As I sit here, I’m still shocked at what transpired last night. Not only with what happened in the Oilers game (because that was a bloody joke) but with what I was told after it. I was literally on the worst emotional roller coaster possible as it pertains to the Edmonton Oilers.
I do apologize to my followers for having to experience that with me…
**Obligatory disclaimer: Take what you’re about to read with a grain of salt. Very rarely do things come to fruition because things change all of the time at the NHL level. At the very least, this will be a great pub or water cooler banter but by no means am I an insider. I just happen to be friends with people who are close to the club and have been given permission to relay their words online. – BLH**
First it was, McLellan is gone. Then it was, nope, he’s staying. Nicholson thinks they need to stay the course and just ride out this slump. Now I’m hearing that after the game there was a closed-door meeting between Bob Nicholson, Wayne and Keith Gretzky, and Peter Chiarelli and there’ll be another meeting tomorrow between all of them and the owner.
A decision will be made.
I had a feeling something was up when Bob Stauffer didn’t tweet anything out after the game. He’s usually got a thought or two on the result of each Oilers match but nothing last night. To me, that’s the smoking gun. The Oilers media team is getting prepared.
Furthermore, I found the usual barrage of tweets coming from the MSM that covers the Oilers to be less chatty on Twitter after the game. Nothing from Lowetide and nothing from Jason Gregor should speak volumes.
It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here right? The trade has already happened that usually prefaces the firing.
Do the deed already @EdmontonOilers the players have tuned out the coach I’ve seen this so many times in the NHL…
— Marc Savard (@MSavvy91) November 19, 2018
THE OIL KNIGHT GOES OFF!
My friend SPR (@theoilknight) was spitting fiery hot truths from the pulpit after the game and I’d like to share some of that with you if you haven’t read it yet. Click that link besides his name and give him a follow.
If you don’t think the Oilers need a new voice in the room and on the bench you’re kidding yourself. This team quit on him last year and it’s happening again. Some coaches are doing much more with much less right now around the league. This team is mentally done right now.
*cough* The Islanders *cough* The Canucks *cough* The Sabres *cough* The Rangers *cough*
If u think the Coyotes have more talent than EDM u need ur head checked. Their leading scorer has 12 pts & Raanta has been hurt. McDavid & Drai both have 12 GOALS apiece. EDM had ELEVEN 1st rd picks on team. TMac ran 3 off. Don’t tell me the coach didnt have anything to work with
Man, I’d love to know who suggested the Coyotes have more talent than the Oilers because that is definitely the hot taek of the week. Didn’t they deal their best player to the Habs?
This team quit on their coach last season & are doing it again. Blame his stubbornness, outdated systems, poor adjustments & inability to relate or motivate his players properly. Blame the GM for not firing him sooner. Just don’t tell me this team isn’t talented cuz that’s b.s.
I found an article by Shane Sander that was published nearly to the day from last year (11/22/2017) entitled, “Don’t Fire McLellan, Point Fingers at Players and Chiarelli”. At first, I thought that he’d posted it recently but then I checked the date and had a laugh because nothing has really changed in a calendar year and that is a MASSIVE problem.
SPR even wrote about McLellan in January. A post called, “If This is the End, Now What?”. I think this is a must read given the scenario Oilers fans are facing.
Talbot, Lucic, Strome, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto… all zero confidence. Do all these players actually suck or do they suck under Todd’s system & tutelage? Think about it. Even Eberle was in TMac’s doghouse before he got traded. What is the common denominator? (Ok Strome sucks).
Hall and Schultz as well. Maroon slumped before he was dealt too.
All assistant coaches got fired yet Todd still runs the PP, a ridiculous PP with 5 lefties. All rookies/2nd yr players run off team. Couldn’t get it going under Todd’s system. In game adjustments have been awful. How can anyone still be blind that coach isn’t the root cause here?
For the last couple of weeks, McLellan has had a righty on the 1st unit be that Ty Rattie (a healthy scratch for some reason last night) or Alex Chiasson but he still has them in Lucic’s old role beside the goalie. I’m flabbergasted as to why he won’t like Viveiros do what he was brought in to do and that’s run the friggin’ PP. Just another way that Todd McLellan continues to defy the wishes of his superior.
Truth is whether TMac apologists admit it or not, the players hate playing this system, hate how the coach plays favorites, hate how their team gets outcoached, hate coming to the rink. THEY need a change.
I know Sean and Marty Klinkenberg had a bit of a go on this point and it’s a lot easier for Klinkenberg to say that he goes to the rink every day and the players look fine than it is for SPR but I’d have to agree with Sean here. To add to that, if the players are going to practice every day with smiles on their faces and glee in their eyes, someone needs to slap them and tell them to wake the f*ck up! This isn’t Never Never Land. Wipe that sh*t eating grin off of your face and get to work! Moreover, if you’re eating sh*t and grinning, it’s probably not your day anyhow.
Ask yourself one question. Do you think McLellan could do any better with a “better roster”. I mean, C’mon. LOL. What does that even mean? Are we talking a stacked roster that basically coaches itself? This isn’t a video game. What coach couldnt do better with a better roster?
Trades are not easy to make in the cap world and Chiarelli is right back to where he was when he was hired. Bent over a barrel because his team is poor. There’s no GM in the NHL that is going to give him a deal that’ll help the Oilers in the short-term that won’t burn them in the long-term.
Is it the Coach’s job to wait to get a stacked roster before he turns it into wins or is it his job to get the most of what he has? Do you think McLellan has gotten the most out of his team? More than the Coyotes, for example?
I think it’s the Coach’s job to get the most out of the squad he has but time and time again we hear about McLellan’s inability to communicate with the players. He’s a “hands-off” sort of coach. He likes to leave the intermission talks to the leadership group and I can only imagine how mind-numbingly quiet it is in there…
At least Chiarelli can point to Bakersfield and the CHL (and Sweden) for reasons why he should stick around. What the hell does McLellan have to show for? 31st PP and PK last year? Ridiculous amount of lethargic efforts over the last 2 seasons?
And this is a HUGE reason why Chiarelli shouldn’t be canned. He’s taken what was one of the emptiest minor league systems and filled it. If he doesn’t trade any of the kids he’s drafted, next year Bakersfield will be overflowing with prospects. A very welcome change.
Best PP QB in EDM- Bouchard. No sniffs on PP1 by coach, sent back. Most skilled players on team other than 97, 93, 29 – Puljujarvi & Yamamoto. Coach shows zero confidence in Jesse despite big camp, puts Yamo with Drai zero chemistry. Both sent down. GM or Coach’s fault there?
Don’t forget about Pontus Aberg. Chiarelli brought him in to provide some skill on the wing and yes, he did make a mistake off the ice but was it fair to punish him to the extent they did? Now he’s in Anaheim and seems to be fitting in nicely there.
The fact of the matter is every coach has a shelf life. Before there was Sullivan in Pittsburgh, there was Bylsma, before Bylsma, there was Therien. Sometimes a team has to go through the motions a bit before they can find their groove.
I for one am tired of Todd McLellan’s style of coaching and his style of hockey. I’m ready for a change on the coaching front and I think the players are as well.
As for that meeting that I’ve been told will take place tomorrow. This is just my personal feeling, no source info here, but I wonder if Katz might just say thank you to both Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan and let Glen Gulutzan and Keith Gretzky ride out the rest of the year as replacements.
Last year, after that Dallas game when Katz wanted McLellan fired then, he was talked out of it by Chiarelli and Nicholson. I don’t think there’ll be a repeat of that this time around and if there is, refer to the paragraph above.
It’s much easier to find a coach and/or a GM in the summertime and if I had my picks I’d probably have a guy like Doug Weight come in but I like Mo Jaber’s suggestion too.
On the left is the team Steve Yzerman inherited when he was hired by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010. 8 years later and on the right is the team he has assembled. This man is who the #Oilers organization needs to bring in as GM along side Joel Quenneville as HC. pic.twitter.com/2a5P3ePQGJ
— MJ (@jabe_m93) November 19, 2018
