How much say does Katz have in day-to-day hockey operations?

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Thread is self-explanatory. If Katz bought this club in order to play Glen Sather, it would help explain why he's so reluctant to fire Lowe and company. If a lot of the boneheaded moves have been made by him perhaps he feels guilty having them take the fall.

Consider:

* he openly campaigned to buy the team when EIG wasn't even interested in selling.

* he immediately proclaimed that the Oilers would spend to the cap every year and directed the embarassing years long search for a new marquee player for Edmonton (Hossa, Heatley, Jagr, etc).

* he apparently overruled the hockey dept and ordered the drafting of Yakupov.

* his kid gets to play real life fantasy hockey every damn draft day.

There's a bit of an assumption that he loves MacT and Lowe so much that he let them drive the team into the ground. Perhaps instead they stick around because they're yes-men who facilitate the boss' dream of playing NHL GM in real life?

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[Diamondillium]

Honestly, there's no way of knowing. The rumor is obviously that he has his hands in operations more than most owners, however we really can't know for sure.

 

[NewBoysClub97*]

Nobody can really say at all. Everything in here would be speculation.

 

[Connor McOilers]

Technically speaking as owner of the franchise, and therefore boss of everyone it employs, he would have absolute power over any decision if he wanted to use it.

Of course that would be an idiotic thing for him to do as he is a business man, not a hockey guy, so he instead puts his misguided trust in the front office staff he employs to make those decisions. How often he butts in is impossible for us to know, but a smart owner would stay out of things if you ask me.


That said a smart owner wouldn't continue to allow the same morons to make the decisions for him... but that's another can of worms all together.

 

[Arctic Fox]

Depends on the amount of LSD in his tea.

 

[Tarus]

I doubt he exerts any influence over the day to day affairs of the team outside of setting a budget. Kind of like when Tambo/Lowe wanted to do a scorched earth rebuild, and the rumors were they were told to slash the budget while doing so.

Bigger decisions I'm sure he has a say in, but outside of the Hossa/Heatley chases, and the Yakupov decision; I doubt Katz has used his veto power all that much.

Wouldn't matter all that much anyways. Owners meddle in team affairs all across the NHL, with both positive(Detroit, Chicago) and negative(NYI, Ottawa, NYR) consequences.

 

[CanadianSuperPromise]

Who knows?

Technically speaking, as long it is deemed permissible by the rules and regulation of the NHL and accompanying leagues, he could probably do what the hell he wants, considering he owns the team.

Waive Hall? If he wanted, sure.
Sign his son to a PTO? Sure, who's stopping him?

 

[Hynh]

Too much, regardless of amount.

The idea that he is the one making the majority of decisions is too horrible to comprehend, like some Lovecraftian horror.

 

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Too much, regardless of amount.

The idea that he is the one making the majority of decisions is too horrible to comprehend, like some Lovecraftian horror.

And that was kind of the point of the thread. I've been on the 'fire everybody' bandwagon for years (they never should have been involved in rebuilding the team they destroyed) but there's a strong possiblity that the problems go a lot deeper.

Its easy to say fire Lowe but if hockey people in the know already know to stay away because owner meddles too much... Well, we're never going to see the brightest and best show up here, and things may never change anyway. Its bleak but a real possiblity.

 

[Up the Irons]

my gut tells me his not very involved.

 

[Tekneek]

I don't think it matters, really. Whether his involvement causes problems or lack of involvement causes problems, they're all his problems ultimately. You and I may have 99 problems, but none of them include owning an NHL franchise.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I guess it comes down to how much you hope he's involved for what purpose. If it's to try to portray him as a Daniel Snider type, the go with a lot, if you want to portray him as some rich guy with something he can show off, go with very little.

Eitherway, it doesn't matter.

 

[thadd]

He has ALL of the say.

I'm under the impression that he flat out choses to say nothing.