The Tambo years: the fallout, the recovery.

[Up the Irons]

We've discussed Tambo's 3 wasted years inwhich not a single player was acquired that actually improved the team (well, I suppose J. Schultz did). We can't measure the extent of damage those years caused to this rebuild, but we can agree it was substancial.

Where would this team be if we had been acquiring the Scrivens', Hendricks', Gordons, Faynes, etc. back in the summer of 2011, and since?

How have those failed years changed 'the plan'? Or has it changed? Fan patience has dried up. Player patience has (probably) dried up. They can't keep waiting and wasting whole seasons.

I doubt they can make up lost ground. Those years are lost. They will likely not go Colorado. They are on the same path as before, only 3 years later. Can they even recover? Has the dream of a cup disappeared, and has just being a contender become the new dream? Kinda has for me.

I'll say this; if the Oilers never make it to the final, those 3 wasted years of Tambellin will live in infamy for decades.

Click to read more...

 

[thadd]

I'll say this: We drafted well and went more or less drama free over this period of time.

 

[Aceboogie]

I'll say this: We drafted well and went more or less drama free over this period of time.

We didnt draft well, we drafted pretty horrible in the later rounds. I am happy with all our first round (and first OA) selections, with the only mistake being MPS but for who MacT turned into Perron

The only positive from this era was that Tambo didnt trade away Hall/Eberle/RNH/Yak (or the picks) for an ageing vet.

He also didnt saddle us with any horrible long term deals

Other than that, this was a dark period. This guy didnt nothing besides draft coke machines and sign horrible "gritty" depth players.

To see how bad it was, MacT had to literally overturn 75% of the roster, and keep everyone besides Hall/RNH/Yak/Eberle. I still can not believe Tambos inability to make a trade or a good signing (even if overpayment)

Also, going the way of Colorado just means becoming one of the top 3 luckiest teams in the NHL (in terms of PDO, S%, Onice SV%). We could have literally done nothing this offseason, got a bunch of luck and rocketed in the standings. Since I cant predict who will be a lucky NHL team next year (it sways wildly each year), I can only hope we receive our fair share

 

[rboomercat90]

I have a hard time blaming that mess entirely on Tambellini when Lowe and even Katz stood by for three years and just let it happen. To me, if it wasn't an organizational plan, something would have been done about it much sooner. They wanted those high draft picks and bringing in guys who could actually play would have ruined that. Doesn't help that nobody in the organization can figure out how to build a team. We're heading into our second season without Tambellini and this team still has the same holes in it that it did when he was here. We're even thinner at center than before. Tambellini is far from being the only one to blame here.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Wow, talk about being overdramatic. We had a bad GM, just like we have the past 25 years. The oilers have been in the basement because they were near the bottom of the league in payroll despite having one of the wealthier owners in the league. Read into that what you will, it was obviously intentional.

Heres what I read into it.

They brought their fall guy in so they could tank for high picks then fire him after a few years and act like they're coming to the rescue.

 

[rboomercat90]

Wow, talk about being overdramatic. We had a bad GM, just like we have the past 25 years. The oilers have been in the basement because they were near the bottom of the league in payroll despite having one of the wealthier owners in the league. Read into that what you will, it was obviously intentional.

Heres what I read into it.

They brought their fall guy in so they could tank for high picks then fire him after a few years and act like they're coming to the rescue.

Yes and not only was it discussed at length in 2010, it was pretty much accepted that Tambellini was hired to be the face for the dirty work. Comical to me that people see him as the sole architect here. He does make a nice boogeyman while Mactavish struggles to make this team better though.

 

[Up the Irons]

Wow, talk about being overdramatic. We had a bad GM, just like we have the past 25 years. The oilers have been in the basement because they were near the bottom of the league in payroll despite having one of the wealthier owners in the league. Read into that what you will, it was obviously intentional.

Heres what I read into it.

They brought their fall guy in so they could tank for high picks then fire him after a few years and act like they're coming to the rescue.

I don't know about that. They didn't plan on going scortched earth when they hired him. Infact, there's a good chance it was Tambo who talked them into it. It was either Katz' or Tambo's idea. I don't believe it was Lowe's, not his style at all.

I think Lowe thought he had his man and was massively wrong. Having to change GMs in the middle of a rebuild can't be a good thing. Ideally, you want the right guy from the start. If they had, they'd be a playoff team by now.

I'm not blaming it all on Tambo (only about 90%). I'm just calling those years the Tambo years (he will forever be tagged to the era, rightly or wrongly).

but, i hope this doesn't turn into a 'list the mistakes' thread or argue over who's to blame more. I was hoping to discuss how the mistakes have changed things. They were planning on being in the playoffs by now. Now, they are waiting for Nurse and Draisaitl to be core contributers. that's 3 years down the road. Having lost 3 years, they are now looking at finally going north when Hall and Eberle near the end of their contracts. It will be decision time, for management and for both players.

 

[Tarus]

I don't know about that. They didn't plan on going scortched earth when they hired him. Infact, there's a good chance it was Tambo who talked them into it. It was either Katz' or Tambo's idea. I don't believe it was Lowe's, not his style at all.

Lowe was touting a long haul type rebuild through the draft as early as 2007. That was before EIG got cold feet after being called cheap by Katz in the media, and long before Tambo was ever on the scene.

There is no way Tambo would have had the clout to convince Katz to undertake a risky route with a potentially damaging hit to the team profits after only one year on the job either. One of the glory year players with a job for life who happens to be one of Katz's best friends on the other hand...

 

[Up the Irons]

Lowe was touting a long haul type rebuild through the draft as early as 2007. That was before EIG got cold feet after being called cheap by Katz in the media, and long before Tambo was ever on the scene.

There is no way Tambo would have had the clout to convince Katz to undertake a risky route with a potentially damaging hit to the team profits after only one year on the job either. One of the glory year players with a job for life who happens to be one of Katz's best friends on the other hand...

ok, fine. I don't care who's to blame more. It happened. They are here, and what's next?
can they recover? I think yes. but, I think it has altered what a winning core will be.

They were banking on being cup contenders, with at least some playoff series wins, well before Hall would neared UFA status. This, they felt, would make signing him to his 3rd contract a near certainty. Now, it is entirely possible (probable?) that by year 5 of the Hall/Eberle contracts, this team will still have not experience a playoff series win. What could this mean?

 

[Tarus]

ok, fine. I don't care who's to blame more. It happened. They are here, and what's next?
can they recover? I think yes. but, I think it has altered what a winning core will be.

They were banking on being cup contenders, with at least some playoff series wins, well before Hall would neared UFA status. This, they felt, would make signing him to his 3rd contract a near certainty. Now, it is entirely possible (probable?) that by year 5 of the Hall/Eberle contracts, this team will still have not experience a playoff series win. What could this mean?

Recover? Hard to say, but things don't look the slightest bit promising.

Mactavish looks like a disaster in the UFA market, and just as incapable of getting anything done on the trade market. He is also clinging to arguably the worst coach in franchise history over his unwillingness to admit the massive mistake that his first major move as a GM was. Bit players fortunate enough to get out of dodge are casually taking shots at the franchise and it's inept coach on the way out, and the frustration level of the marquee guys is openly visible suggesting there will be fallout from that direction in short order as well.

Tambo was bad no doubt, he quite clearly thought he would draft an entire NHL roster in 3 years time, but the new regime is making all the same mistakes that created the rebuild in the first place. The last two years since Mactavish took over - they've gone whale hunting for obscenely overrated UFAs(Clarkson), badly overpaid for suspect veteran players(some of whom are blatantly trending on the wrong direction), and again will be going into a season with gaping roster holes with the expectation that 18 year olds will fill in the gaps. It's like it's 2007 - 2009 all over again, except this time they don't have a solid battle tested core to make things look better than they are. Just a lot of hard won, but immature talent that could get pissed away very quickly.

The team took a massive step backwards in what was a truly bad first year under the new but still old regime, and the infamous tambo years will fade into obscurity quickly if the path they set upon continues. Things like playoffs are a distant and fading dream, and the idea of being a cup contender anytime in the next decade a laughable fantasy at this point.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Recover? Hard to say, but things don't look the slightest bit promising.

Mactavish looks like a disaster in the UFA market, and just as incapable of getting anything done on the trade market. He is also clinging to arguably the worst coach in franchise history over his unwillingness to admit the massive mistake that his first major move as a GM was. Bit players fortunate enough to get out of dodge are casually taking shots at the franchise and it's inept coach on the way out, and the frustration level of the marquee guys is openly visible suggesting there will be fallout from that direction in short order as well.

Tambo was bad no doubt, he quite clearly thought he would draft an entire NHL roster in 3 years time, but the new regime is making all the same mistakes that created the rebuild in the first place. The last two years since Mactavish took over - they've gone whale hunting for obscenely overrated UFAs(Clarkson), badly overpaid for suspect veteran players(some of whom are blatantly trending on the wrong direction), and again will be going into a season with gaping roster holes with the expectation that 18 year olds will fill in the gaps. It's like it's 2007 - 2009 all over again, except this time they don't have a solid battle tested core to make things look better than they are. Just a lot of hard won, but immature talent that could get pissed away very quickly.

The team took a massive step backwards in what was a truly bad first year under the new but still old regime, and the infamous tambo years will fade into obscurity quickly if the path they set upon continues. Things like playoffs are a distant and fading dream, and the idea of being a cup contender anytime in the next decade a laughable fantasy at this point.

I don't even know where to start with your post. You make it seem like MacT has done nothing and is as bad as Tambo and that is just laughably false.

 

[Wheathead]

Tambellini was a horrible GM.

If Lowe himself were competent, he would've fired Tambellini in 2010 or 2011 at the latest.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

The problem with the Tambo era is that we started off on the wrong foot. We tried to build the house before we built the foundation. Let me explain.

The Oilers started this scorched earth rebuild without a commitment to development of ALL prospects. The problem was that we didn't have full control of our ECHL and AHL franchises. Guys like Pitlick, Hamilton, Martindale and probably Musil & Teubert couldn't get the playing time they desperately needed to improve as hockey players. The Barons called up a 27 year old ECHL player over giving playing time to a guy like Teubert. Seriously? How is that helpful to the Oilers? We favored a team that won hockey games at the AHL level rather than a team that developed hockey players for the NHL level.

The consequence to all this is a lack of depth in our NHL lineup. Would Pitlick and others be a full time NHLer by now. Who knows. However, the franchise didn't put him on the proper development path or in a position to succeed. In other words it took too long to try and find out what we had in our prospects.

Now that MacT is in charge we got complete control our ECHL and AHL franchises 100%. The proof. Late in the season and in the playoffs this year in OKC guys like Nurse, Chase, Khaira and Broissoit got games in the AHL last season with the Barons. We played our top young talent , not a bunch of over 25 players who will never ever play a game at the NHL level. This is how you develop players. Give them opportunities even though it means we don't win a Calder Cup every year. This is our foundation. Once you have a strong foundation the house shouldn't collapse on itself every season.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

The problem with the Tambo era is that we started off on the wrong foot. We tried to build the house before we built the foundation. Let me explain.

The Oilers started this scorched earth rebuild without a commitment to development of ALL prospects. The problem was that we didn't have full control of our ECHL and AHL franchises. Guys like Pitlick, Hamilton, Martindale and probably Musil & Teubert couldn't get the playing time they desperately needed to improve as hockey players. The Barons called up a 27 year old ECHL player over giving playing time to a guy like Teubert. Seriously? How is that helpful to the Oilers? We favored a team that won hockey games at the AHL level rather than a team that developed hockey players for the NHL level.

The consequence to all this is a lack of depth in our NHL lineup. Would Pitlick and others be a full time NHLer by now. Who knows. However, the franchise didn't put him on the proper development path or in a position to succeed. In other words it took too long to try and find out what we had in our prospects.

Now that MacT is in charge we got complete control our ECHL and AHL franchises 100%. The proof. Late in the season and in the playoffs this year in OKC guys like Nurse, Chase, Khaira and Broissoit got games in the AHL last season with the Barons. We played our top young talent , not a bunch of over 25 players who will never ever play a game at the NHL level. This is how you develop players. Give them opportunities even though it means we don't win a Calder Cup every year. This is our foundation. Once you have a strong foundation the house shouldn't collapse on itself every season.

We have been seeing good things from the development of our prospects too. Marincin looks great, Klefbom looked very good in his few games he played up here. Arcobello has developed well in OKC and our other young prospects looked good on their call ups. I'm excited to see after another full season how the prospects look

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

We have been seeing good things from the development of our prospects too. Marincin looks great, Klefbom looked very good in his few games he played up here. Arcobello has developed well in OKC and our other young prospects looked good on their call ups. I'm excited to see after another full season how the prospects look

Most of your examples are at the very end of the Tambo era/begining of the MacT era.


Marincin played an extra year of junior before joining OKC full time in 2012-2013.
Klefbom played in Sweden until this season. MacT was already GM
Arcobello did develop well in the AHL however he was a much older prospect coming out of Yale. He started playing in the AHL at 22 therefore he was a much more polished player than the likes of a Pitlick, Martindale or Hamilton coming to OKC at 19-20 years old.

My point is that the players that seem to be on track now have missed the bulk of the damage or lack of emphasis of development by the Tambo era.

 

[Tarus]

I don't even know where to start with your post. You make it seem like MacT has done nothing and is as bad as Tambo and that is just laughably false.

You must not have read it then because I stated what he's done has been bad, not that he hasn't done anything.

 

[oobga]

Blaming Tambo is getting old. Lowe's goal during the Tambo years was to tank and get top players via the draft. Lowe admitted that trying to get talent via UFA wouldn't work and was a bad plan, so this was the new plan to get top players. Lowe also admitted in an interview that he had to play a part in approving all deals and signings Tambo made during his time here.

Tambo was a terrible manager with no clue how to build a team, there is no questioning that. What we do need to question is why Lowe allowed him to keep his job (and why he hired him in the first place) and let the team continue to tank. It was 100% intentional and exactly what Lowe wanted to happen with Tambo taking the heat and Lowe hiding behind his 6 rings any time his competence as Tambo's boss was questioned.

Finally, last year Lowe thought the team was turning around, so he and MacT figured it was the perfect time to take over and bathe in the glory. Didn't turn out too well as we all saw.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

You must not have read it then because I stated what he's done has been bad, not that he hasn't done anything.

So Paajarvi and a second for Perron is bad?
Getting two potential #1 goalies for low picks is bad?
Hendricks for Dubnyk is bad?
Claiming Gazdic off waivers?
Getting Purcell for Gagner when Arizona wasn't even willing to give a 6th for him, Tampa had to add, was bad?

MacT has done more good then bad so far, these off season pickups won't show till next year if they work. And ya he didn't grab a 2c, evidence showed he tried but the players didn't want to come here.

 

[coffeyland]

The oil had a rough road these last few years but at the same time there is legitimate hope for the future. We have at least 2 solid forward lines, two solid D lines and goaltending. I like the youth coming up as well but I think its important to recognize that the oilers brass were trying to get younger with leadership like belanger/ eager/ etc. That just never panned out. I give them credit for trying. Hopefully the new GM and scouts can land another player or two and we can push for a playoff berth.

 

[Tarus]

So Paajarvi and a second for Perron is bad?
Getting two potential #1 goalies for low picks is bad?
Hendricks for Dubnyk is bad?
Claiming Gazdic off waivers?
Getting Purcell for Gagner when Arizona wasn't even willing to give a 6th for him, Tampa had to add, was bad?

MacT has done more good then bad so far, these off season pickups won't show till next year if they work. And ya he didn't grab a 2c, evidence showed he tried but the players didn't want to come here.

Even if I did agree with you that those were all good moves(which I don't), you can selectively go through any GM's history and pick and choose stuff to make them look good.

Tambo acquired Shultz, dumped useless cancers like Moreau, POS and others without taking on any cap, and drafted Hall, RNH, Klefbom, Marincin, and Yakupov under his watch. Must have been doing a good job right?

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Even if I did agree with you that those were all good moves(which I don't), you can selectively go through any GM's history and pick and choose stuff to make them look good.

Tambo acquired Shultz, dumped useless cancers like Moreau, POS and others without taking on any cap, and drafted Hall, RNH, Klefbom, Marincin, and Yakupov under his watch. Must have been doing a good job right?

What has MacT done that is so awful that it outweighs the good?

 

[ManofSteel55]

So Paajarvi and a second for Perron is bad?
Getting two potential #1 goalies for low picks is bad?
Hendricks for Dubnyk is bad?
Claiming Gazdic off waivers?
Getting Purcell for Gagner when Arizona wasn't even willing to give a 6th for him, Tampa had to add, was bad?

MacT has done more good then bad so far, these off season pickups won't show till next year if they work. And ya he didn't grab a 2c, evidence showed he tried but the players didn't want to come here.

This. We're so used to bad management that we can't see when good moves are made it seems.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

I don't even know where to start with your post. You make it seem like MacT has done nothing and is as bad as Tambo and that is just laughably false.

All you need to do is look at the "Fire MacT" under his avatar to know where it's gonna go in terms of management.

 

[Tarus]

What has MacT done that is so awful that it outweighs the good?

In hindsight - Eakins, Joensuu, resigning Ryan Jones, the Gagner contract, trying to sign Clarkson for more than 5 million, forcing the existing coaching staff on the new incoming coach, the defense he put together last year(Belov, Larson, Grebeshkov, Ference), the Fraser move, dumping on the goaltending and then acquiring Lolbarabara as backup.

Moving forward - The Pouliot deal is terrible, the Purcell trade has a high probability of making us wish for that 6th round draft pick, Hendricks will make us wish we had just let Dubnyk's contract expire before all is said and done, and the Nikitin move is an overpay for a bottom pairing defenseman with the belief he will magically be able to fill in on the top pairing.

From my perspective, what exactly has Mact done that is so good that you would ignore all the awful?

 

[rboomercat90]

I don't know about that. They didn't plan on going scortched earth when they hired him. Infact, there's a good chance it was Tambo who talked them into it. It was either Katz' or Tambo's idea. I don't believe it was Lowe's, not his style at all.

I think Lowe thought he had his man and was massively wrong. Having to change GMs in the middle of a rebuild can't be a good thing. Ideally, you want the right guy from the start. If they had, they'd be a playoff team by now.

I'm not blaming it all on Tambo (only about 90%). I'm just calling those years the Tambo years (he will forever be tagged to the era, rightly or wrongly).

but, i hope this doesn't turn into a 'list the mistakes' thread or argue over who's to blame more. I was hoping to discuss how the mistakes have changed things. They were planning on being in the playoffs by now. Now, they are waiting for Nurse and Draisaitl to be core contributers. that's 3 years down the road. Having lost 3 years, they are now looking at finally going north when Hall and Eberle near the end of their contracts. It will be decision time, for management and for both players.

For starters, this was Katz idea. He took credit for it on day one when he announced they were going to tear it up and rebuild it. Their reasons for this was because free agents wouldn't sign here so they needed to grow their own talent. IMO, it can be argued that the management team Katz had here, led by Lowe was as big a reason as any why free agents wouldn't sign here. They preferred to give other reasons.

Tambellini was initially brought in here because Kevin Lowe had burned a few bridges around the league and the hope was he could take the heat off of him. Looking back at how things unfolded over the years I suspect the rebuild was decided upon much sooner than they revealed it. Maybe not before Tambellini was hired but certainly before he had a full year on the job. Mactavish stepping down points to that. Hiring Quinn and a replacement for him in Renney at the same time points to that.

There is no "what if things were different" here because that was the plan all along. The head scratcher here now is why aren't they trying harder to fill those important holes at center than what they've done so far? No NHL center depth of any kind in this organization. Relying completely on RNH and possibly even Draisatl for now when they haven't shown they are remotely close to being ready to lead this team to the playoffs. Looks like the plan to acquire high draft picks hasn't changed much from those dark Tambellini days.