ESPN.com: What's wrong in Edmonton?

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

10th? Are you freaking kidding me?

 

[harpoon]

Dubnyk is not even on the top of the list of things wrong with this team.
1) KLowe

Hasn't played a game in twenty five years. Doesn't coach anymore. No longer even manages the team. So not even on the list of problems that its embarrassing for the people who keep bringing him up. Just lay your hatred to rest. You'll feel a lot better.

2) pro scouts
3) amateur scouts

Have been changing all along. Seems like everyone we get is no different. Maybe you expect too much from a scout?

4) lack of centre depth

This is a temporary problem. Arcobello and Acton have been decent. Gordon has been great. I think we can hope for a successful year from RNH. And Gagner will be back in a few weeks. Sure we could use another center, but a so-called starting goalie with a GAA over five is a far bigger problem in the big picture.

5) lack of a 4th line

Again, not a bigger problem than goaltending. Look at some of the fourth lines around the league. We have bodies on the farm capable of making the fourth line better if we need to bring them up.

6) lack of grit - sandpaper

True of a lot of teams in the league these days. Its turning into a game for nancies. I think the team has enough toughness on the roster, and even if they are lacking say one big hard hitting winger, is that a bigger problem than a starter who plays like he doesn't even care about his job ... just stands around in front of his crease like he's too tired to get into a crouch?

7) coaching carousel

This one is a big problem you are right. But its something that can't be "fixed" like the other problems on your list.

8) Tambo - is he still alive somewhere and on the payroll?

Tamby, joke that he was, can no longer be blamed for this debacle. He's gone, but Dubnyk is still here.

9) too many bold moves

Huh? Seriously? Like what? Eakins? And ?

10) questionable goalies

At last we get to the point that should be no lower than third on any Oiler fans list of team deficiencies. Dubnyk has been abysmal and there's nobody behind him. Personally I'd say that's the second biggest problem with the team right now. Putting it tenth is just like wtf.

 

[nitz]

Dubnyk said after his last game when he played better "now that I can actually see the puck" implying he was screened by his own players on most of the bad goals. I know on some of them he was screened for sure, but I did not look at all of them, so I cannot say for certain. I would like to see what he can do and am rooting for him, if he does well I think he will be back next season on a Gagner type bridge deal.

Who really cares what "ESPN" has to say anyways. For example .. saying that RNH is not dedicated to becoming a complete player is completely ridiculous. He was throwing his weight around pretty good last game, and pretty much a complete player already, pending practice and mastery I think he will be one of the top complete players in the league. This writer is out to lunch, especially by saying that Gagner is more of a complete player thusfar than RNH.

This "writer" is Pierre LeBrun, a very good hockey journalist and an astute hockey mind. I think it's a pretty accurate article.

 

[booyakasha]

Eastern team execs consider J.Schultz a stud?

 

[harpoon]

Eastern team execs consider J.Schultz a stud?

Six months ago you would have been shot on this board for suggesting otherwise ...

 

[shoop]

This "writer" is Pierre LeBrun, a very good hockey journalist and an astute hockey mind. I think it's a pretty accurate article.

I think LeBrun's post reflected an optimistic post about Dubnyk but wasn't totally of the mark. He agree the first two games were brutal and said he was better against Montreal. Very faint praise.

Now Dubnyk has been brutal in three of his four starts.

Last night was the tipping point. Doobie will be gone soon. MacT should be working the phones now.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Oilers have done one bold player move... sort of that was the Perron deal.

Mact player wise has simply played musical chairs on the third line

 

[McShogun99]

Dubnyk is not even on the top of the list of things wrong with this team.
1) KLowe
Confused by this one, he might have final say in roster moves but i'm pretty sure everything is done by commitee.

2) pro scouts
Don't see how you can blame them, they did a good job in targeting Joensuu, Gordon, Ference and Gazdic.

3) amateur scouts
Minus the 1st round picks they have done a horrible job from rounds 2 to 7. Marancin, Pitlick and Khairi might be the only guys that pan out from the last 5 drafts.

4) lack of centre depth
When fully healthy our C depth is fine, the only problem is that we have zero C quality C prospects.

5) lack of a 4th line
I think our 4th line is fine, they do their job.

6) lack of grit - sandpaper
Huge problem, I think this will be fixed next year once Smyth and Hemsky are gone and replaced with legitimate checking wingers.
7) coaching carousel
Kruger wasn't given a chance, hopefully Eakins can last 4+ years here.

8) Tambo - is he still alive somewhere and on the payroll?
This makes no sense.

9) too many bold moves
We made a bold move?

10) questionable goalies
Biggest problem was not acquiring a 1B goalie to make Dubnyk his backup.

The list is far from complete, but what we need to do is fire everyone of those in management, and hire a real hockey guy (not some has been ex Oiler meathead) to bring in a new team with a new vision.

Wonder how that Calgary rebuild is looking compared to ours.."

One summer is a short time to fix Tambo's mess, hopefully by next season everything will be fixed.

 

[Wheathead]

One summer is a short time to fix Tambo's mess, hopefully by next season everything will be fixed.

The Tambellini Stench will be here for a while yet. I find it hard to believe we stuck with Mr. Dithers for so long. No effort was made to actually improve the roster during his tenure here, outside of the signing of Belanger and Sutton. Lowe would've made more astute moves as GM had he continued, though I suspect that the Vanek/Penner offersheets hurt his rep among GMs, thus trading corridors were severely damaged.

Turfing Tambellini after the deadline last year was far too late.

 

[shoop]

The Tambellini Stench will be here for a while yet. I find it hard to believe we stuck with Mr. Dithers for so long.

MacT has to avoid dithering here. Make a small move for a goalie and try the three guys for a while or go big. Do it quickly.

The Oilers got Roloson with 20 games left in the season in 2006. This team will be in the basement all season with the goalie situation as it is now.

This is the biggest test of MacTs skills as a GM so far. Hopefully he passes the test!

 

[dem]

Culture of losing
Mentally weak
Soft as butter

That about sums it up


Why get good when the entire fan base (and management) treats you like you're Wayne Gretzky the moment you are drafted.

 

[hawks889]

Culture of losing
Mentally weak
Soft as butter

That about sums it up


Why get good when the entire fan base (and management) treats you like you're Gretzky the moment you are drafted.

Exactly, and management gives them all long term deals, for big money, look at the hopkins signing, Mactavish, says no brainer, why would we even consider offering a bridge deal, who needs bridge deals, when we can give them all they want now, leaving no motivation for them, win or lose, they will all get there 6 million a year,

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Exactly, and management gives them all long term deals, for big money, look at the hopkins signing, Mactavish, says no brainer, why would we even consider offering a bridge deal, who needs bridge deals, when we can give them all they want now, leaving no motivation for them, win or lose, they will all get there 6 million a year,

Have you watched RNH since he came back?

 

[Gone]

Hasn't played a game in twenty five years. Doesn't coach anymore. No longer even manages the team. So not even on the list of problems that its embarrassing for the people who keep bringing him up. Just lay your hatred to rest. You'll feel a lot better.
Have been changing all along. Seems like everyone we get is no different. Maybe you expect too much from a scout?
This is a temporary problem. Arcobello and Acton have been decent. Gordon has been great. I think we can hope for a successful year from RNH. And Gagner will be back in a few weeks. Sure we could use another center, but a so-called starting goalie with a GAA over five is a far bigger problem in the big picture.
Again, not a bigger problem than goaltending. Look at some of the fourth lines around the league. We have bodies on the farm capable of making the fourth line better if we need to bring them up.
True of a lot of teams in the league these days. Its turning into a game for nancies. I think the team has enough toughness on the roster, and even if they are lacking say one big hard hitting winger, is that a bigger problem than a starter who plays like he doesn't even care about his job ... just stands around in front of his crease like he's too tired to get into a crouch?
This one is a big problem you are right. But its something that can't be "fixed" like the other problems on your list.
Tamby, joke that he was, can no longer be blamed for this debacle. He's gone, but Dubnyk is still here.
Huh? Seriously? Like what? Eakins? And ?
At last we get to the point that should be no lower than third on any Oiler fans list of team deficiencies. Dubnyk has been abysmal and there's nobody behind him. Personally I'd say that's the second biggest problem with the team right now. Putting it tenth is just like wtf.

8 and 9 were meant to be funny. KLowe still calls the shots, don't kid yourself.

With respect to Dub's I'm nervous, but, he did carry this team with a decent save percentage for the last 3 years, it wouldn't surprise me if he turned it around and went on a 10 - 15 game hot streak; just like it wouldn't surprise me if he continued in his funk. This season will turn on Dub's, so let's hope he turns it around real fast or we'll be looking at another lottery pick. Can't believe the goalie depth in this org, which means we could be looking at a worse option next year (God forbid).

 

[Gone]

One summer is a short time to fix Tambo's mess, hopefully by next season everything will be fixed.

I wonder if Tambo had complete control if we would be able to compare his tenure to the likes of Milbury, with Milbury being the standard incompetent GMs are measured by.

 

[Replacement*]

Exactly, and management gives them all long term deals, for big money, look at the hopkins signing, Mactavish, says no brainer, why would we even consider offering a bridge deal, who needs bridge deals, when we can give them all they want now, leaving no motivation for them, win or lose, they will all get there 6 million a year,

Seems like a recipe for entitlement. Who knew?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Seems like a recipe for entitlement. Who knew?

Yeah, RNH sure looked entitled out there.

 

[Replacement*]

Yeah, RNH sure looked entitled out there.

Whoops, I wasn't referring to Hopkins and kind of missed that in my quick response. I think it does apply a lot in general though as an "oilers way"

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Whoops, I wasn't referring to Hopkins and kind of missed that in my quick response. I think it does apply a lot in general though as an "oilers way"

Fair enough.

But Hall looked dominant last year and Eberle looked much better last game. I can understand the feeling some people get when they see these contracts, but sometimes you have to pay for potential.

If RNH and Hall can play the way they can these contracts will be huge bargains.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

Six months ago you would have been shot on this board for suggesting otherwise ...

I think he is, but he's certainly not a defensive stud muffin.

 

[PaperDesigner]

That is an incredibly stupid assessment.

First of all, Dubnyk has put up respectable, but not spectacular numbers as a starter for two years now. Has he been awful? Yes. Is that the major reason why the Oilers record is as bad as it is five games in? Yes. Do those four bad games by Dubnyk offer a better assessment of the type of goaltender Dubnyk is than the longer track record? NO!

The problem with thinking that Dubnyk is not a starting goaltender is that it goes against his historical level of play. He could be right, ultimately, but it's not supported by the data.

However, at least being critical of Dubnyk right now is defensible.

How the heck do you arrive at the conclusion that the "Oilers need more Justin Schultzes"???

Good grief! I am happy to have him on the team, but he is simply not there yet as a two-way defender. He'll likely figure it out (remember, he has yet to play as many games as a full NHL season) at some point, but today, Petry, Smid, Ference and possibly Belov are all better NHL players. And it's not a lack of depth--they have plenty of guys who are at least acceptable NHL defenders, but a lack of top-end difference makers to take the pressure off players like Petry and Schultz.

I suspect the GM in question is Dave Nonis, since that seems to be the eastern GM most removed from reality.

 

[harpoon]

KLowe still calls the shots, don't kid yourself.

And you'll still be saying that when he's toothless and living in an old age facility. When Lowe was the one who actually had the authority to call the shots (EIG era) this team was never the laughingstock of the league. We didn't win all the time, but at least we had our pride. Since Lowe has lost the ability to call the shots (the day after Katz took over) the team has wallowed in the basement of the league. I think the correlation is fairly obvious.

I think he is, but he's certainly not a defensive stud muffin.

Me too. I wasn't taking a shot at Schultz. Just have to shake my head at the posters who build a player up into god status so quickly.
And then rip on him when he doesn't meet unrealistic expectations.

 

[shoop]

That is an incredibly stupid assessment.

First of all, Dubnyk has put up respectable, but not spectacular numbers as a starter for two years now. Has he been awful? Yes. Is that the major reason why the Oilers record is as bad as it is five games in? Yes. Do those four bad games by Dubnyk offer a better assessment of the type of goaltender Dubnyk is than the longer track record? NO!

The problem with thinking that Dubnyk is not a starting goaltender is that it goes against his historical level of play. He could be right, ultimately, but it's not supported by the data.

However, at least being critical of Dubnyk right now is defensible.

How I read LeBrun's post it seems to match with your opinion. Granted he posted it before the Leafs game.

Doobie has now had three brutal games and one ok game. I'd like to see the team give LaBarbera a few games if they can't work out a reasonable trade in short order.