Short blog tonight, but this is something that has been on my mind since the start of week. We know the season ends on Saturday, meaning the off-season begins for this club on Sunday when the team has locker clean-out day. A lot of things are going to happen this summer, the draft, player movement, and potential changes to the coaching staff, scouting staff, and management team.
Do you remember back in November, when Bob Nicholson spoke to the media in Toronto and mentioned that a forensic audit was going to take place with the Oilers, a “peeling back of the onion” so to speak to figure out just what was wrong with this hockey club? I sure do.
What were the results of that audit? The thing that was suppose to suss out the issue with the organization and set the path for a better tomorrow. Did the Oilers figure out what held them back all this time?
The answers to that question likely won’t be known for another season or two. If the Oilers make changes this summer and begin winning next year, then we can say the audit may have actually worked, but if we’re looking at the same old song and dance a year from now, well we can easily say that the audit was a clear failure.
The Oilers will never come out and tell the fans what was discovered in this audit, there probably will not be a press conference saying this is what was found, we’ll have to make the judgement on our own.
It’s obviously not as fun as the playoffs, but it’s going to be interesting to see over the next few months what the Oilers determined needed to change. Starting next week, we will see the 2015-16 team begin to take shape, likely starting with management and then moving on to the coach.
In two weeks time, we’ll likely know if management is seen as an issue, and about a week or two later, we will likely know the thought process on the coach and his staff. Is Nelson the guy Edmonton will trust to turn north? It’s a real question. Will a veteran guy, like Todd McLellan, be the pick? It’s certainly going to be interesting to watch.
While we will never get an official answer, we’ll be able to tell what was concluded based off of the moves made. What players were determined problem players, what is the biggest hole on this roster, what is the direction this team plans to go in, and what will be the approach on the blue-line? Is this cluster the right one, is this coach the right one?
We’ll likely find all of this out in the next few months. I know the audit kind of got swept under the rug as time wore on, but it’s been something that has been on my mind recently. While I’d much prefer watching a playoff chase right now, I think it will be interesting in it’s own right to watch what Bob Nicholson and Daryl Katz determined via this audit.
Not to overstate it, but this audit will likely determine the future success of this organization. If these guys get it right, then a turn north could be coming soon, but if they botch it, oh boy, another decade of losing could easily be on the horizon.
Buckle up friends, the answers from this audit are coming due time.
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