HardCoreBlue

Sometimes he does in fact make outstanding saves but one could argue these amazing saves are sometimes a result of him being out of position in the first place . . .

I have no problem blaming Pav but he was not THE problem tonight. Absolutely and I do mean that. I wouldn't suggest Pav is on his own when it comes to improving this team. The frustration I have, whether it's legitimate or not, is the rarity of hearing Pav stole the game for us. I guess my problem is putting elite type standards on him when in fact that would be unfair as he demonstrates being an average serviceable NHL goaltender. If by serviceable you mean one of the bottom-3 starters in the league, you are right. His career stats pretty much bear this out. Serviceable to me is making the NHL and sticking. He seems to at least achieved that.

I have no problem blaming Pav but he was not THE problem tonight. Absolutely and I do mean that. I wouldn't suggest Pav is on his own when it comes to improving this team. The frustration I have, whether it's legitimate or not, is the rarity of hearing Pav stole the game for us. I guess my problem is putting elite type standards on him when in fact that would be unfair as he demonstrates being an average serviceable NHL goaltender.

That would be bizarre. Even if some players don't like him, you'd think they could find other reasons to play, maybe like a playoff position.

I like it, defense by committee. However, has this co-defensive coordinator approach ever been done before in the CFL? I've always assumed offense and defense as one man in charge with head coach oversight. Or is this a wish that will always stay a wish?

He didn't want to go so I wouldn't worry about that. Did you know that rather than going back to Prince Albert to start the year if he'd been sent down Draisaitl would have gone to play in Germany? That's not best for his development. Neither is going to a **** team in PA that hasn't developed anyone of note other than Draisaitl and Morissey. Guy was sheltered like nobodies business in the NHL, not like they threw him on a top line and demanded he carry the team. The NHL may not be a development league but players can develop in it. Especially guys with size like that who might pick up bad habits in the WHL where they're bigger and stronger then everyone and can just dominate that way. With or without Draisaitl Germany was going to be a team that could likely have been relegated so for a few games where the team gets its ass kicked I dunno why people think it's such a great development tool. The Oilers make a lot of mistakes but not everything they do is terrible. I can recall talk early in the season regarding Draisaitl where it was talked about that the 39 game limit was more important than the 9 game one. I missed hearing/reading him say that, where was that reported?

I am glad someone else noticed this. I only watched the first two periods but dear lord it was bad. People claim Beyak is a homer but he's nowhere near as bad as those ding dongs were. They nit picked all the penalties , continually cried about Reimer being left out to dry and how he's a saviour, continued to talk about each mistake the Leafs made... it was nauseating. I was gonna mention this too, was brutal. From saying Chiarot is a call-up from the IceDogs to the whole Kane is our leading goal scorer thing to making excuses left right and center for the leafs, it was painful to listen too. Glenn Healy is awful and even the announcers during the game were terrible, It's a shock to me when Gary Galley seems like the only knowledgable guy there. Purely speculation on my part, but Glenn Healey comes across as a guy who believes being a knob is a good thing and wears it as a badge of honor. During the players strike for example, his true colors really came out. He was quite nauseating to listen too.

I'm no MacLean fan but he's light years better than Strombo. Dumb decision. The problem with George is he's a great interviewer (doesn't have to know content) doing a moderator's job (needs to know content). He's on a learning curve with obvious growing pains but if the network wants immediate results there will be less patience given.

Absolutely, however what separates average teams from good teams from great teams is their depth. And right now, we're seeing what we have. It will be a good indicator where are team sits and choices we may need to make as injuries drag on.

Why? What has Paajarvi ever done? He got a lot of hype in his first season then never lived up to it. Yea saw a lot of him here in Edmonton. No thanks.

Cutler is a coach killer. Even when he plays well he just gives off negative vibes all the time. All the tools to be a great one. But that's his problem, he has all the tools but he's also one himself. Always either pissed off or indifferent. Not a leader by any stretch of the word. How can you win with a player like that? He'll get the next HC in Chicago fired as well. Yup. His history does not lie. If Trestman's mentoring, coaching, tutoring had no effect on Cutler, I say good luck Chicago. Cutler is hands down one of the worst team 'leaders' of all time.

Fair enough. I think though it's more of a combination of things that play a part in our bigger 'problems'. Every area needs to go through a continous improvement process for this organization. i think we need to cast the net quite wide in areas we feel need some refinement, some tweaking, some overhauls from executive, from management, from coaching to the team talent we field this coming season.

Outside of contractual obligations and whether you were a Noel fan or not, any concerns with his attitude, his approach that could disrupt the chemistry of this team? Or was it simply the case of being completely shafted by his former coach? I'd want enough information at my disposal to get some level of assurance he's willing and able to buy in to a team approach before bringing him in.

someone else who doesn't watch the team play comments I see. You know what the #1 problem with the oilers is right now? No goal scoring. They can't score enough to win games. If they happen to give up a goal on a mistake which happens to every team in the league they can't get it back. Yakupov has made big strides defensively, trouble is he can't score. I am telling you Eakins crushed the offense of that team and the confidence as well. People agree that Renney and Kreuger didn't get a chance before failing and were fired simply due to impatience, but no one is saying Eakins didn't get a fair chance. He made the team worse and that's all on him. People would have been happy if the team had kept progressing. No one is under any kind of delusions about the roster, but Eakins did so many things wrong it is a true wonder he lasted as long as he did. One could speculate that the reason for this was he was Mac T's hire and he kept hoping it would turnaround for his sake as a GM in his second go-around with the Oilers. According to Mac T, even after letting him go, believes Eakins is an excellent coach but something had to be done. Firing the goalie coach didn't have any immediate impact. Dallas Eakins also feels mutual admiration for Mac T by suggesting if any one can turn this team around, it will be him. Yikes. By Eakins saying he/they did their best with the players they had available supports the post that suggested he sounded like Tim Burke approach in assessing how he did as a head coach. Apparently it's just time and patience needed.

I've always said fight fire with fire when it comes to these types of people/groups. When it's obvious it's not a legit call, play along acting the part of a buffoon with great 'interest' in their 'offer'. Things like not understanding their instructions having them repeat them over and over again, providing them with fictitious numbers one number short in what their asking (e.g., visa, account numbers), putting them on hold while you go 'get' what they ask for talking in the background so they can hear you, the list goes on and on. I'm guessing comedygeek has a few he could share. Keep them on the line as long as you can to waste their human resources so they can't hook someone else who may fall to their scheme. The more of us who take this approach would help shut some of these outfits down and you can have some fun while you do it. Win Win :-).

I read Todd Nelson being named interim head coach with Mac T coaching next few games for the transition period.

I always find it strange to hear that the Jets have a younger lineup then EDM. Wonder if one of the big 3 is up next. Eberle is mentioned the most. Being surrounded by Oiler fans for years now, I'm not sensing many loyal Oiler fans feel bad for Dallas Eakins. The never ending talk about the Oilers woes over the last 8 years revolve around whose to blame, coaching?, management?, owner?, current players?, scouting?, fans?, media?, cheerleaders? Obviously all have to take some blame for this teams's lack of success but the debate continues on which area is in the most immediate dire straits to start to turn this team around. As a non-Oiler fan, I say focus on the cheerleaders.

A player citing his stats from practice? Just when I heard it all.

This I like. Having a playmaker in our system is a nice piece to the puzzle.

My guess, my hunch is it was done out of obligation versus nice gesture.

In a coaching role, hasn't he just been with the Riders and Eskies? I think a change of scenery would do him/us good, i.e., Bombers.

Wasn't really expecting this. And let the games begin. I wonder what Oiler fans are thinking . . .

And that's how valuable he is. Remember the hype for this guy when he first came over from Europe? Again, again and again, injuries suffered by the Jets confirms the reason why you don't trade Buff. He's a special player that few teams have. I for one do not want to give that to another team.

Management also has to factor in chemistry when making changes which isn't seen in a stat line.

What often gets left out of this thought process - maybe they just have better things to do with their time than appease the fans with a pointless press conference. I'd rather they be working, myself. Impatience debatable, entitlement no. If one says, impatient or not "I'd like to know, I need to know, We should know now" does not mean they think they are entitled. If however one starts to say things like "Management owes me an explanation' that's another story.