There are three words that can be blamed for the current state of the Edmonton Oilers; arrogance, inadequacy, and leadership. Those words can also represent Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers management.
Those three power words can be attributed to one of the seven deadly sins, and the most important deadly sin in pro sports: pride.
Yes, Pride is one of the seven deadliest sins. (Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride)
In fact, pride is considered the most serious of the seven deadly sins, which has a lot to say about the state of the Edmonton Oilers. How these managerial leaders can still have pride after failure after failure after failure, but with some sort of tenure security, the pride bleeds through their accomplishments as a player and one magical run in 2006.
*Thank you to Dictionary.com for the definitions
ARROGANCE
noun
1.
offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride.
In my opinion, this word describes Kevin Lowe to a “T”. He continuously uses his past accomplishments to overrule his poor performance. Kevin Lowe earned promotions faster than anybody should ever deserve following his playing career when he went from one season as head coach, to the team’s general manager overnight. He was never fired despite regularly missing the playoffs and he continues to use his one run in 2006 to establish ground for his inadequacies as a manager since.
Most teams that make the Stanley Cup final at least keep some of their group intact to ensure they can give it another try. Lowe’s 2006 team was gutted and the team failed to reach the playoffs in later seasons despite and expanding wallet and Lowe was promoted to VP of Hockey Operations without any further progress.
His first hire was GM Steve Tambellini. At the time, it didn’t seem like a bad choice. Although Tambellini was a first-time GM, he had been working with the Vancouver Canucks as Director of Public and Media Relations, Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager. We all know how that worked out. Still, Lowe oversaw Tambellini’s work and let him stay way too long before firing him and replacing him with another rookie GM in Craig MacTavish.
It was on the day that MacTavish was hired that Kevin Lowe reared his true form when he was angered by the Edmonton Journal’s John MacKinnon stating that this group is in charge of cleaning up a mess that they started to begin with. Lowe came off looking like an arrogant moron by claiming this group got the Edmonton Oilers within one period of a Stanley Cup…
And God bless whoever piped up and said “yeah, seven years ago!”
Watch the video here to see Lowe completely come off as a poor leader. I can’t explain anymore. But it ends with him saying there is only one other person in NHL management with as many cups as him. Arrogance at it’s best.
INADEQUACY
noun, plural inadequacies for 2.
1.
Also, inadequateness [in-ad-i-kwit-nis] (Show IPA). the state or condition of being inadequate; insufficiency.
2.
something inadequate; defect:
The plan has many inadequacies.
Like I mentioned in the arrogant section of this article, the Oilers continuously hired rookies at the chosen positions. Case in point, when the Oilers finally (vastly overdue in my opinion) realized that Frederic Chabot was inadequate at his job as the Oiler’s goalie coach, they hired Dustin Schwartz. Now, Schwartz is only a few months into his new position, but was he really the best option?? Did the Oilers personnel even have a list?
When the Oilers began their rebuild, they put it in the hands of a fairly new rookie GM, and a fairly new rookie VP of Hockey Operations. Did they really have a plan? I believe they did, but did that plan work? Obviously we know now that it did not.
One of the reasons for the failed rebuild was the fact that the big plan was about stockpiling draft picks and having them contribute in a few seasons. While that’s a poor plan to build a winner in the first place, the fact that the amateur scouts have missed more than they’ve hit plays a big role. Since the rebuild took place (declared in January of 2010) the Oilers have not seen any of their selected players outside of the first round play any sort of role.
Another issue is with the pro scouts. Cam Barker, Eric Belanger, Ben Eager, Kurtis Foster, Ryan Whitney, Colten Teubert, Nick Schultz, Mark Fistric, Jerrod Smithson, Teddy Purcell, Nikita Nikitin, Andrew Ference… These guys were all brought in to fill roles to make the team better, and instead these guys were exposed for their shortcomings.
Nikki Nikitin and Andrew Ference are two of the best most recent examples of inadequacy in evaluating talent. The organization is paying these guys to find the best bang for buck and to warn against the pitfalls. The arrogance of Craig MacTavish comes from having to defend these acquisitions. Nobody is saying Nikitin is not an NHL player, but he’s just simply not a good one who is earning his $4.5 million that would be better spent on….say….Jeff Petry??
Throughout the entire organization is inadequacy and until the arrogant heads realize their inadequacies, the Oilers will never be able to climb their way out of the grave they’ve dug for themselves.
LEADERSHIP
noun
1.
the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group:
He managed to maintain his leadership of the party despite heavy opposition.
Synonyms: administration, management, directorship, control, governorship, stewardship, hegemony.
2.
ability to lead:
As early as sixth grade she displayed remarkable leadership potential.
Synonyms: authoritativeness, influence, command, effectiveness; sway, clout.
3.
an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction:
They prospered under his strong leadership.
4.
the leaders of a group:
The union leadership agreed to arbitrate.
Aw, yes. Imagine you’re part of a tactical police force and you’re going into a hostage situation with the sole purpose of saving as many lives as you can by neutralizing the threat. You’re a team. If the guy calling the shots on the ride to the location is talking about how he once took down Hitler himself on his own fifty years ago and has failed to do anything of significance since, you’re not going to trust this guy right?
Well, the Edmonton Oilers have that guy as their leader in every capacity. Leadership starts at the top and at the top of the derrick in Oil Country is BILLIONAIRE owner Daryl Katz. Now, I believe Katz is a brilliant businessman. He has to be or else he wouldn’t be a billionaire. But as a hockey mind, the guy is just as inadequate and arrogant as the people he has hired to run the organization into the crowd. I really get the sense that Katz, as a billionaire, only has one other thrill in life and that’s to hang out with his childhood heroes.
I know how he feels. He got to watch a winner. Year after year he was a hardworking, loyal Edmonton Oilers fan that won Stanley Cups. Now he owns the club and he gets to hang out with these guys. That’s cool. That’d be like me hanging out with Chris Pronger, Ryan Smyth, and Dwayne Roloson had they had won the cup in 2006. But any good businessman should know that it’s not about buddies. (I love trying to give advice on business to a billionaire). It’s time for Katz to realize he won’t create another winning franchise with his buddies Lowe and MacTavish.
Another point of leadership is the management that we know won’t claim responsibility for their errors. That’s a poor leadership quality in itself.
The coaching is supposed to be another step of leadership but the carrousel of Tom Renney, Ralph Krueger, Dallas Eakins and now Todd Nelson has been exhausting.
Finally it comes back to the guy that wears the “C” on the jersey. At the beginning of the rebuild it was Shawn Horcoff. I honestly thought Horcoff did an admirable job as a captain and in hindsight, I think it was a mistake to move him. He took it upon himself to work with the likes of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle on and off the ice. He played heart and soul. The media and fans may not have liked the money he made, but he was still a difference maker and he was a professional. The leadership of management thought that his contributions weren’t a big enough necessity to keep him around and instead his money was used to bring in the Ference’s and Nikitin’s. Ugh.
Today Andrew Ference wears the “C”, and to be fair to the player, he wasn’t ready for this and the team never should have gave it to him. Ference came to his hometown a winner, having just completed winning a Stanley Cup and returning to the finals before being cut by his Boston Bruins team. He played a solid role on the bottom pairing and the Bruins realized that’s all would be able to be for the remaining years of his career and cut him loose. That’s good management. The Oilers gave him a nice 4-year contract and that’s bad management.
Ference would’ve been a decent guy to have as a 14-minute-a-night bottom pairing defender and penalty killer, but the Oilers paid him enough to warrant a top-four role and then handed him the keys to an already sunken ship. It was disaster from the beginning.
With all this poor leadership, how do you get the guys to play their hearts out under it. I gotta give a lot of credit to Boyd Gordon and Matt Hendricks for their constant efforts sacrificing their body for an organization that will never be a winner during their tenure despite their best efforts.
SUM IT UP
The Oilers have been trading away assets for pennies on the dollar. Worse yet they’ve been losing guys that, given the correct role, could be contributors to a competitive NHL team.
David Perron was traded not long after complaining about the pouting and by asking guys to step it up and quit whining. He’s gone. Teddy Purcell only gives 80%, 30% of the time and he stays.
Sam Gagner was a heart and soul guy who despite being completely rushed to the NHL, has made an NHL career. He was dealt for the 30-percenter Purcell.
Andrew Cogliano took pucks to the face, and asked to get sewed up to finish the game during a lost season with five minutes to go in a game the team trailed by two. I hope he gets his cup this year in Anaheim.
Year after year, season after season, it’s become more and more obvious that the Oilers are the laughing stock of the league with clueless management. Until the arrogant, inadequate leaders of the franchise are shown the door, we can keep looking forward to the NHL entry draft once again. Oh the pride.
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