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Ticking off T.O.?

June 10, 2013, 10:52 AM ET [274 Comments]
Ian Esplen
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me on twitter @IanEsplen to chat hockey, sports and life in general anytime


So it appears that Dallas Eakins will be the next head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and Oilers fans are filled with glee that, in their words, "They have beaten Vancouver again", by locking up Eakins.

Okay, first things first, you haven't beaten Vancouver until, at the very least make the playoffs. So don't get too far ahead of yourselves.

And, secondly, I'm not 100 per cent sold that Vancouver "lost" out on Eakins. If Vancouver really wanted Eakins I'm guessing that they would have at least pitched him an offer to coach the team after talking with him a number of times. And since it doesn't appear they ever did, well, they never really lost anything more than a guy who appears to have been their second choice at best.

I think Mike Gillis primary reason for spending so much time talking to Eakins was just so he could piss off the Toronto Maple Leafs a little for talking/bashing his goaltending for the past year.

It wouldn't at all shock me if Gillis and Gilman taking pictures of all the fun they were having with Eakins and texting them back to Nonis.

"Here's a great one of the three of us at Science World Dave. Heading to Stanley Park to see the penguins after lunch at Hooters."

All the while Nonis is left wondering if he has a coach for the Marlies next year or not.

Ideally, Gillis would have liked to carry this out for another month, but causing two weeks of some stress in T.O. is better than causing not stress in T.O.

Simply put, this was nothing more than another chapter in the Mike Gillis Vs the Maple Leafs saga.


Ralph Krueger
I can't help but feel a little sorry for Ralph Krueger. The guy was a decent coach, but I do feel he may have been in way over his head and it doesn't appear after his closing comments that he was getting a whole lot of help from upper management.

The man was given no real training camp to install his system and no associate coach to help him run his first NHL team's bench. Add to that, he was judged solely on 48 games in a mess up year where at times he was playing with ECHL centres.

To me, that's not a fair situation for anyone. I wish Ralph well going forward and honestly wouldn't mind if Vancouver talked with the guy who helped the Oilers have one of the better power-plays in the NHL over past few years. He might be a good option to replace Newell Brown

Eakins is now the fifth Oilers coach in six years; wow, just wow. If young players need consistency to develop it's no wonder the Oilers have been rebuilding this team for nearly a decade.

Draft links

I recently did some work around the NHL draft for the Calgary Journal. Check out my story on 2013 Draft prospect Jamal Watson of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, ranked 137th by NHL Central Scouting. Feedback is always welcome, so let me know what you think.

I have another two coming soon:
- one on Hunter Shinkaruk
- A Q&A with the Flames Tod Button


Well that's a wrap.

Ian


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