The Fifth Liners

So once more, the Edmonton Oilers are looking towards a new man to lead them back towards the promised land. That man comes in the shape of former San Jose coach, Todd McLellan . After recently being given the chop in California after a seven year stint, this guy has been given the tough challenge of actually getting something out of a beleaguered Edmonton side! When former boss, Dallas Eakins was given the boot back in December, the damage had already been done to their season as Edmonton as usual limped home dead last in the Western conference to claim another wooden spoon. But what does McLellan offer that other coaches will not? Well for one he brings a consistent play off run with him! In his seven seasons in charge he led San Jose to over six playoff appearances (including two conference finals). His record of  311-163 from a possible 434 regular season games is a fine record to take across to Alberta. Eakins was an ambitious experiment that sadly went array. His youthfu...

The Edmonton Oilers hold a proud hockey history and fans in this part of Alberta still love their team, but this year has been nothing short of a horror show! All looked promising at the end of last saw season when former GM Steve Tambellini was given the the chop and was succeeded by head coach Craig Mactavish, who in turn appointed young Toronto Marlies coach Dallas Eakins as the new coach of the Oilers. A new era seemed to be born and many experts expected bug things. Tragically we are STILL waiting for the results to come and even with no less than three 1st overall picks, their play just isn't coming together. So far Edmonton are 14th and last in the Western Conference, they have only 11 wins and a whopping 18 loss! Depressingly this over 17 goals more than the Nashville Predators but they have three more wins. But the real question here is what is cause of this continuing slide? The answer is not an easy one, continuing injuries haven't helped their cause, in particul...

The Edmonton Oilers have been dealt another blow before the new hockey season starts as it has been announced that centre Sam Gagner will be out indefinitely with a broken jaw! Already short of one center due to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins being out for at least the next month as he recovers from a broken shoulder! It is rumoured that Taylor Hall will temporarily replace Nugent Hopkins at center, but there is no word from the Oilers management as to who will fill Gagner shoes this season! It will be interesting to see how Craig MacTavish and Dallas Eakins deal with this one! 

The other day I was presented with a very interesting question from Mike regarding the coaching changes in the NHL, “With all the coaching changes going on the league right now; instead of hiring and firing the same group of coaches, is it time to bring in some new blood?”   The question here is an interesting one and with the latest groups of hiring and firing it does make us think whether newer and younger talents are required? Let’s analyse this in more detail, Alain Vigneault has recently been fired by the Vancouver Canucks , but as of a couple of days go it appears that he has now taken the vacant post at the New York Rangers while John Tortorella was fired the same post and now seems odds on favourite to take charge at the Rogers Arena! Why didn’t they just swap jobs in the first instance? Both coaches are proven winners and they both possess fairly excellent records, but I can tell you for a fact that neither is really the right choice for those clubs and ...

The Edmonton Oilers yesterday introduced Toronto Marlies coach Dallas Eakins as the new Head Coach of their franchise. Previously linked with the same position at the New York Rangers , Eakins was previous a journeyman pro in the NHL playing 120 games for over 7 different teams, but as a coach he brings across an impressive record to Rexall Place with a 145 wins and he guided the Marlies to a Calder Cup final appearance in 2012. Eakins was also assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2006 to 2009 before taking on his Head Coach role at the Marlies full time. On his appointment new GM Craig Mactavish said “I'm extremely confident in this man's ability to lead our hockey club," After a disappointing 12 th place finish in the Western Conference last year despite the talents of three consecutive 1 st overall picks with Nail Yakupov , Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins , the Oilers as a result failed to make the playoffs for a sixth year running! C...

With John Tortorella on the unemployment list, the rumour mill is currently churning out the various names to replace him as Head Coach of the New York Rangers, but as of yesterday according to NHL.Com , two very unlikely candidates have been forwarded in the form of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier , who according to various New York sources have expressed an interest in the role! Both are undisputed legends of the playing game, both have donned the blue Ranger shirts at different stages of their career, but so far only 'The Great One' has ventured into management with a brief stint in charge of the Phoenix Coyote's in 2005. Messier is still a true favourite of the Broadway Blue faithful and currently serves as Special Adviser to Rangers GM Glen Sather! So could the Rangers have an icon standing on the bench anytime soon? There has been no comment from Glen Sather on this matter yet but it has been confirmed that Dallas Eakins , who is coach of Minor League Toronto Ma...