league has moved on and become about speed, skill and having that in waves. The Oilers did not see that sea change coming and are now paying the price for it.

If anything trying to build a low-rent version of the 80s Oilers (balls to the wall offence) would have fit better with what the league is today.

If they kept Hall, IMO they're in the playoffs today instead of on the golf course.

If the team doesn't create the identity surrounded by heart and playing for one another, Hall doesn't add anything but 50 points and an injury plagued season like he always did.

I'm not saying we need grinders to create that identity. We just need players who care and an identity change to match. It's what Hitchcock has been preaching this entire time - buying in and playing for one another. Chia obliterated our chance at having a cohesive skill group, but considering we need to sign depth players as a cap team going forward, why not sign those who actually want to play for this team, play for eachother and skip the Belangers and POS'?

 

[PBandJ]

He did have the right idea, just didn't execute it very well.

This team really need to drop its fascination with the events of 30 years ago.

 

[Soundwave]

If the team doesn't create the identity surrounded by heart and playing for one another, Hall doesn't add anything but 50 points and an injury plagued season like he always did.

I'm not saying we need grinders to create that identity. We just need players who care and an identity change to match. It's what Hitchcock has been preaching this entire time - buying in and playing for one another. Chia obliterated our chance at having a cohesive skill group, but considering we need to sign depth players as a cap team going forward, why not sign those who actually want to play for this team, play for eachother and skip the Belangers and POS'?

I disagree. We never got to see this team really play with McDavid + Draisaitl + Hall as far as the quality of players they are today.

A d-man like Hamonic or Tanev (comparable to Larsson) could have been had if they had been patient.

How many "grinder guys" do the Leafs have? Flames? Not many. They have offensive depth.

The new NHL, its vital to have either offence from your blue line, or a multi-line offensive attack that can punch back even when you are down 1-3 goals.

Unfortunately the Oilers have neither. With Hall, they would have the multi-line offence at least.

Hitchock is outdated in the new NHL. Knows a lot about hockey, but the game has simply changed and it's not 2002 anymore.

 

[Stoneman89]

This. 1000x over.

I used to wish we had the talent to compete with the best. Now I'll settle for some hardworkers who actually care.

You actually think we have the top end talent the Oilers of the 80's had? They had Fuhr, Anderson, Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Kurri, Simpson. We have McDavid and Drai. Maybe I'm forgetting someone, but there is absolutely NO comparison. The Oilers of today have plenty of hard workers with plenty of heart. What they lack is the team skating and skill to compete in today's NHL.

 

[Soundwave]

You actually think we have the top end talent the Oilers of the 80's had? They had Fuhr, Anderson, Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Kurri, Simpson. We have McDavid and Drai. Maybe I'm forgetting someone, but there is absolutely NO comparison. The Oilers of today have plenty of hard workers with plenty of heart. What they lack is the team skating and skill to compete in today's NHL.

They don't even have two scoring lines right now, lol.

Just because you have McDavid and Draisaitl doesn't automatically make you a talented hockey team.

 

[Stoneman89]

Im sure everybody here remember when Eakins tried to make the players forget about the history. He even went as far as to remove the once an Oiler always an Oiler sign and all the pictures of the greats from the dressing room. The idea was to let the team develop its own identity. Now Eakins was an absolute bafoon the way he went about it, but I believe the idea was actually a really good one for players around the league wanting to sign here. Players don’t usually like super high pressure cold climates. But the extra pressure of having to live up to Dynastyic legends is even worse. Not just for the players and management/coaching staff. But also for us the fans. Maybe the best thing for this orginzation to do os forget the “Oiler” way! Just concentrate on today’s players and what’s happening now. I would even go as far as to completely changing the home and away jerseys and let this team decide what the “Oiler” way is today. Give them their own identity and let them mold a new team free from the shackles of the past.

What’s you’re guys thoughts?

Rubbish. Montreal used to flog the theory of continuing the greatness all the time, and they had no problem producing continuing cup wins. What you're overlooking is the incredible rosters they had, with a ton of depth and skilled GM's. Our rosters have been unbalanced and zero depth for most of the last 12 years. As has been mentioned, pictures up, pictures down, has nothing to do with the players performance on the ice or the GM's job to get those players.
If you have a great history, you SHOULD celebrate it. You don't need to have a party every year and overdo it, but having pics of past greats and great moments is one of the things that make a place special. If anything, I should think it may inspire players. Unless they're just not very good at what they do.

 

[Soundwave]

I don't think there's a player on the Oilers roster that gives one crap about the 80s era Oilers in a day to day way.

None of them were even born when the Oilers won their last Cup in 1990 aside for like Lucic who would've been a whopping 2 years old in 1990.

That stuff doesn't impact them. They've maybe seen a few Youtube clips, but I doubt any of them have even watched a single full hockey game from the 1980s.

What actually impacts them I think is the pressure of playing on a team that has Connor McDavid on it. The expectations/hype/pressure that comes with that, especially when you are not producing becomes suffocating. And that develops into a negative spiral.

The Chicago Bulls in the 1980s had the same problem with Michael Jordan ... the team around him wasn't very good but he was such a huge star and the supporting cast would get hounded and called the "Jordannaires", it wasn't until Pippen and Grant developed into good players that finally they were able to shake that.

 

[BigFuzzyDice]

Unfortunately for the Oilers the NHL doesn't just stay static like that. "McDavid + Draisaitl + a bunch of grinders" doesn't work today either.

The league has moved on and become about speed, skill and having that in waves. The Oilers did not see that sea change coming and are now paying the price for it.

If anything trying to build a low-rent version of the 80s Oilers (balls to the wall offence) would have fit better with what the league is today.

If they kept Hall, IMO they're in the playoffs today instead of on the golf course.

History shows us we wouldn't be in the playoffs but we'd probably have the #1 pick right now.

Ironically the brain trust tried to build a team of speedy smurfs just 8 years to early, which begs the question was macT an idiot savant or just an idiot?

 

[MaxR11]

Unfortunately for the Oilers the NHL doesn't just stay static like that. "McDavid + Draisaitl + a bunch of grinders" doesn't work today either.

The league has moved on and become about speed, skill and having that in waves. The Oilers did not see that sea change coming and are now paying the price for it.

If anything trying to build a low-rent version of the 80s Oilers (balls to the wall offence) would have fit better with what the league is today.

If they kept Hall, IMO they're in the playoffs today instead of on the golf course.

lol, if they kept hall we might be in a worse spot of trouble. at least there's not as much drama in the room now and that makes turning things around with a new GM a bit easier.

hall had one blip where his team BARELY made it to the post season and proceeded to be a warm up round for the lightning. hall loses, is injured and wins #1 ova picks. that's his schtick.

 

[Raoul Duke]

lol, if they kept hall we might be in a worse spot of trouble. at least there's not as much drama in the room now and that makes turning things around with a new GM a bit easier.

hall had one blip where his team BARELY made it to the post season and proceeded to be a warm up round for the lightning. hall loses, is injured and wins #1 ova picks. that's his schtick.

Been in the room, have you?

 

[BudBundy]

History shows us we wouldn't be in the playoffs but we'd probably have the #1 pick right now.

Ironically the brain trust tried to build a team of speedy smurfs just 8 years to early, which begs the question was macT an idiot savant or just an idiot?

The Oilers have been both small, slow and untalented, and now big, slow, and untalented. The problem is a poor mix for different roles, but also an overall terrible job of drafting and trading or signing guys that could play hockey. Gagner, Omark, Horcoff, Nilsson, Theo Peckham, and Schremp were never going to get it done any more than Lucic, Brodziak, Cave, Rattie, and Benning can.

 

[redgrant]

If there was an identity i wish they embraced it would be the work ethic and effort of the 97-2000ish oilers with Weight, Grier, Hamerlik, Joseph, Richardson, Guerin etc.

They may not have had the budget of a Dallas or Colorado but my god they would never show no moneybags team an ounce of retreat.

 

[The Panther]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating (in modest, consistent ways -- not big to-do's at center ice) the glories of the franchise's past. As someone noted above, Montreal did exactly that in their most successful period c.1955 to 1990. Hell, they've always had photos of past greats lining the dressing room walls! Didn't stop them from winning (until Roy was traded).

The problem is when there's a major blight on the staple potato crop, and it lasts for 15 years. Then, you've got an ugly festering hole in the ground where vegetables used to be, and a lot of starving people who are no longer arsed about how fertile the ground was 30 years ago.

This is the problem the Oilers face: The more you celebrate the legacy while you're losing, the stupider you look. But since the team blows nowadays, there's nothing else to celebrate.

Anyway, NO, Eakins was not right. It's correct to have super-high standards and to expect championship-level standards.

 

[Oscar Acosta]

I agree with the original poster about cutting ties with the Oilers of the 80s though. I used to think that history was kind of neat (I don't remember the 80s, so that's as much of an emotional attachment as I have ever had with it), but now it seems more like a blight then anything else. The level of entitlement in some of these guys for something they did a million years ago is so mind numbing.

This, exactly.

There was a time as an Oiler fan I'd rewatch VHS tapes of "Hockey My Way" with Gretzky and Lowe in it. This was 2001. 2003 when Wayne popped the Oilers jersey on again for the Heritage Classic - goosebumps man. I was 9 when they won in 1990. I was 7 when Gretzky got traded. It's history that I liked.

Now I hear the name Wayne Gretzky and I picture an old red glassy eyed drunk. I hear the name Kevin Lowe and it fills me with rage. Like please don't hire Paul Coffey because my image in my head is a 1980s Bobby Orr - oh wait, you just hired Paul Coffey and nobody knows wtf he does. Don't "gracefully" hand off your #4 to Taylor Hall like you deserved to have it retired. It was a no-brainer. But the opportunity to get rid of him was there that exact moment "I don't like this kid, he's too cocky to want my number but I will look like an asshole if I don't. No you look like an asshole because you are.

These guys. Like come on. You got your palace to have a country club, your images are pasted on the hallway walls. Just go away, party in the press box who cares. Let someone with a god damn brain run the team that isn't your brother or second cousin or the guy that gave you a job in 2009. Get lost. Give us a break, 1988 is so long ago, let it go.

 

[iCanada]

Unfortunately for the Oilers the NHL doesn't just stay static like that. "McDavid + Draisaitl + a bunch of grinders" doesn't work today either.

The league has moved on and become about speed, skill and having that in waves. The Oilers did not see that sea change coming and are now paying the price for it.

If anything trying to build a low-rent version of the 80s Oilers (balls to the wall offence) would have fit better with what the league is today.

If they kept Hall, IMO they're in the playoffs today instead of on the golf course.

Id argue they did see the change, they just hard jumped the gun on it. We had the smallest and fastest team in the league for years.

Not that the OBC really deserves any credit for anything. Fire them all.

 

[BudBundy]

Been in the room, have you?

If Hall isnt mentioned, you never hear from HK97. Hall stole his girlfriend.