Every team has hits and misses when it comes to drafting. It is inevitable.
Drafting is an inexact science, a stroke of luck, and extremely hard work. For every late round gem you get there is a first round flop that seems to take precedence in the minds of the people.
There seems to be no bigger story this season, outside of mumps maybe, than the unabating struggles of the Edmonton Oilers. The rebuild that has seemingly taken forever has yielded little in the way of results or relief to a suffering fanbase.
After a double digit losing streak, being in the undercarriage of the Western Conference yet again, today the team continued to make headlines in the wrong way. Dallas Eakins was fired today.
The #Oilers have relieved Dallas Eakins of his head coaching duties. GM Craig MacTavish will address the media at 11:45am MT.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 15, 2014The former coach of the Toronto Marlies of the AHL lasted just 113 games at the NHL level. It appears that Craig MacTavish will now assume the role of coach/gm for the Oilers for the time being.
MacTavish to coach, but there are also discussions of Todd Nelson maybe joining the bench, too. Nelson is AHL coach for Oilers.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 15, 2014102 games is not even a season and a half, which leads me to the question of the day and maybe the year: Why is this Eakins' fault?
When relieving coaches from jobs I know the saying most of the time is that you can fire a coach but you can't fire a team. This is certainly the case with Edmonton at this point, but this is not an isolated incident. The Oilers have now gone through a total of five coaches in the last seven years, none of which have had winning records in that span from 2008-present.
One consistent since 2000, has been General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Kevin Lowe. Lowe, a historic player in the Oilers organization, has been the target of fans ire in the last decade for the suffering that the franchise now endures.
As Craig MacTavish took over for Steve Tambellini (Correction) this past offseason in the role of General Manager, the common thread was "building a core" and "developing from within". This is a hockey cliche when you really get down to it, because what team doesn't build a core and develop from within? Isn't that why we have entire departments dedicated to scouting and player development? Obviously there are teams that have relied more heavily on free agency and trades, ala Philadelphia, but the key to success seems to be developing and building a core from within the franchise.
As Edmonton inches closer to a complete blow up rebuild yet again, you can't help but look at the coaching changes and wonder if these gentlemen were simply wounded dogs on a busy highway.
Kings fans should feel for Edmonton fans though. As much as we all may enjoy the drama and schadenfreude that is the current state of the Oilers, it wasn't too long ago that the Kings were playing the same record of "build a core" and "develop from within".
Main differences? The Kings have done it.
Lombardi has had his fair share of misses in the draft, but the one thing that you can't complain about is the long-term foresight of the scouting team and the management.
What does that mean exactly?
Look at the Kings depth chart and how it has been structured from CHL and NCAA to NHL. It seems like at every juncture the Kings have a replacement in the making for an NHL player. They have built from the backend outwards. Goaltending and defense has taken precedence over all else. While the Dave Taylor era was wrought with poor free agent signings and a real lack of direction, the latter stages gave the Kings several key pieces for the core like Kopitar, Brown, and Jonathan Quick.
Since then, Lombardi and Mike Futa have done the work of reinforcing that core with draft picks other than the big headlining first round selections like Drew Doughty. Players like Alec Martinez, Dwight King, Jake Muzzin, Tyler Toffoli, and Tanner Pearson have done wonders for the Kings system in supporting the major cast members acquired via trade like Carter, Richards, and Stoll.
Even now the Kings have players that are just about ready to step in and replace players on the tail end of their utility to the team. Nic Shore is ready and waiting as a new top-9 center. Derek Forbort looks like he is on the cusp to take over as a bottom pairing defensive defenseman. Players like Michael Mersch, Justin Auger, and Colin Miller are a few steps away from being able to step in as role players when guys like King, Williams, Nolan, etc. are inevitably ready to move on.
It's an intricate system, and the Kings have executed very well. The waves never seem to stop, and while the may diminish in overall number and quality for a short time, the Kings always seem to be drafting to replenish and reinforce.
Then you get to the Oilers.
With the Oilers it has been a blessing and a curse to have so many high first round picks. With so many changes to coaching staff and front office along with these high picks, they haven't really had an opportunity to settle into a certain style they are building towards. There is no scheme, no framework, and no direction with what to select and what to replenish. It has always been "Select the best player available."
Thus you get Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Sam Gagner, Leon Draisaitl and Jordan Eberle with six of your last eight first overall picks for the team. Six very similar players. All of whom have similar deficiencies (except for maybe Draisaitl). They selected so many players of similar style that they had to move Sam Gagner just a few years after his draft date. Maybe even the more heinous of errors on the part of Oilers management is rushing their prospects and not having any supporting cast. Since 2007, the Edmonton Oilers have had only eight players from outside of the first two rounds play in the NHL. Those players? Linus Omark (now in the KHL), Teemu Hartikainen (KHL), Milan Kyrtnar (Slovak League), Philippe Cornet (Capitals), Johan Motin (SHL), Bogdan Yakimov (AHL OKC), Tobias Reider (PHX), and Brandon Davidson (AHL OKC).
That's a ton of picks to only have eight players touch the NHL, most of them now departed from the team. It's less about the number though, and more about how they couldn't get these players to stick and/or make an impact on the roster. There has to be a direction and a reason for selections, and with the flux that has occurred within Edmonton's front office it never seems like they have been able to hammer out what they want.
When the Kings draft players it's always the same mold and model. Same with Anaheim if you look at their selections. Likewise with Minnesota, and Chicago, and Ottawa, and so on and so forth. The Kings draft Adrian Kempe and everyone says "That's a Kings style player. He fits the Kings mold." The Ducks draft Nick Ritchie and everyone says, "That's a Ducks player right there. He plays the Ducks style."
What is the Edmonton mold? Do they even have one? Have they had time to craft one with all the turmoil and turnover? The answer are not positive.
Draft to a scheme, a style, and a mold. Don't rush your players. Don't be impatient. Easier said than done. Especially when you have a city with such a storied tradition of success on the ice, and a fanbase that is desperately wanting to see a winning product.
The answers aren't easy to come by in Alberta right now.
Should the Oilers just blow it up and go full Billy Beane in dealing high profile players and former first overall draft picks to create the culture and scheme they want? It probably wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Actually, it probably is the best idea at this point. Maybe they don't need to do something that drastic though. Maybe it is simply about patience at this point and hoping that Darnell Nurse, Martin Marincin, and Oscar Klefbom are the saviors of an awful backend.
Either way, it's a dark time for Edmonton yet again. You can't help but feel for the fans.
Kings fans should recall the dark days of the late 90's and early 2000's when this franchise had little to no direction and a bare cupboard. It flat out sucks. For the sake of Edmonton fans hopefully it doesn't suck for too much longer.
Final word of advice to the Oilers though, stop firing coaches and fix the real problem. The ship is taking on water and rearranging the deck chairs isn't going to make a difference. Eakins probably deserved a better fate, but it's tough sledding right now in The City of Champions.
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