The Edmonton Oilers made a coaching change on Monday morning, one that fans had been calling for since last October. The Oilers relieved goalie coach Frederic Chabot of his duties, and hired Dustin Schwartz to take over the position. Chabot had been with the organization since July 6th, 2009. Schwartz previously was the goalie coach for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.
Personally, I think this was a move that had to happen. Chabot seems like a decent guy, but the facts are the facts, he wasn’t good at his job. Chabot had gone through five goalies in the last calender year, with none of them showing any improvement when arriving in Edmonton. Chabot worked with Nikolai Khabibulin, Devan Dubnyk, Jeff Deslauriers, Martin Gerber, Yann Danis, Jason Labarbera, Viktor Fasth, Ben Scrivens and Ilya Bryzgalov at the NHL level.
Khabibulin took massive steps back in Edmonton, and essentially saw his career end here. That’s not all on Chabot, Khabi’s age and injury problems played a factor here, but the others are partially on Chabot. Gerber and Danis were AHL goalies at the point of arrival, but didn’t show any improvement in Edmonton. Deslauriers saw his career tail spin when Chabot came in, while Labarbera crashed and burned as well.
Devan Dubnyk showed improvement up until last season, when he imploded. Predators’ coach Barry Trotz described Dubnyk as having some “bad habits” in his game, and DD ended up going to the AHL, playing at a back-up level. This year, in Arizona, Dubnyk has regained form, playing at a high level.
As for Viktor Fasth and Ben Scrivens, both went south when they arrived. Fasth was playing good hockey in Anaheim, but has been AHL-level since coming over in a trade. Scrivens was decent in Toronto, and very good in LA, but saw his play head south starting last season. At this point, he’s playing well below the mark of an average starting goalie.
Chabot also had a say in the Oil drafting Tyler Bunz, who has been terrible since turning pro. The track record for Chabot just is not very good, and this move needed to happen.
As for Schwartz, we don’t know too much about him. His work with the Oil Kings however has been very good, as he worked wonders with Laurent Brossoit and Tristan Jarry during their time in the WHL with the OK’s. Schwartz is also highly regarded in many hockey circles, and is a younger guy who is more in touch with today’s game and style.
Personally, I like the move. Chabot wasn’t getting the job done, and Schwartz is a young guy that is well respected and has done some good work at the WHL level. The Oilers know what they are getting, and clearly are comfortable with this.
Also of note, Schwartz has worked with Ben Scrivens in the past, so there is a level of familiarity there.
Pat Quinn Passes Away:
His stint as Oiler coach was short, and nothing to write home about. Pat Quinn took the Oilers head coaching job in the spring of 2009, and served the team during an extremely tough time, the 2009-10 season, the worst in club history. That said, I was always a Pat Quinn fan. He was brutally honest, and made the Oilers wake up and realize just how bad things were being built.
Quinn was entertaining to watch in press conferences, and seemed like a genuinely nice guy. His impact on hockey cannot be overstated, he did wonders for many organizations, and left a lasting impact where ever he went. Yes, he was a part of a very dark time in franchise history, but Pat Quinn earned my respect with his brutal honesty, and his track record in hockey.
I was very saddened to see him pass today, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I certainly hope the Oilers hold a moment of silence for him when they return home from their current road trip, it’s only right.
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