hf101 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 As expected Todd Nelson to assume full coaching duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 As expected Todd Nelson to assume full coaching duties.Does it matter? Scotty Bowman could not coach that mess assuming the beind the scenes crap is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Does it matter? Scotty Bowman could not coach that mess assuming the beind the scenes crap is true.If it's that bad behind the scenes then why replace the coach? The problem is much further up the chain of command! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 For what it's worth: 7-19-5 under Eakins (-39 goal differential, averaged 2.1 goals for, 3.39 goals against) 0-3-2 under MacT/Nelson (-9 goal differential, averaged 2.2 goals for, 4.0 goals against) 7-6-2 under Nelson (-1 goal differential, averaging 2.93 goals for, 3 goals against) I don't know if this is going to last, of course. What we do know: -Nelson has been without Taylor Hall about half that time. -He hasn't had David Perron either, and has a good 4th liner in exchange. -A bump from a coaching change is usually quite short: just a few games before the team reverts back to a similar record before the coach was fired. We're up to 15 games now. -Nelson was a very good AHL who coach who consistently got results which were better than expected. -He isn't riding a hot PP to improved GF numbers. The PP has remained right where it was before. -The first thing Nelson did was a good thing: he brought Anton Lander (14 GP, 1-7-8 so far) up from the AHL with him, and gave the Oilers another actual NHL centre. Eakins tried him for 27 GP last year with players like Luke Gazdic and Ben Eager and then wondered where the offense was. That's a mistake. -The SV% from the goalies has been better: league average (.917) compared to .902 under Eakins. I think that one thing which is VERY fair to point out: the Oilers went from being league average under previous coaches, to being way under with Eakins, and back to league average with him gone. Goaltenders like Devan Dubnyk who went from league average before Eakins to far under have bounced back to previous numbers when away also. It seems to suggest there's something there. With Hall being allowed to come back too soon and re-injuring his ankle (oh, those Oilers) and the same situation with Benoit Pouliot being out, Nelson won't be able to maintain this record, particularly if/when the Oilers trade Jeff Petry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 -The first thing Nelson did was a good thing: he brought Anton Lander (14 GP, 1-7-8 so far) up from the AHL with him, and gave the Oilers another actual NHL centre. Eakins tried him for 27 GP last year with players like Luke Gazdic and Ben Eager and then wondered where the offense was. That's a mistake. Good point. I always thought Lander had some NHL potential. At least he's a natural centre and plays a 200 foot game. I also think he has untapped offensive potential because of how smart a player he is. Plus he's always been a leader. You'd think the Oilers, desperate for leadership, would have looked to him sooner to bring some of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Good point. I always thought Lander had some NHL potential. At least he's a natural centre and plays a 200 foot game. I also think he has untapped offensive potential because of how smart a player he is. Plus he's always been a leader. You'd think the Oilers, desperate for leadership, would have looked to him sooner to bring some of that. I'm not sure how untapped his offensive talent is (I see a 40 point player given the right opportunity) but agree completely with everything else. He's only 23, but is an 8-year pro. Gobs of experience for his age, played a major league-level defensive game at 19, and is only now in a position to do something in the NHL. There were many who were ready to cut bait, and I can't for the life of me understand why the Oilers were ready to play Leon Draisaitl (who himself told the team he wasn't NHL-ready) when they had a perfectly good kid ready to play. Because Oilers, I guess. They haven't lost this much for this long by accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Because Oilers, I guess. They haven't lost this much for this long by accident. How any of the top brass still have jobs is beyond me. The Draisaitl incident should have been the last straw. For the sake of the fans I hope Katz comes to his senses and does something to change things at the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 How any of the top brass still have jobs is beyond me. The Draisaitl incident should have been the last straw. For the sake of the fans I hope Katz comes to his senses and does something to change things at the top. Katz, Lowe and MacTavish have all been besties for a little more than 30 years, so I just can't picture what would have to happen for things to change. Losing right now is completely in the plan, as Dallas Eakins mentioned the other day on TSN radio, where he said that management's plan is to begin competing (as if it's a switch you flip at will) when they move into the new arena in 2017. I think it's all idiocy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Katz, Lowe and MacTavish have all been besties for a little more than 30 years, so I just can't picture what would have to happen for things to change. Losing right now is completely in the plan, as Dallas Eakins mentioned the other day on TSN radio, where he said that management's plan is to begin competing (as if it's a switch you flip at will) when they move into the new arena in 2017 Considering the state of that once-proud franchise, that statement is offensive. And it entirely reinforces a culture of losing that they've built their. truly appalling. Fans should pursue a class-action suit against the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Considering the state of that once-proud franchise, that statement is offensive. And it entirely reinforces a culture of losing that they've built their. truly appalling. Fans should pursue a class-action suit against the team. It really is a sad state of affairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I don't understand how this team is so badly mismanaged? Especially how they started in the '80's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I don't understand how this team is so badly mismanaged? Especially how they started in the '80's! A few reasons come to mind -There's completely different management in place from the 1980s. -Management is far too close to ownership, thus there is no accountability for losing. -The management in now were part of the player group from those Cup teams, and have the firm and arrogant belief that, no matter how poor their record, and no matter they were't the elite players that made the core of that team, that they know what they're doing as managers. Here's a precious little quote from Kevin Lowe: "There’s one other guy I believe in hockey today, that is still working in the game, that has won more Stanley Cups than me, so I think I know a little bit about winning if that’s ever a concern." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 A few reasons come to mind-There's completely different management in place from the 1980s.-Management is far too close to ownership, thus there is no accountability for losing.-The management in now were part of the player group from those Cup teams, and have the firm and arrogant belief that, no matter how poor their record, and no matter they were't the elite players that made the core of that team, that they know what they're doing as managers. Here's a precious little quote from Kevin Lowe:OMG he should be fired for arrogance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 A little over a week later, and things continue to go well under Nelson. -As said before, he plugged Anton Lander into the roster and he's played admirable. Had a strong two-way game in Montreal and New York in particular, scoring the OT winner last night. -Oscar Klefbom is another player that was being handled in a bit of a strange way by Eakins. Would you put a 21-year old rookie in a shutdown role against toughest comp, regardless of draft pedigree? Didn't think so. Nelson has handled him *perfectly*, pairing him off with Justin Schultz, giving them tons of minutes, but in a position to succeed... You know, like you should with a rookie and another guy who isn't a strong defensive player. Schultz's play improved immediately, but Klefbom has been a revelation. He's shown great wheels, skated miles, has 8 points in his last 10 games, and was the best player on the ice in the EDM-MTL game last night. -Martin Marincin. When he was sent down in October, Nelson was asked for his thoughts and he expressed shock to be getting him back in the AHL, saying that Marincin was a clear-cut NHL defenseman. I believe that his stance re: Marincin are the opposite of both Eakins and MacTavish. Regardless, he has once again been outstanding in his NHL games this season. -The above three examples are more than a bit of an indictment of MacTavish and Eakins, imo. These players aren't found money, but guys they had all along, but whose ability wasn't recognized by GM and Head Coach. MacT has shown an ability to identify forwards, but there's a massive disconnect between that and his ability to gauge defensemen. He completely missed the boat on Klefbom and Marincin, and had Justin Schultz completely mis-cast in getting #1 minutes. Pair that with his signings of Andy Ference and Nikita Nikitin, and it seems like he couldn't find a defenseman if he tripped over Bobby Orr. -Nelson just may have done something else which could give him continued employment in the NHL: Nail Yakupov is scoring points with almost as many in his last 10 as he had all season with Dallas Eakins. Through 20 games under Nelson, the Oilers have a 9-9-2 record. It has been done with a coach trying NOT yo re-write how to coach the sport, but going with what players were raised to play, and by identifying superior players who weren't being used. The club may have their coach for 2016, if they can see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Atleast its not Deboer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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