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Are Oilers Brass Getting a Free Ride?

March 9, 2012, 2:27 AM ET [186 Comments]
Richard Cloutier
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I was listening to a Tom Renney interview on 630 CHED before the Oilers/Habs game on Thursday, and I was a little shocked at what I heard. I wish I had a link to the interview so you could hear for yourself. What it more or less sounded like was Renney giving the fan base crap for being too impatient with the rebuild. He told people to calm down, and to expect this rebuild to take time.

Sorry, Coach Renney. The fans have every right to be very, very angry and disappointed.

I have this theory when it comes to...well, I'd say it just applies to hockey, but in truth, it applies to all of life. And that theory is, people more or less do what is expected of them. How can I better describe this?

Okay, let's say we take a high school student and tell them getting 50% on a math test is what they need to do to succeed. While some kids will try harder than others, most will do just enough to get to 50%. But if we told kids the goal was 80%, kids would give more effort. Expectation leads to motivation. That's what separates good parents from bad ones. Good parents tell their kids to aim high; bad parents underestimate their children and remove their motivation to succeed.

We all know the Oilers are in a rebuild. Oilers management and the coach are telling us the goal right now is to survive the rebuild; not to win games. While they encourage winning, there really is no pressure put on the players to win. The goal is to get better. Players respond to their coaches by doing enough to make the team look like it's improving. Winning is secondary in their minds, when in truth, winning is the only thing that matters in competition. Why play anything...chess, hockey, synchronized bungee jumping...if the goal is not to win? It's illogical.

The players are not immune to responsibility for the team sucking. Keep in mind players are not people who should lack motivation to try. Millions of dollars are on the line, and for young players, success now is their chance to set up the rest of their careers.

The vets are playing like the season is over. They checked out 20 or 30 games ago, because they know what the goals are for this team. Management and coaches have told them winning now isn't important, and the future is all about the kids, not the vets. So why should the vets try? No reason to. This isn't their team. They have no emotional investment, and it shows on the ice and on the scoreboard.

As for the kids, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Petry have worked their asses off to make this team respectable, and to play with pride. If you want to know why a number of managers and coaches need to go, it's because they've let these four players down completely. If Daryl Katz doesn't watch it, these four and other high-end talent will ask for the door before this team ever becomes decent.

People like to blame the Theo Peckham's and the Nikolai Khabibulin's of the world for how bad the Oilers are, but seriously, the message that winning makes no difference doesn't come from them. The fact they were still Oilers after the trade deadline spoke volumes about the urgency level of coaches and management.

A serious change in leadership is needed. Now. Immediately. Today.

Of course, this isn't going to happen. I'm pretty sure Tom Renney is gone at the end of the year, in part because management needs a fall-guy, in part because he just isn't that good of a coach, and in part because he likely wants out by now. I've heard rumbles that the young players don't like him that much, and, let's face it, this team belongs to Hall and Eberle now. If they ain't happy...

But maybe Tom Renney isn't the guy who needs to go. Maybe not GM Steve Tambellini either, as he's more-or-less micro-managed and told what he can and can't do. The Ales Hemsky re-signing was proof of that. Everyone knows how Lowe feels about Hemsky.

Maybe the person who needs to go is Kevin Lowe.

I hate saying this because, for one, I am a fan of Lowe, and secondly, because ditching Lowe would be a divorce, and divorce is always messy. But what exactly is the Lowe Legacy? Sure, there was a cup run, but how many seasons of utter misery does it take before people start realizing the person running the show is ultimately responsible? 2010 and 2011 were last place years, and they are soon to be followed by a likely-29th place finish (would be 30th if the season was 10 games longer, because Columbus is a zillion times better than the Oilers right now). The Oilers shouldn't be this bad anymore.

And aside from this team being worse than it should be, consider next season: Yes, Tambi said the Oilers are going defenseman shopping in the off-season, but good luck with that. Outside of signing a UFA like Ryan Suter, the Oilers aren't going to upgrade the D without moving major assets. Which, when you think about it, will hurt the team in other ways. Would you deal Eberle, Hall or Nuge? Neither would I.

The Top 6 is too small, the Bottom 6 lacks skill and some size, half the D isn't good, and the goaltending is awful. An Oilers team that has had five seasons to fill holes has as many at the end of this season as they had at the end of last. Just what has management been doing for the last 12 months? Playing Angry Birds?

Word was accidentally-on purposed leaked by 630 CHED that Steve Tambellini will be signing a contract extension with the team soon. If you heard the Renney interview on Thursday, it didn't sound like he thinks he's going anywhere either. I haven't heard anyone credible or connected to the team even suggest Kevin Lowe's job is in jeopardy. The thieves are leaving the bank with all the money and no one is saying word. It's madness.

So what's the solution? For fans to stop buying tickets till the team gets its act together. Will it happen? No. People of Edmonton have been blackmailed into buying tickets and supporting this team, no matter how badly it's run. I suspect I'll write the exact same blog at this time next season.

Forget Fail for Nail. Try Hate for Nate.
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