First of all MacT did not sign Smid, Tamb did. MacT gave hints to what he didnt like about this team at the start of that season. Hints being Smid and Dubnyk, a few months later they are gone. You know what? Their is no point in arguing with you. You dont get it, and I can clearly see that, by what, and how you write about this team. Hopefully you go back to writing about the Sharks soon, and we get someone new.
- FiretheGM

I find it ironic that "FiretheGM" is defending the GM.

but nevertheless I agree.

Garner, this blog is proof that opinions can be wrong.

Was this a blunder? Yup.

Did this add another piece to the pile about how incompetent the Oilers are? Yeah, unfortunately.

Is MAcT the blame for all the stupidity that happened before him, or not by him? No.

I have more confidence in MAcT leading the Oilers out of the bottom of the league than I do for you writing a solid blog about them.

Well said... concise, articulate and a unbiased view of his moves. I would agree on pretty much every point.

Maximumbone is a moron, and question if he even watches hockey. I think he used to blog here awhile ago

- kneughter

Go away troll, you are thinking of Maxbone...that was Cloutier's handle.

I don't know who exactly this starting goalie that they should've traded for would've been? And what would they have had to give up to get him? Probably a fair deal if one was even available (doubtful).

I don't know how you can contest my point on the goalies. What good are two back-ups? They've (so far) given us NHL-level goaltending and they cost us two prospects that would've likely never become anything of significance.
- MaximumBone

Who could they have dealt for? Here's a list of goalies who have been traded in the last calendar year:

Jonas Hiller
Roberto Luongo
Jaroslav Halak
Ryan Miller
Michal Neuvirth

I'd say each one of those guys has more starting experience than either Scrivens or Fasth. You act like starting goaltenders are impossible to find or acquire, so we should just grab a couple as cheaply as possible. I truly hope they work out, but history shows that you get what you pay for, and expecting simply "NHL-level goaltending" is setting the bar pretty low. Also, do you think good players simply can't come out of the third round, or the Oilers haven't drafted a decent one in so long that you doubt the scouting staff's ability?

Paul Holmgren's already blazed this trail before... and as everybody knows, he was afforded many more than three strikes.

Positive moves by MacT:

- Acquired Perron for Paajarvi and a 2nd (Barbashev)
- Acquired both Fasth and Scrivens for a combination of middling picks (a 3rd and 4th rounder, if I recall)
- Moved Gagner for Purcell
- Moved a struggling Smid for an upgrade in a goalie prospect
- Signed college free agents like Miller and Oesterle and European FA Pakarinen (no matter how insignificant they may end up being, still positive)
- Signing Bryzgalov


TBD moves by MacT:

- Fayne signing (I lean towards positive, but we'll wait and see)
- Pouliot signing (see above)


Bad moves (or lack of moves) by MacT:

- Overpaid Nikitin (not by as much as you seem to believe, though) and Ference
- Didn't succeed in signing a stop-gap C
- This "massive debacle"


Am I missing anything? I feel like you're trying too hard to be negative here.
- MaximumBone

Yeah you have things a little out of place and you are missing things. I think MacT's need for size has left us a center short. He shipped off a guy that he said he wish he had more of in the dressing room, our second line center, because he was small and grabbed us a third line winger at roughly the same salary. Now we are deciding which non NHL ready player to put in that spot.

There was also his need to sign a ton of 7th position dmen and guys like Omark to contracts last year when most teams would have just offered him a try out. I know people can try to justify that but it was ridiculous.

Smid, no matter what his potential is, he was the only dman we had with any grit and we traded him for a goalie prospect that will probably never play in the NHL when Dmen are at a premium.

Hiring and worse, keeping Eakins is a big one. He replaced a coach that did better and was let go after only 48 games. A coach that is the reason we were able to sign Justin. Now Schultz's future or potential is up in the air but he is still the first UFA we have been able to win out on in a LONG time.

MacT is not our worst GM ever (Tamb was pretty bad) however he is one of the worst in the league.

Also Holik's contract with NYR had to be the worst of all time.

Clarkson is a winger.

Yeah you have things a little out of place and you are missing things. I think MacT's need for size has left us a center short. He shipped off a guy that he said he wish he had more of in the dressing room, our second line center, because he was small and grabbed us a third line winger at roughly the same salary. Now we are deciding which non NHL ready player to put in that spot.

There was also his need to sign a ton of 7th position dmen and guys like Omark to contracts last year when most teams would have just offered him a try out. I know people can try to justify that but it was ridiculous.

Smid, no matter what his potential is, he was the only dman we had with any grit and we traded him for a goalie prospect that will probably never play in the NHL when Dmen are at a premium.

Hiring and worse, keeping Eakins is a big one. He replaced a coach that did better and was let go after only 48 games. A coach that is the reason we were able to sign Justin. Now Schultz's future or potential is up in the air but he is still the first UFA we have been able to win out on in a LONG time.

MacT is not our worst GM ever (Tamb was pretty bad) however he is one of the worst in the league.

Also Holik's contract with NYR had to be the worst of all time.
- Hall Fan

Yes, that's still the benchmark.

Clarkson is a winger.
- RogerRoeper

Whoops, rage-induced oversight. Thanks.

Clarkson scored 30 goals in the 2011/12 season. He then followed that with 15 goals in a 48 game season for 2012/13. There's a reason that he was one of the most sought-after free agents last year. We probably dodged a bullet, but so did 28 other teams.

You think that the reason that we didn't draft Tkachev was a lack of draft picks? 210 players not named Tkachev were drafted back in June. 30 teams absolutely agreed that he wasn't even worthy of using a seventh round pick.

It's not like we just lost Gretzky (again). We just lost an extremely undersized player who MIGHT some day make it to the NHL. He looks promising, but so did Omark and about a hundred other players who have been at a pre-season camp.

Fire MacT over this? Give your head a shake, stop when the rattling noise gets annoying.
- sportsjunkie007

you can put as much lipstick on this pig as you want but at the end of the day, it's still a pig. the only other GM we know even willing to go to MacTavish's heights on Clarkson was Nonis, who is easily one of the 5 worst GMs in hockey. so if you're dropping MacT into the same boat, that's a pretty bad start. coming into UFA, yes, Clarkson had scored 15 goals in 48. but anyone watching closely knew that he had scored 9 goals in his first 10 games and then 6 in the last 38. he was a career 15-goal 30-point player (the kind of player you should be able to pick up on the scrap heap for $2 million) that went off for a 90-game stretch and scored about 40 goals. smart teams recognized this and saw Clarkson for what he was. sorry, but MacT doesn't get a free pass just because there's another GM out there as dumb as him.

Ryan Garner, I have an idea, why don't you over-react.....oh wait, you just did. Seriously, take a deep breath and calm down. Like the Oilers actually need another small player. As good as he looked, he's 5'9 & 140 lbs. I think we'll survive without him.

Ryan Garner, I have an idea, why don't you over-react.....oh wait, you just did. Seriously, take a deep breath and calm down. Like the Oilers actually need another small player. As good as he looked, he's 5'9 & 140 lbs. I think we'll survive without him.
- Sammy Van Hagar

You are correct, the Oilers will not cease operations. Way to set the bar high there, buddy.

I think that Orpik deal is worse than Clarkson's. I also think the Horton deal could end up worse as well.

Ryan Garner, I have an idea, why don't you over-react.....oh wait, you just did. Seriously, take a deep breath and calm down. Like the Oilers actually need another small player. As good as he looked, he's 5'9 & 140 lbs. I think we'll survive without him.
- Sammy Van Hagar

i don't think Ryan's point was they they lost the prospect

I think that Orpik deal is worse than Clarkson's. I also think the Horton deal could end up worse as well.
- RogerRoeper

that depends. if Clarkson turns back into a semi useful player, yes. if he stays the same player he was last year, nothing comes close.

You should be fired
- robin_steele264

this

i don't think Ryan's point was they they lost the prospect
- DoubleDown

Oh no... the Oilers overlooked an obscure rule in the CBA. I'm pretty sure most of you chodes have had a minor brain fart or two in your in lives.

I know Tambo signed Smid to the extension, but it's an organizational thing. You don't turn around a few months later and trade the guy. Plus, he's still playing in the NHL, unlike Belov, Larsen and Grebeshkov. You're saying Smid was worse than those guys and had to be moved? Agree to disagree.
- Ryan Garner

Smid wasn't taking us to the playoffs, it may have made our D slightly worse in trading him but the trade was made to benefit this season:
Marincin>Smid
Petry>Smid
Ference>Smid
Schultz>Smid
Nikitin>Smid
Fayne>Smid

That's a clear cut win in my books

Is Clouts back?

I'm sure its so easy to just grab a number 2 center, top pairing defense and number 1 goalie.

Ryan Garner: Fire MacTavish for Losing Oilers’ Tkachev the Day
- Ryan Garner

More bad than good on MacT's watch?

Is Clouts back?
- The-O-G

No but if you stick around we're moments away from having people completely disregard anything else Ryan writes because they have a different opinion.

I think that Orpik deal is worse than Clarkson's. I also think the Horton deal could end up worse as well.
- RogerRoeper

I think Horton is going to ride it out on the ir, his back seems completely (frank)ed and will only get worse

Oh no... the Oilers overlooked an obscure rule in the CBA. I'm pretty sure most of you chodes have had a minor brain fart or two in your in lives.
- Reveen

again... Ryan's point is that this isn't an isolated incident. he's criticizing what he feels is a multitude of errors. yes, we make mistakes. and you know what will happen to us if we make too many mistakes at work? we lose our jobs.

Is Clouts back?
- The-O-G

seems that way today.

Yes, that's still the benchmark.
- RogerRoeper

i don't think so. that contract was signed pre-cap, so it had no effect on New York's ability to go out and acquire other players given that MSG has more money than any sports entity in the NHL. also, despite being ridiculously overpaid, Holik was still a useful player. he might be the most overpaid player in league history, but it's not the worst contract signed.