Monday Mailbag – April 7th

Everyone quiet down, it’s time to learn! This week, I’ve taken another 5 of your questions and sent them off to the Nation writers to give their input. As always, if you have a question email me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or hit me up on Twitter and I’ll add it to the list. Make sure you include your Twitter account (if you’ve got one) for your 8 minutes of Internet glory! Enjoy.

I would keep Eakins, but as Jason has suggested the club has to give him a veteran coach to help him. There’s too much to fix! And any coach would need more strength up the middle, which MacT is certainly aware of after this season. Eakins has a learning curve, and the record may well have been better under Ralph this year, but I think staying the course now is better than changing in mid-stream. Again.

The treadmill of coaches has to stop. As a player you can’t keep trying to ingest the new systems of each coach. I still think the Oilers should have brought in a more experienced coach like Ruff. Not because I think that Eakins can’t coach but because of the inexperience throughout the whole organization, players and general manager included. Everyone is learning on the job.

I expect that the Oilers retain Eakins, but that they make some changes to his staff to better support him. I don’t think he’d get another season with a different team, but given the amount of turnover in the head coaching position it’s awfully hard to make yet another move now. I’d say that’s probably a good way to go; I’d personally give him until the early part of next season to turn things around.

I’d keep him. This team needs to stop blaming the coach for all the losing, because last time I checked the players play the game. Eakins has made some mistakes, and his overreaction to being sprayed with water was unnecessary, but the only way you fire him is if one of the best coaches becomes available, and I don’t see guys like Babcock, Quenneville or Hitchcock getting canned this summer.

Eakins will stay. How it “looks” doesn’t matter. What Eakins needs is the ability to assess every one of his assistants and pick his own staff for next season.

I would keep him. He’s definitely made some mistakes, but I believe this group needs to continue with the same message. They aren’t good enough because they need to fill some gaping holes and also because the players haven’t been held that accountable.  It’s always the coaches fault. It’s time they have a consistent message and if need be, move some guys that aren’t committed to the message. Players for the first time in forever will come to camp knowing what is expected.

The Oilers cannot fire another Coach anytime soon. There needs to be stability and players need to be able to buy in to a system of play over a couple of seasons. Having to constantly readjust to a new Coach is detrimental in the long run. Plus Eakins is a good Coach imo. They should let him hire his own assistants over the summer to legitimize his regime.

It makes sense to me! I’d give Markov a long term deal and have him play with Petry, allowing Marincin-Schultz and Ference-Belov/Klefbom to find their way. Hell, I’d add Hainsey too!

Markov 5 years ago yes, Markov today…no.

Something has to happen, and if there isn’t a better fit on the trade market I’d be all over overpaying Markov on a short-term deal. He’s not an ideal fit for the group, but he’s the closest thing to an impact defenceman available this summer.

Overpaying for a 36 year old… That has worked well in the past for the Oilers, but ultimately it won’t matter because he won’t sign here. He will sign with a team he feels is close to winning.

No.

Turns 36 next season. I don’t see a guy at his age signing with a team stuck in a rebuild, unless the money and term is out of this world, which would be silly for the Oil.

Anything to overhaul the top 4 would be a welcome play. Welcome indeed.

I think the Oilers made the pick. Trading down doesn’t offer enough value for a team to give up their chosen player, hasn’t for years. I think they’ll take Ekblad or Draisaitl.

You are basically asking me to forecast the weather for next march.

I don’t see the benefit in trading down.

I only trade that pick for a proven player otherwise I use it. Unless someone below them wins the lottery, Draisatl and Ekblad will likely be available at #2 or #3. They need both, so I’m sure they take one of them.

If they can get Leon Draisaitl with their pick, they’ll take him. Oilers don’t need more picks. they need more real NHL players.

If Ekblad is gone, I think they will take Draisaitl. If they trade the pick, it should be for an established player or two that will make this team better immediately, not to get more picks.

I have come away from the last 3 drafts shaking my head. Beyond picking first overall I don’t think the Oil have shown much of anything in the past few years. Fortunately I have faith in MacT and that will sustain me until July.

I don’t know. I do believe blaming Kevin Lowe has become a major sport in Edmonton. For me, I trust Craig MacTavish is a man of his convictions and wouldn’t accept a job that involved him being the figurehead but not the decision maker.

Good question. I assume since he is the top he is ultimately responsible for the success of the team.

Nobody outside the organization knows with any degree of certainty what the exact specifics of Lowe’s role are. My read is that he’s in more of a ‘senior advisor’ job than anything else, and that MacTavish is largely independent in setting the direction of the team, but that’s just my best guess.

He is the puppet master. I keed I keed. MacTavish tells him what his plans are and at this stage I’m sure he simply says, ‘Go ahead.” He also is in charge of overseeing parts of the operations side of things for the Oilers, Oil Kings and Barons.

As the title suggests, Lowe oversees all aspects of hockey-ops. While GM Craig MacTavish is in charge of day-to-day operations, the Oilers take a group approach in terms of discussing the Entry Draft, free agency and trades. Lowe and MacTavish often travel together to view potential trade targets and free agents as well as to assess players who are already part of the organization. As to who gets the final call, we’re told it’s MacTavish, but I don’t see any major decision being made without the GM at least bouncing it off the POHO first, which is common.

No Clue

As far as I can tell the President of Hockey Operations talks to Katz on a solid gold mobile phone and assures him despite what he reads in the papers and sees on the tee vee the Oilers are doing just fine and dandy and the fans are pumped. Think of him as the Iraqi information minister but with 6 Stanley Cup rings.

The Oilers have a very good coach in the AHL. I don’t know what their plans for him are, but one doubts other NHL teams have overlooked the job he’s done. I’m astounded at how well Martin Marincin has adapted to the NHL. Now, you have to credit the player and his skills are obvious, but there’s got to be some good coaching in there, too.

It seems to me the more often an organization loses people to other ones the better the job you are doing of developing your coaches and managers.

Billy Moores has spent a ton of time in Oklahoma this year, not only watching the players but also helping to mentor those coaches. I know it’s appreciated; he’s really respected by everybody I talked to down in OKC. The players in OKC get a lot of feedback from the organization, and we know too from the comments of players like Darnell Nurse that the guys in junior have a lot of back-and-forth with the organization. Whatever has happened in the past, it feels like the team has a pretty good system in place currently in these positions.

They have had the same coaching staff in the AHL for the past three years, so I guess they are developing them. As for management I haven’t seen any developing. They brought back Howson and gave MacTavish a shot at GM. If by developing you mean go elsewhere and then come back, then yes they have. In hindsight that might be the best way to do it.

Enough? If you consider winning as development, I’d suggest Derek Laxdal and Randy Hansch are doing just fine with the Oil Kings. As for OKC, Todd Nelson’s lot in life is directly affected by what players the Oilers provide him and what his roster looks like, which is tied directly to Edmonton’s needs — injuries etc. He’s done a very good job this season. At both levels, adding hockey-ops positions to ensure communication with the AHL farm and junior clubs where draft picks are playing has been a priority over the past five years. It’s come a long way since the Oilers chose not to operate an AHL affiliate and had prospects scattered all over the place.

In recent years I don’t think they have done a good job developing their young players. I’m a big believer in players not being rushed. Trying to hurry up and turn this thing around, too many have been put in positions they shouldn’t be in. I hope they don’t do the same with Nurse.

I think the Oilers need to start letting top player prospects develop in the AHL for longer than a cup of coffee. Their penchant for injuries and loss of all confidence for weeks on end tells me longer stretches of playing against non monsters in the NHL should be on the to do list.