The Room is Gone

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJIilmx-wGI]

Dallas Eakins has lost the room, in fact I’m not sure he’s ever really had it. Let’s face facts, it sure seems like the Oilers players really liked playing for Ralph Kreuger. Craig MacTavish comes in makes one skype call and boom you’ve got Dallas Eakins.

Eakins isn’t just a new NHL coach, he’s a guy with a completely different coaching philosophy. He preaches a new and very risky system to a young and fragile group of players, he enforces their eating habits, there exercise regimens. He inserts himself into aspects of each player’s life that they are probably not used to at all.

The Oilers under Kreuger were starting to show some improvement, so why the change so quick? Craig MacTavish wanted to bring in his own guy everyone said. Eakins is the next big thing in coaching everyone said. The Swarm is going to be a great system everyone said. Hell, I was one of those guys, as a grass is always greener type of guy I put my faith in the idea that the moves being made were the type of moves that were going to bring this team forward, make them successful and lead them to the promised land, the playoffs.

I was wrong. MacT was wrong. I’m admitting that now, and it’s high time the Oilers general manager admitted that too. It is part of being a leader, it is part of running a successful, well, anything. You screw up, you admit it and you make the changes needed to get the business, or team in this case, moving forward.

Now, the title of this blog is “The Room is Gone” and I’m not basing this on just tonight’s loss to the Boston Bruins, this is something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. I originally thought that having Eakins in to start the season would be ok, finally have some consistency for the players. But I’ve also been on record as saying that the leash given the second year coach should be a short one. Well I think the end of the leash is here. I think it’s time for a change.

It’s funny really because the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. We hear things, we read things. It’s something simple like tweets from former players, players who have connections to guys that sit in the Oilers room like Mike Commodore and Ryan Whitney who for a time were constantly poking fun at the Oilers and their coach. It’s other things I’ve heard from people that are around other coaches, players, scouts etcetera, the whispers of a coach with no respect.

Now am I just throwing dirt at the wall and hoping it will stick? Maybe, I’m just a blogger but more than that I’m a fan that wants to see this team win. I’m sick of watching a subpar team that I know should be better, taking 2.5 hours of my day three days a week just to be disappointed. The problem with that is I’m not going to change, I won’t, can’t not cheer for a team I grew up watching.

You know exactly what I’m talking about, this isn’t really news to you. The fact that the whispers, the rumors, the jokes are even there I’m surprised we haven’t seen anything reported from mainstream media. I’m willing to bet that all of these rumors will be verified once a coaching change is made.

Maybe MacT will make a change, and maybe he won’t but something needs to give, and the first step is always admitting you have a problem.

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