Rumor: Gagner New Captain?

[Seedling]

Don't look now but the hard as nails, hard work coach has only met two Oilers so far, Ryan Smyth, and RNH, and looks to be less prepared then the last no bs coach, Phat Quinn, who came in here and by his own admission hadn't even seen most of our players play before.

Eakins is still in the process of moving to Edmonton, isn't settled in, and has the added distraction of family moving here sometime this week. This on top of everything else on his plate this week learning a new NHL job and meeting a new team. Learning curve cliff ahead..have an experience.

This looks like not great due diligence or preparation. If I'm CEO of somebody I hired months ago to be a manager of a company in deep deep **** I kind of expect said hire to be here earlier than minutes before work in earnest starts. The Oilers brass now has about a couple days to chew over what they want to establish in TC, what drills, what approach, get up to speed etc. This is prep Oilers style. Just throw it together at last minute as if its a Junior squad. Strike that, theres Junior Squads proably much more prepared.

I'm a bit bothered that Eakins hasn't done more to establish with the players and team during the offseason. Calls on the phone and twitter doesn't seem like much.

He's meeting everybody on the ice on Wednesday and during the physicals. Thats where it starts. One of my worries is by the time the team starts to get a handle on what Eakins is even like it'll be around November.
This assuming no infamous "philosophical differences" that this org is famous for.

jebus, this could be Bucky and Steve Smith essentially running everything for the first while.

Pretty sure Nelson is running the Penticton stuff. I am sure there is a keen eye from Eakins but he is likely just watching to see who intrigues him.

 

[Arpeggio]

You'd find very few coaches who would fly all over the world to meet their players face to face prior to training camp. He'd likely have to fly to 20 different cities to try to meet everyone, all while moving his family to Edmonton. The fact that he called them sets him apart from Quinn already.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

 

[KCC]

I could see him taking over. He's obviously works very hard, has a fair amount of NHL experience and seems poised to become a leader moving forward.

 

[Replacement*]

You'd find very few coaches who would fly all over the world to meet their players face to face prior to training camp. He'd likely have to fly to 20 different cities to try to meet everyone, all while moving his family to Edmonton. The fact that he called them sets him apart from Quinn already.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Could be I'm just old fashioned. Always be ready, always be prepared. Seems odd to me to start the ball rolling at last minute when lots could've been done and ironed out in summer months.

Probably as well because with this team its so vital to get off to a good start. This can't and shouldn't be, another fail year. This isn't business as usual its resurrecting the Titanic and trying to get it ocean worthy..

 

[The Nuge]

Could be I'm just old fashioned. Always be ready, always be prepared. Seems odd to me to start the ball rolling at last minute when lots could've been done and ironed out in summer months.

Probably as well because with this team its so vital to get off to a good start. This can't and shouldn't be, another fail year. This isn't business as usual its resurrecting the Titanic and trying to get it ocean worthy..

Do you have any idea what it would cost to go fly and visit everyone? Phoning is good enough for now. I'm sure he's watched plenty of video on everyone

 

[Replacement*]

Do you have any idea what it would cost to go fly and visit everyone? Phoning is good enough for now. I'm sure he's watched plenty of video on everyone

I didn't state that.

Again I'm old fashioned perhaps.

When you hire somebody months in advance it tends not to be a spoken thing but you don't mind at all if the guy at least moves to the town of business and gets himself established in town, find a neighborhood, home, schools, gets the family settled in etc. Any family man knows these are difficult things you ideally want to have prepared in advance so it isn't being a last minute distraction. This isn't hiring somebody to run a small printing shop. Its a billion buck business with high stakes expectations.

My minimal expectation would be that the manager would be in town early and meeting with the employees early. Several Oilers reportedly spend summers here typically. Is this not the case anymore? Why not spend a little time with them.

Does Eakins really think he's going to get a firm handle on 30 or so different psyches and know their ins and outs, what works, doesn't work, and do that all at once while running a TC, running an exhibition season, coaching a pro club. Eakins is big on the extracurricular figuring guys out coaching philosophy. He should well know that **** takes time. We really don't have that time. Eakins, and the club, need to be prepared to hit the ground running.

Anyway, its an interesting discussion, and including some speculation but I'm going on a lot of what Eakins has already stated. Theres going to be a huge difference here vs Eakins being well settled in his roles with the Marlies with a team, and place, he knew intimately. We'll see how he adjusts.

 

[Arpeggio]

I didn't state that.

Again I'm old fashioned perhaps.

When you hire somebody months in advance it tends not to be a spoken thing but you don't mind at all if the guy at least moves to the town of business and gets himself established in town, find a neighborhood, home, schools, gets the family settled in etc. Any family man knows these are difficult things you ideally want to have prepared in advance so it isn't being a last minute distraction. This isn't hiring somebody to run a small printing shop. Its a billion buck business with high stakes expectations.

My minimal expectation would be that the manager would be in town early and meeting with the employees early. Several Oilers reportedly spend summers here typically. Is this not the case anymore? Why not spend a little time with them.

Does Eakins really think he's going to get a firm handle on 30 or so different psyches and know their ins and outs, what works, doesn't work, and do that all at once while running a TC, running an exhibition season, coaching a pro club. Eakins is big on the extracurricular figuring guys out coaching philosophy. He should well know that **** takes time. We really don't have that time. Eakins, and the club, need to be prepared to hit the ground running.

Anyway, its an interesting discussion, and including some speculation but I'm going on a lot of what Eakins has already stated. Theres going to be a huge difference here vs Eakins being well settled in his roles with the Marlies with a team, and place, he knew intimately. We'll see how he adjusts.

The majority players do not stay here. In particular the big names on the team (Hall, Eberle, RNH, Gagner, Yakupov, Schultz, Perron, Hemsky I guess) all leave town for the summer.

 

[Replacement*]

The majority players do not stay here. In particular the big names on the team (Hall, Eberle, RNH, Gagner, Yakupov, Schultz, Perron, Hemsky I guess) all leave town for the summer.

Thanks for the info.

tbh kind of disappointing for a team thats perennially in last place and trying to find meaningful identity and bonding.

With the best hockey team in he history of the planet, most of the players on that team lived here, (it was the exceptions that didn't) and most of them hung around most of the year, and nobody had to tell them to do that. It was viewed as a natural need. A need to know each other inside out. To do that and figure that out on their own. That the team was in fact married to their cause. To each other. You could say dedicated and committed.

Some of these guys today don't know the first thing about building team concept, dedication, sacrifice, REALLY becoming a team.. It doesn't happen twittering and emailing each other for 5 months.

No wonder theres always guys on this team that act like strangers in September.

 

[Dorian2]

Can I get a psychological profile on some of the players next Replacement?

Thanks a bunch old chap!

 

[Insta]

Replacement you have some fantasy team in your head. This team doesnt exist. The coach gave all the players his expectations for them and his talked to the other coaches about how things are going to be different. They, like every other team, will have training camp to put things in place.

 

[McDreamy]

I didn't state that.

Again I'm old fashioned perhaps.

When you hire somebody months in advance it tends not to be a spoken thing but you don't mind at all if the guy at least moves to the town of business and gets himself established in town, find a neighborhood, home, schools, gets the family settled in etc. Any family man knows these are difficult things you ideally want to have prepared in advance so it isn't being a last minute distraction. This isn't hiring somebody to run a small printing shop. Its a billion buck business with high stakes expectations.

Eakins was trying to rent at a building my work owns. It didn't end up happening because the last rental unit in the condo had just been rented to someone else the day before. This was probably 1.5 to 2 months ago. I think you're crazy.

 

[Groucho]

I can't believe Eakins didn't fly out to Russia to personally welcome Belov to the team.

 

[Replacement*]

Eakins was trying to rent at a building my work owns. It didn't end up happening because the last rental unit in the condo had just been rented to someone else the day before. This was probably 1.5 to 2 months ago. I think you're crazy.

For some reason Eakins stated in an interview this week that he hadn't found accommodation yet, was still looking for the right place, and I'm crazy?

jebus this is Edmonton, the most housing starts in the nation and new properties available and springing up every week if not every day. Can't find anything in Edmonton? What a ridiculous suggestion. So he didn't get the condo he wanted according to you. Why not look elsewhere and nail something down?

lol at a condo as well. Oilers not paying him enough?

 

[Groucho]

Maybe because he has young kids and is concerned about where and how they get to school Replacement. He also has a wife who's probably pretty interested in where they live, so maybe she has some stake in the decision as well? Deciding on a house or where to live isn't a black and white decision.

Not sure why you're building the stake to burn him on already.

 

[s7ark]

Not going to bother cleaning this up. Totally off topic, so it's now closed.