Back in the old days when we were Sure that Lowe was running this club I liked to say that he had a motto "excuses in lieu of success" so today's news is right up his alley given that the Oilers were off to such a great start with Khabby leading the way and we know they would have been right in the hunt for a playoff spot had he not went down.

Here it comes again... blame management. I'm guessing Kevin Lowe had his hand in this somewhere too. Give me a break.

Tambellini did a stellar job in unloading the garbage from this team during the summer. I back him 100%. Yes I agree that he didn't fill the 3rd line center hole, or a competent D-man, but how is the team's unwillingness to try his fault? Oilers fans are ridiculous.

There's no point in sending any of the kids down now. None whatsoever.

Can't see how this is a bad thing. Bulin has been up and down, might as well look to the future.

Obviously it isn't going to happen, just making sure the facts are straight. Hall was going to be an Oiler the full year exactly .32 seconds after the lottery ball came up Edmonton. You don't build a marketing campaign around a guy all summer to return him to juniors.

@ baggedmilk:

Tambellini signed him. Some of us suggested it was a bad risk given his age, injury history, the goaltending market, the length of the contract, and the dollars involved.

Also, "stellar"? Really?

Off topic: did any one else just smile when they saw Kipper 'bulin' that Wolski shot from the corner. Eased the pain a bit...

No doubt, funny that guys are now asking about it after going balistic at the suggestion 2 months ago.

I'm not really sure why so many people are so impressed with the ability to use the waiver wire/buy-outs.

Yeah the Khabibulin signing was junk, but so what? I'll take 4 years of him as a better signing than 15 years of Kovalchuk, 12 years of Luongo, and 10 years of Lecavalier.

And yes his summer was stellar, he got rid of 3/4 of the problemed vets all the while taking back nothing. Vandermeer on a 1-year deal, ooooohhhh. Yeah he's crap, but he's gone next year and it's not like the fans are signing his pay cheque.

If a team is focused on rebuilding, at some point they have to play the players within the organization. That's what the Oilers are doing, and it's evident that they're not good enough. Rushing out to make a deal because they're playing ridiculous isn't going to do much. Who wants anything the Oilers are willing to part with anyway? You people act like being a GM is a cake walk.

Two words... Staios Trade.

Ya that was a nice trade, but unless that 3rd rounder pans out it's not like we are actually better for it.

Besides, if the whole credit comes from "getting rid of them", he could have been waived as well.

Ya the whole O'Sullivan for Vandemeer thing was a waste, could have just bought out his contract and saved money and hassle. Still stuck with a crap defenseman and what was Tambo thinking signing Strudwick, he could have found someone better through free agency. Tambo made moves the majority of which have been nothing more than a huge pile of steaming crap.

@ baggedmilk:

So buying out one guy, trading another (who he acquired to begin with) for an overpaid plug and losing one guy on the waiver wire is a "stellar" summer? C'mon.

All Tambellini did was clear out some forwards so the rookies could step in. That's all. We can discuss leaving obvious holes as being part of the rebuilding plan, but Tambellini didn't do anything especially brilliant, and despite no expectation that he ice a winning team he couldn't keep himself from retaining Strudwick, starting the year with three goaltenders, and sticking Paajarvi in the league a year too early.

He didn't have a bad summer, by the unexacting standards of a rebuilding team. But it sure wasn't stellar, and his previous work is a big part of the reason this team is where it is today.

Number one centre

Now that the season is tanked

Sean Couturier

Unless we wanted them to take thier game to the next level :)

I agree with you except for the MPS part. I think he has done good. Just as good as Hall. Eberle to me has been amazing especially compared to the other knobs on the team.

Top Dman needed

Thank you, Khabibulin's groin!

Adam Larsson, please

Come on Willis you know better than to think it works as smoothly as calling up vets and asking them to join the Oilers to fill holes on a losing team that's in Edmonton to boot.

Yeah Vandermeer is overpaid and a glorified pylon but he's a transitional player, as is Strudwick. Who's to say that a year from now Plante/Petry won't be ready to step up and fill in on D. Having them signed for 1-year each, on a year when anyone who's paying attention knew that it was going to be a struggle is hardly a bad thing. I find it hard to believe that anyone expected those two to be as bad as they have been, but hindsight is always 20/20.

And you're right, he cleared room for the kids which needed to be done. And how is Paajarvi so unready for the NHL? His 6-points is only 1 behind Hall, 2 behind Penner, and he's ahead of Cogliano and Brule as well. The difference in bringing him over at 20 rather than 19 is marginal at best, he's learning the North American game and it would have been the exact same whether it was this year or next.

Sorry HOFFF, but I'm not sure if your :)is hinting some sarcasm or not.

If not, wouldn't sending them down to take their game to the next level (which would be an NHL level) be somewhat counterproductive since for the most part they are at an NHL level.

Perhaps questioning if they are at an NHL level is debatable, but last I checked Eberle is playing at a similar level to Hemmer stat wise, and I hear Ales is a pretty decent player.

@ baggedmilk:

I'm not saying much really - heck, I'm still on board with a rebuild.

But I'm of the opinion that there's nothing special about dumping a few underperformers and then washing one's hands of all the other problems on the team.

I'm also of the opinion that when a team needs to rebuild, the people who guided the team to the cellar shouldn't be the ones charged with guiding it out.

"I'm also of the opinion that when a team needs to rebuild, the people who guided the team to the cellar shouldn't be the ones charged with guiding it out."

That's a 'Confucius say" moment right there. Well put JW.

Good point, although I wouldn't include Brule and Cogs in that group... They are at least showing some effort and attempt to play out of their comfort zones, being physical, etc.

In regards to management - I'm willing to give Tambo a pass (asides from the Khabby signing) as this team still has K-Lowe's signature all over it with bad contracts like Horcoff and Penner.

Wow, so how long does he get a pass for and how exactly would the team be better off with the extra 3-4 million in cap space from "fair" deals for Horc and Penner (which is debatable to begin with)

I wasn't talking about you specifically, I'm just shocked by some "fans" who know everything from their arm chairs. I personally think he did a good job getting things done this summer that needed to be done. That being said, there's always room for improvement.

I agree that those that brought the Oilers to where they are may not be the right people to get them out, yet, this is the first time I've seen such a different philosophy from management. Waiting to see what happens with what we've got is infinitely better than trying appease fans by chasing whales every summer.

I'm willing to give Tambellini the benefit of the doubt, and see what he can do with this rebuild. It's going to take more than 20/40/60 games for me to form an opinion on the job he's done.

@ D-Man:

Then again, Steve Tambellini expected the 2009-10 Oilers to contend for a playoff spot.

You mean the same way Brian Burke has expected the Leafs to push for the playoffs this year and last? Steve Tambellini isn't the only one guilty of expecting more from the team in front of him. Unlike Toronto and Calgary, at least Edmonton isn't a cap team this year.

@ baggedmilk:

I think most Oiler fans are optimistic that Steve Tambellini can get the team out of its current mess. I generally tone down my thoughts on Tambellini, because I don't like to poke holes in peoples' optimism.

The only reason I really objected to your statement was your description of his summer as stellar. I didn't see it that way.

Saying the Tambo's summer was stellar is inaccurate - but you do need to cut him some slack.. You forget that he tried to sign Malholtra - Malholtra respectfully declined the offer to play for a winner... And you can't use Paajarvi as an argument - he only has 16 games under his belt (and as I recall he drew two penalties last night with his speed)...

In my eyes, I'd give Tambo a B- for his summer.. He does get an F for Khabby, and I don't believe any of us would have thought Strudwick would have played this month having Vandermeer come in as a #5 or 6# defensemen...

Over his first 11 games, NK was .903 SP, which isn't great, but considering the team in front of him, not bad.

Over his last 4 games, he's .734 SP.

Over the same time (the NJ game he started and the CHI and CAR games where he relieved NK), DD has a SP of .916.

You'd think that if NK's .734 SP over the past four was largely due to bad play in front of him, then DD's SP would be horrible as well. Not the case.

I'd submit that NK's been hurt for a while.

I mostly happy with the forwards Tambo's kept but not the defense. Its too bad that Souray's attitude has kept him out of the team because I do believe he has a lot to offer young D-men. Strudwick on the other hand I don't think does. I don't think he ever even established himself as a NHL Defender until he came to the under performing oiler teams of the last few years. I just think there were better options available for Tambo to go after to create that vet def core to teach the young guns.

Okay maybe stellar wasn't the best word, although I do think he did a good job.

Getting rid of complete useless and terrible hockey players are replacing them with more of the same doesn't really fit the description of a stellar summer.

To me - Tambo gets a pass for the next two/three years... He can't do anything about Horc, but he'll have to decide whether he wants to keep Penner/Hemsky/both/neither... He'll need to decide with the 'Magnificent Bastard' on who to add through the draft... He'll have to decide whether to keep the likes of Brule or Cogs who's contracts are up soon as well... He'll also need to decide if he uses the roster space he could get at the end of this season with Vandermeer and Strudwick, whether he keeps it open for Petry/Plante/etc or finds some affordable FA's... I think you get the point...

When the organization decided going into this year that they'd rebuild - in my eyes, they gave Tambo two/three years to build this team into a potential playoff contender... The question is how long are we willing to wait??

Getting rid of completely useless and terrible hockey players are replacing them with more of the same doesn't really fit the description of a stellar summer.

So Tambellini resigned JFJ, JDD and Strudwick because he couldn't do any better than that? If that's the case, we'd better get comfortable with the quality of those players because that's all he's going to be able to sign.

Don't you think resigning Comrie would have been better than JFJ? and although playing the heavy with Souray by sending him down to Hershey definitely sends a message, it's starting to look more and more like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Edmonton could certainly use a good veteran defenseman of Souray's calibre right about now.

I think you could argue this point, for Paajarvi in particular. He's not getting a lot of special teams minutes, so if you have future aspirations for him to play a bunch on the PP and PK I think there's some kind of argument for sending him down to the AHL, provided you're going to give him #1 PP and #1 PK time down there, and provided he's not going to get much of an opportunity up here.

It would also have the additional benefit of a chance to look at Omark (or whoever else) in the meantime, should you so desire.

The Oilers have, by far, the worst goalie management of any team in hockey the past few years. The strategy every season seems to be "Let's play the veteran non-stop until he wears out, then keep playing him until something breaks." Give 15 of the first 17 starts for a 37 year old with a lengthy injury history, what could possibly go wrong?

At least it's good that the goalie who should have won the starting job in training camp is getting a shot to play some games and the kid that won the back-up roll will finally get a few starts.

We're talking about the past 2-3 years, not the next 2-3 years.

Forgot about Hall not being able to be moved. Like our discussion last week, I don't see sending them down for a while as punishment. More of a break from the crap they are being exposed to on a daily basis right now. Going to OKC for 10-15 games and getting back into a winning frame of mind and atmosphere can't be all that bad.

I certainly don't blame them at all for what ails the team.

yah exactly. Is anyone really upset by this? Khabi and his 4+ GAA is injured... big deal. He wasn't the big problem here, imho (the defense left him out to dry many times), but he wasn't exactly keeping us in games when the scores are 5-0, 8-2, 6-2, etc..

This will get Doobie some games, which he could use for experience anyways.

And they should be low pressure games too, because a 4+ GAA and sub 0.900 sv% aren't exactly a tough act to follow.

Their were lots of bottom 6 centers in the discount bin these past 2 summers, the fact that he made an offer to one of them doesn't excuse him from not going after option 2/3/4/5 ect.

If the goal was to get a lotto pick this year, then fine. But it doesn't exactly take alot of talent to make a team bad.

@ speeds:

I see what you're getting at there, but my preference would be for the Oilers to start using a fourth forward on their PP, and Lord knows that the PK personnel haven't put forward much of a case to keep those minutes.

They've burnt a year on the contract now, and since winning isn't happening they may as well find those minutes at the NHL level.

Finally. Someone on this site once again questions the validity of having Tambellini managing the rebuild. At this point the only aspect he's clearly established mastery at is the "getting high draft picks" part. The other aspects (player development, assessment, procurement) don't look so hot. I just don't see how he's the guy to do this.

As an aside, I have a strange idea that next season will see the Oilers once again paying Souray to pay in the AHL with the additional bonus of "loaning" Khabibulin to the KHL or a alternative European league a la Christobal Huet. Nothing like have nearly $8.5 million in salary playing in other leagues. Just a hunch.

smiliegirl15 wrote:

although playing the heavy with Souray by sending him down to Hershey definitely sends a message, it's starting to look more and more like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Edmonton could certainly use a good veteran defenseman of Souray's calibre right about now.

I'm not picking on SG15 in particular, but why are so many people advocating for Souray to be back on this team? Philosophical differences aside, having Souray play here right now makes no sense. What's the argument? That he could help the Oilers win games? Really? Are you kidding? Have you seen the rest of the team? Ovechkin couldn't help this year's Oilers win games.

If Souray was the difference between finishing 30th and finishing 25th (and I don't believe that for a second), that still leaves me baffled as to how people think having him here would be a good thing.

He cant even be sent to Windsor. He's ours.

It's funny we have these complaints about having little leadership on the defensive roster.

Think what a guy like Visnovsky could do to stabilize things... Sure, Whitney is a pretty good player, but we needed a defensive defensemen to add to our group of puck movers at that time.

But yet, everyone was so opposed to the rumors of a Gilbert trade last year at the deadline.

Still regretting that. Please, Tom. Do something in the next three years that leads us to believe that the Viz trade and Gilbert non-trade wasn't Tambellini's worst mistake as G.M.

Great. Just Great. Weren't we at least fighting for a playoff spot at this point last year? Good grief. Well, DD this is your chance to shine...

So, is it too early to start the "Adam vs Sean" debate? It really doesn't have the ring of "Taylor vs Tyler"...

Well Brule and Cogs really need to do something here because they play hard and nothing is happening. If things stay this way I don't think they will be getting new contracts. As for signing back Penner and Horcoff, maybe horcoff at a discount from his current pay but not Penner. A big that doesn't hit or play really physical might as well be another little guy. We need someone that has size plays physical, can hit, and still puts up the offense. That and for the last while he just looks like he doesn't even want to be playing out there.

I wouldn't be surprise if Lowe was still running to show.