Tambellini has his say… and, YES, Oilers pick first!!!
14 years ago
After taking two days to contemplate Sheldon Souray’s public trade request and what can only be characterized as a scathing indictment of Edmonton Oilers management, GM Steve Tambellini had his say this afternoon.
Unavailable to media after Souray’s inflammatory comments ran on Sportsnet.ca, Tambellini issued a statement via a news release at 4 p.m., saying very little and pre-empting his own availability with local media that’s scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Rexall Place.
As per the release:
“Sheldon’s comments are unfortunate and counterproductive, but we are going to manage through this in a responsible and professional manner."We understand Sheldon has had a tough year and he has a desire to play elsewhere. His additional comments regarding being ‘forced to play’ when injured are far more serious and my stance is that they are demonstrably untrue.”
Atta boy, Steve. You tell him.
THAT’S IT?
Given Souray’s accusation the Oilers made him return from a shoulder injury before he was ready to play to start the 2007-08 season with a freshly inked $27-million contract in his hip pocket, you’d think that Tambellini might have fired back.
Considering Souray essentially called Tambellini a lousy communicator who never even bothered to talk to him while he was recovering from a broken hand this season, you’d think Tambellini might have served up something today that would disprove that. But no.
Perhaps a page from coach Pat Quinn, who offered this about Souray in his meeting with media this morning.
"It’s been no secret here," Quinn said of Souray’s discontent and desire to be traded. "He’s made it clear for a long time.
"I’m one of those guys that if you don’t want to play here, don’t screw around. Get the hell out."
Added Quinn: "If you have one guy sitting over there who doesn’t bloody well want to be here, how do you build trust? How do you have a team? You don’t. Sheldon knows how I feel about that sort of thing."
UPDATE: OILERS PICK FIRST!!!!
As per Oilers news release:
The Oilers have been awarded the first overall selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, being held in Los Angeles June 25-26, 2010.
The Oilers received the right to pick first overall when they won the NHL’s Draft Lottery, held Tuesday night in New York City.
“This is a significant moment for the organization and its an important part of the process moving forward. We have the first overall pick in this year’s draft,” Tambellini said. “This is a very exciting time for our organization and our fans. Securing the first overall draft selection tonight provides a tremendous opportunity for the Oilers."
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft will mark the first time in franchise history the Oilers will select first overall.
The Draft Lottery is a weighted lottery system to determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the NHL Entry Draft. It gives the teams that finish with the fewest points during the regular season the greatest chance of winning the Draft Lottery.
Only the 14 teams that do not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or clubs that acquired those clubs’ first-round draft picks, participate in the drawing.
Fourteen balls, numbered 1 to 14, are placed in a lottery machine. The machine expels four balls, forming a series of numbers. The four-digit series resulting from the expulsion of the balls is matched against a probability chart that divides the possible combinations among the 14 participating clubs. The Lottery was incorporated in 1995 by the NHL.
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