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Oilers could make “dubious” tanking history

Oilers Coaching Shake Up Hockey

Edmonton Oilers Ggneral manager Steve Tambellini, left, and new head coach Tom Renney look on during a hockey news conference in Edmonton, Alberta on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

AP

The biggest story from the St. Louis Blues’ 1-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers was the staggering run being produced by the Blues’ netminders, particularly Jaroslav Halak. Still, for every aggressor there’s a victim and the Oilers fit that bill with a weak 15-shot effort last night.

Low moments like those have become disturbingly common for Edmonton lately, as the Oilers have gone 4-15-1 since December began. Such rough times make Damien Cox wonder if the Oilers could make some rather “dubious” history by following the 1989-91 Quebec Nordiques in drawing the No.1 overall pick in three consecutive drafts.*

If that happens, Cox wonders if the Oilers’ front office will be around long enough to enjoy the benefits of gaining such high-end draft picks.

Surely Edmonton hockey fans have suffered enough. At some point, the pain has to translate into meaningful gain, and that was supposed to be this year.

source: Getty Images You have to wonder if Tom Renney is going to be able to be around when the promise turns into reality. Some would argue the same applies to GM Steve Tambellini ... "

(Cox goes on to say that Tambellini would be wise to trade down for one of the better defensive prospects, but that’s more of a matter for future discussions.)

The Nordiques example is interesting for the sheer rarity of the situation, but deep down, the Oilers aren’t comparing themselves to many franchises beyond the recent ones who rebuilt their teams through home run drafts. If you look at those teams based on the collection of high picks rather than top ones alone, the situation doesn’t look great for Edmonton’s top brass.


  • The Pittsburgh Penguins changed general managers and head coaches as they went from horrible to a gold standard franchise.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks did the same, although few would deny that GM Dale Tallon saw the team through most of their maturation process.
  • The Washington Capitals fired a couple head coaches, but GM George McPhee (second picture) is still in power. It’s pretty hard to really count “GMGM” as an example since he’s the Lindy Ruff of NHL general managers; he’s been running the team since 1997.

If the goal really is to follow the blueprint of those franchises, then someone else is likely to be wearing the suits when things come together for the likes of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and so on.

* - In case you were wondering, the Nordiques’ top picks were: Mats Sundin (1989), Owen Nolan ('90) and Eric Lindros ('91).