Off-Season Review: Disasters Averted

“The whole thing is quite hopeless, so it’s no good worrying about tomorrow. It probably won’t come.”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Imaginary Disasters

It’s been said that “Worry is a misuse of the imagination.” Most times, the future disasters we worry might happen never happen. Yet we continue to worry. The human mind is a factory that never ceases to produce imaginary disasters.

When the NHL off-season began, Oiler fans were fretting about all of the awful decisions the team’s management would inevitably make. And who could blame Oiler fans for expecting the worst? Remember the Khabibulin signing? The trade for Ryan Whitney? The hiring of Pat Quinn? Not one playoff game in how many years? The disasters of the recent past have been all too real.

What Actually Happened?

Several times this off-season there were rumours of a possible Oilers’ disaster. For example, a member of the media would report something like, “It looks like the Oilers might try to sign [insert name of an overrated hockey player].” Then Oiler fans would immediately assume that the disaster was imminent, and widespread panic would ensue.

So what actually happened? To the surprise of many, the Oilers somehow were able to avoid most of the disasters that fans were sure would befall their beloved hockey team.

1. Nail Yakupov wasn’t traded.

Back in March, TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger all but guaranteed that Nail Yakupov would soon be a former Oiler. Here’s the quote (via Cult of Hockey):

I would say it’s unlikely that he’s an Edmonton Oiler next season. So it makes sense that they’ll try and move him. They were trying to move him at various points this season. Word is out that Nail Yakupov is available. The problem is, no one really wants him. Certainly not for the value that the Edmonton Oilers are going to need to get back in return. And you can see why. He had opportunities in this game early on. He scored one goal in his last 11 games. He was on the ice late in the game when the Blues scored to tie the hockey game. He’s an NHL worst -30. He lacks commitment. He thinks that skill is enough to be an NHL player. And the unfortunate reality for Nail Yakupov is that, yes, he’s a skilled player, but not an elite level skill player. And until he finds a way to absorb the message, the market on Nail Yakupov isn’t going to be great. They might have to package him with a collection of assets to get something better in return.

A trade was inevitable, right? Wrong. Yakupov is still an Oiler, much to the chagrin of at least one member of the Edmonton media. And though the Russian winger was apparently in head coach Dallas Eakins’ doghouse last season, Eakins publicly announced this summer that his relationship with Yakupov “is a great one” (via sportsnet.ca).

Disaster averted.

2. Deryk Engelland wasn’t signed.

The Edmonton Journal‘s Jim Matheson wrote on May 28, “The Oilers are almost surely looking at Pittsburgh free-agent Deryk Engelland, hoping to sign him in July. He’s tough and he can play wing too.”

Fans lamented that the Oilers were going to waste money on a bottom-pairing defenseman. Won’t they ever learn? But it didn’t happen. Instead, it was the Calgary Flames who signed Engelland to a 3-year, $8.75 million contract.

Disaster averted.

3. Assistant coaches Kelly Buchberger and Steve Smith weren’t retained.

Fans were demanding that the Oilers replace Buchberger and Smith. But in a press conference on April 15, Oilers’ GM Craig MacTavish said, “My sense is we have the right people. We have the right coaches in place.”

It must be nice to be a friend of Kevin Lowe–perpetual job security. Nope. Since that press conference, both Buchberger and Steve Smith were let go, and Craig Ramsay and Rocky Thompson have taken their place.

Disaster averted.

4. Mark Fraser wasn’t re-signed.

Before UFA season, Craig MacTavish, in an interview with Jim Matheson, said the following:

We need somebody who’ll go north-south with the puck from the back end. We need defence that can move the puck better. That’s a priority, but there’s not much of that in the UFA market. Historically, a big percentage of those signings in the UFA season are poor anyway. You’re often better sticking with your own guys, guys you know. You have to do your homework with free agency. Hopefully, we make some good decisions. We are going to target some people. We’d like a third-pairing defenceman who can block shots and kill penalties. A Mark Fraser-type guy.

“A Mark Fraser-type guy”? Really? Didn’t MacTavish learn from his mistake? Maybe, since Fraser never was signed. It could be that Keith Aulie is that “Mark Fraser-type guy,” but nobody really expects Aulie to play too many games for the Oilers.

Disaster averted.

5. Craig MacTavish made some fairly bold moves.

Last off-season, MacTavish famously said (via CTV News Edmonton),

I’m an impatient guy and I bring that impatience to this situation. I think we’re at the stage in terms of the cycle of our hockey club right now that we have to do some bold things…make no mistake, we’re going to do bold things and competitive things to get us to a level where we’re not only highly competitive but we’re challenging to a win Stanley Cup.

MacTavish kept saying that word “bold.” Maybe the word means something different in his dictionary because the Oilers entered the 2013-14 season without making a bold move–unless firing former head coach Ralph Kreuger via Skype counts. But this off-season, MacTavish has made some moves that were somewhat bold. He traded the much-maligned Sam Gagner to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Teddy Purcell. He acquired the negotiating rights to Nikita Nikitin and eventually signed the defenseman. And he signed Corsi darlings Benoit Pouliot and Mark Fayne as UFAs. Adding actual NHL players and subtracting guys like Mark Fraser and Ryan Jones is a good thing.

Disaster averted.

6. Jeff Petry wasn’t traded.

At the end of June there were reports that Petry was available in a trade. On June 30, Hockey Night in Canada‘s Elliotte Friedman tweeted, “Hearing EDM D Jeff Petry’s name out there in trade talks…he has arbitration rights and is one year from UFA. Interesting player.” Ryan Rishaug of TSN also commented on a possible Petry trade (via Cult of Hockey): “I still believe there is a very good chance Jeff Petry gets traded.”

But on July 7 Petry signed a 1-year contract worth worth $3.075 million. Admittedly, the Petry signing isn’t 100 percent good news. There’s the assumption that he’ll still be traded, perhaps for a centre, since he’s signed for only one year. But as of yet the expected bad trade of Petry has not occurred.

Disaster averted…so far.

The Moral of the Story

The moral of the story is that Craig MacTavish is not Steve Tambellini. Disaster after disaster hit the Oilers during the Tambellini era. Not so during the time that MacTavish has been the GM. Yes, there have been a few missteps (e.g., the acquisition of Mark Fraser). And, yes, MacTavish was lucky that David Clarkson chose to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs and not the Oilers. But MacTavish has shown that he can make a solid trade (e.g., the David Perron and Ben Scrivens trades), and he has made some promising free agent signings this summer.

I’m not trying to be a Craig MacTavish apologist, but I do think he’s earned some trust–especially during this off-season. This should be remembered when Oiler fans speculate about what will happen to Petry and what the Oilers will do about their lack of centre depth. From what we’ve seen recently from MacTavish, Oiler fans should be a little less worried.