HELL BENT FOR LEATHER
By Lowetide
10 years ago
Craig MacTavish is way more active in the GM role than his predecessor Steve Tambellini. It might be a matter of being at different points during the rebuild, or maybe it’s a new coach or the goalie situation, but Craig MacTavish is hell bent for leather.
STEVE TAMBELLINI OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER 2008
In the fall of 2008 I wrote the following about Steve Tambellini:
- One of the things that marked Kevin Lowe’s tenure as a GM was a galling tendency to wait forever after the start of the season to address an obvious need. So, with the entire human population (well, the ones who pay attention) and the Lords of Math already aware that the 3line needs a RH center, I think it’s fair to say that Tambellini’s first test will be to show us he’s smarter than his boss and pull the trigger on a deal right now.
Well, that was November 2008, and the first trade of the Tambellini era waited until January of 2009. Goalie Mathieu Garonfell out of favor and was dealt for winger Ryan Stone, minor-league goalie Dany Sabourin and a fourth-round pick that ended up being Tobias Rieder. That’s a good return, but really didn’t address need for the organization.
The next time Tambellini made a deal it was the deadline and he didn’t get Justin Williams but did acquire Patrick O’Sullivan. And so it began.
CRAIG MACTAVISH OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER 2013
Since October 1, MacT has done the following:
- Traded Mike Brown to San Jose. This was made possible by the emergence of waiver acquisition Luke Gazdic.
- Traded Ladislav Smid and Olivier Roy to Calgary for Laurent Brossoit and Roman Horak.
- Signed Ilya Bryzgalov.
- Traded Jason LaBarbera to Chicago. Made a mistake, fixed it.
And there are rumors this evening (via HNIC) that Linus Omark is the next man out of town (town being OKC).
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Addressing need. Craig MacTavish needed a goalie solution and found one. It’s been years since the Oilers had a GM who moved a finger before Christmas to help the roster. Now, the season is lost so there isn’t the same urgency, but it’s far more interesting to follow this version of the Oilers than it was in the last decade. MacTavish hasn’t been on the job long, but is aggressively trying to improve the situation in Edmonton.
Defensemen coming in? Center? Big winger? He’s working on it. And that’s progress.
(Brossoit photo by Rob Ferguson, all rights reserved).
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