It’s the dogs days of summer, and content is tough to come by. With that said, I’ve decided to unlock the vault and go through the records. Over the next week, we’ll be examining the top five best and top five worst moves of previous GM tenures.
The tenures we will look at? Those of Steve Tambellini and Craig MacTavish, then men tasked with rebuilding and turning the Edmonton Oilers north. Clearly, neither guy got the job done, but it wasn’t all bad. Tonight, we look at the top-five moves of Steve Tambellini’s tenure as GM of the Edmonton Oilers.
Overview:
Tambellini’s reign started with a bang. He took over a young team that barely missed the post-season the previous year, a group poised to surge back into the competitive parts of the NHL. He added some veteran players and saw his team get healthy before fading down the stretch and missing the post-season in 2009.
That summer, Oilers history changed forever. After a failed trade for Dan Heatley and a massive contract handed out to Nikolai Khabibulin, Steve Tambellini watched the Oil crash and burn. Every year since, Edmonton has finished in the bottom ten. They embarked on their rebuild under Tambellini, and never recovered from the damage.
Without doubt, Steve Tambellini will go down as the worst GM in Edmonton Oilers history, and arguably one of the worst in NHL history. Seriously, it was a very dark time in Edmonton, one that set the franchise back at least four or five years.
The Top Five Best Moves:
5.) Oilers trade F Dustin Penner to LA for D Colten Teubert, 2011 first round pick, 2012 3rd round pick – Dustin Penner was a good Oiler, regardless of the issues that faced him during his time in Edmonton. He scored over 30 goals during the dismal 2009-10 season, and provided a real power-forward presence during the 2010-11 campaign as well.
That said, rumors were abound that Edmonton needed to make room for the young players in the system, and that one of Penner or Ales Hemsky would have to go. Penner would be the guy, and the return was mediocre. Penner was a key part of the Kings’ 2012 Cup victory, but he has since fallen out of the NHL, not signed for the 2014-15 season.
Teubert proved to be a bust in Edmonton, but this move makes the list because of that 2011 first rounder. It ended up being Oscar Klefbom, who is a top-four defender on today’s Oilers and is only getting better. He’s a key piece to the future success of this team.
This move could very well jump up the list, but Teubert failed and Klefbom still has to prove himself as a consistent NHL defender
4.) Oilers trade F Colin Fraser, 2012 7th round pick to LA for F Ryan Smyth – Ryan Smyth wasn’t the impact player he was before the trade out of Edmonton in 2007, but he provided the Oilers with two solid seasons after returning. Smyth was an Oiler through and through, and it was only right that he would end his career with the orange and blue.
Smyth was a decent secondary scorer during the 2011-12 season, and was a solid depth piece in 2013-14, ending his career on a solid note. The middle season, however, was a complete disaster, one that called Smyth’s ability into question.
Regardless, Edmonton gave up nothing to bring home a legend who gave the team two solid seasons. Not bad at all.
3.) Oilers trade 2009 2nd round pick to BUF for F Ales Kotalik – This move will likely be forgotten, but the move to acquire Kotalik at the deadline in 2009 was a solid move by Tambellini. Edmonton was in the thick of the playoff race and badly needed offensive help. Kotalik didn’t come in and push the needle, but he proved useful in many ways.
Late in that season, Edmonton found themselves in shootouts where Kotalik came up large. The most notable ones? Victories against St. Louis and Chicago, two teams Edmonton was fighting with at the time.
Kotalik left as a free agent that summer, but he helped Edmonton win a few games in the playoff chase back in 2009.
2.) The Oklahoma City Barons – Strange heading, I know, but this was a massive win for Tambellini. Prior to the Barons, Edmonton’s AHL situation was a complete joke. For years, Edmonton didn’t have an affiliate, then they signed an agreement with the Springfield Falcons.
That said, the Falcons were dismal on the ice during the Oilers relationship, and the team had a fresh slate in Oklahoma City. Tambellini instilled Todd Nelson as head coach of the Barons, and added veteran players in key roles to help the young guys.
OKC made the playoffs in all five seasons of existence, while developing some solid NHL players. The most notable ones? Jeff Petry, Chris VandeVelde, Anton Lander, Mark Arcobello, Martin Marincin, Justin Schultz, Colin MacDonald, and Magnus Paajarvi. More are on the way, ones that could be impact players.
The return of Edmonton’s AHL affiliate will have an impact that extends decades after the end of the Tambellini era.
1.) The Taylor Hall contract – In the summer of 2012, the Oilers signed star F Taylor Hall to a long-term deal worth $6 million per season. At the time, people called the deal crazy, but now it is a bargain contract. Hall is one of the best left wingers in the NHL, and is making less than players he is flat out better than.
Twice during this contract, Hall has finished in the top ten of NHL scoring, something I expect will happen again with Connor McDavid now in the fold.
When you look at other deals around the league, you appreciate the Hall contract. Both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are better players, but $4.5 million a year better? I don’t think so, $10.5 million a year is a lot.
Rangers F Derek Stepan, a solid top-six forward, is now making $6.5 million per season. In Boston, David Krejci is getting $7.25 million a year, and Ryan O’Reilly is getting the exact same $6 million as Hall up in Buffalo.
All three of those guys are good, but I’d rather have Taylor Hall on my hockey club. Most of the NHL doesn’t appreciate him currently, but this Taylor Hall deal will be a complete bargain in everyone’s eyes soon enough.
Some fine, fine work by Steve Tambellini.
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