What's the consensus on Keith Gretzky?

[ThePhoenixx]

Keith seems pretty good so far, I would still look at adding Stevie Y as a co-GM though.

Keith gets last say of course. Maybe Stevie can learn a few things from MacT et al.

 

[harpoon]

His brother is part owner. It’s the definition of nepotism. No thanks.

 

[rboomercat90]

His brother is part owner. It’s the definition of nepotism. No thanks.

You can close the thread after this post.

 

[MikeGrier99]

It would be a very a Oilers thing to do to hire Keith Gretzky. Just hire the guy that was in the organization already. Because after thirteen years of atrocious hockey the answer must be in the room. Maybe we should try to find the best possible candidate instead?

 

[joestevens29]

It would be a very a Oilers thing to do to hire Keith Gretzky. Just hire the guy that was in the organization already. Because after thirteen years of atrocious hockey the answer must be in the room. Maybe we should try to find the best possible candidate instead?

I'm not a fan of him being named the GM as I don't know what his knowledge really is on the pro side of things.

However, I think he has value on the amateur side of things. He's also doing quite well right now as interim GM, so he could be a good guy to keep around. Unlike other guys who you never know what the heck they do for this club

 

[FlameChampion]

Unfortunately with how this team has been for the last 10+ years we will never know what exactly the problems (at least the extent of them). I am sure there are some good people in the organization that despite their efforts, will be tied into the failure the organization has become.

I dont know if KG is good or not, but I dont think hes the answer. I think this team needs a complete tear down and needs to pretty much rehire every key person going through a lengthy interviewing process. One problem with KG is the perception problem, for a organization that has the OBC label, I think he would be a poor hire by name alone. The fan base isnt stupid and I think naming him as the GM is poor taste (whether its true or not is not really the point).

I will say that from an amateur and pro scouting point of view, its simply not good enough. To be fair, Chiarelli didnt inherit much prospect wise when he got this team. It was pretty bare. But he did end up making terrible decisions on trades like the Reinhart trade and wasting picks that could of been promising prospects. The JP pick looks like it will haunt them as well. Whether it was a drafting or developing problem, they have lost something that should of been a great value to this team. Even with Yamamoto, its still early and hes still young, but hes not looking like he will be an impact player at this point (I am not saying he wont be).

I think people are generally positive when it comes to drafting over the last couple years with KG on board, but honestly I think its more just because we are comparing it to something that was terrible before. I think when you analyze the drafts from the last few years without prejudice, I think its been pretty average (at best) to be honest and I think it could be argued that its below average. Its a bit too early to tell but overall I dont think our amateur scouting its a positive thing. I know one thing for certain, our pro scouting is terrible. Our management doesnt know what type of players they should even be targeting. In this year alone, we have seen so many poor trades for players who dont help, its ridiculously bad. I know people are generally happy about the Talbot trade but once again I just feel like people are typically used to losing trades so they are happy with possibly winning one (which likely wont move the needle at all). KG has been a key figure in the amateur and pro scouting, and I feel like neither have been good enough.

Maybe its too early to know but I dont know how any fan could be confident in hiring KG at this point. Like I said before, in my opinion, hes not the answer.

 

[thadd]

Too soon to tell.
Might be the key to good drafting.

 

[MikeGrier99]

He's also doing quite well right now as interim GM, so he could be a good guy to keep around. Unlike other guys who you never know what the heck they do for this club

It's hard to make any judements on him at all. Apparently he was involved in the Manning and Petrovic trades, which would mean half the moves he was involved in were dreadful.

We don't really know what Keith Gretzky brings, but he's an obvious connection to the OBC and we need to completely eliminate those ties imo. Get a new Gm, the best for the job that we can find, and let them build their own organization.

Completely flush out all ties to the old regime and head in a completely new direction. This club has embarrassed itself way too many times by keeping members around that failed over and over again and are part of the same old school mentality.

It's not worth the risk giving Keith Gretzky a ton of power, and it will result in continued Mact, Howson etc. Participaton in hockey operations. I'll be incredibly disappointed if they try to keep any of their current management system in place for the next Gm. I doubt I will continue to follow the team that I've followed for thirty years if there is meaningful obc presence in hockey operations in the future.

 

[MikeYEG]

Please NO, no more OBC nepotism, enough is enough!

 

[FlameChampion]

This is pretty funny actually. I chuckled a bit.

 

[Zaddy]

So far he seems to be cutting ties with the guys Chia brought in. Trading Talbs and Spooner, waiving Manning. You'd have to think if he was fully onboard with the Spooner and Manning trades that he wouldn't be so quick to move those guys as soon as he was given the reins.

Keep in mind Chia was both POHO and GM and likely had full autonomy to do whatever the hell he wanted. It's not like KG could just say no. He could voice his opinion and that's it. Not only that but if we're assuming that KG indeed is competent he'd be the one sane voice in a room with clueless people like MacT, Green and Howson, so he would've been outnumbered in that regard as well and it would've been impossible for him to block all the bad moves Chia did.

It's really too bad we don't have more insight as to how the organization is actually being run. Who is responsible for the success of the Condors for instance? Usually that is the main responsibility of the AGM, so it's possible Keith have been involved in that as well. We just don't know, all we do know so far is that he's taking steps to move out the failures that Chia brought in and it also seems like he is wanting to take a more patient approach with prospects than Chia did, so that's another positive.

I'm willing to give him a chance.

 

[Aceboogie]

Gretzky has some major red flags for me for 3 reasons. I know they are very, very small sample sizes, but I think they really highlight his thought process

1) He seemingly was onboard with the Seguin trade and in the infamous video was criticizing Seguins compete level. This seems like Chiarellis line of thinking. Do not want a GM who overemphasizes/defaults to the GRIT,COMPETE,HEART BS. It doesnt work, its an easy excuse and available soundbite. I cant forsure say KG is this type of guy based off one clip, but not willing to take the chance. He screams OBC mentality

2)Along those lines, he justified theTrentt Federic reach by his compete level, acknowledging he didnt have good upside. This quote should raise major red flags into KGs judgement process

"“[Frederic] is not going to be a top-two-line guy, we know that,” Bruins director of amateur scouting Keith Gretzky told reporters at the draft, according to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. “But he has some jam. He plays hard with the penalty minutes. We were fortunate to get him."

I mean, TF could work out and prove the doubters wrong, my issue is the line of thinking with the pick. Its a reach, a pretty silly bet, and the justification was even worse. If you want a guy making bets as the GM, you want them to be smart bets

3) His drafting in all rounds has been very underwhelming in Arizona and Boston. He appears to like his coke machines/ "grit" type players. Very Lowe-esque.

 

[Joey Moss]

They need to hire someone from outside the organization. His job is to clear cap at the deadline, that's it.

 

[Weitz]

Keith seems pretty good so far, I would still look at adding Stevie Y as a co-GM though.

Both takes are terrible here. KG can't be given the job if there is any sort of meaningful change to happen. Also he has a bad track record anyway.

And less than zero chance Yzerman would come here

 

[frag2]

I seriously think Nicks will interview only 2 people .

Just KG and McCrimmon. That's it .

Friedman said if Hunter was in it, there would be talks around the league but nothing

If that's the case, Oilers just keep on Oilering