The Fifth Liners

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 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...

Edmonton Oilers have relived General Manager Steve Tambellini of his duties and he has now been replaced by Craig MacTavish. The Oilers have been a five game losing streak of late and despite having the talents of three 1st overall picks in Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall, they have now fallen to 12th place in the Western Conference and now look unlikely to feature in the playoffs. MacTavish- a former player of the Oilers from 1985-1994 has also previously coached them previously from 2000-2009 and has since been holding the post of Vice President of Hockey Operations. The decision to replace Tambellini has been viewed by many as ill timed, but with their current run of form, change seemed desperately needed and MacTavish will have a mighty task in bringing back hockey glory to Rexall place! To read the full story- go to  NHL.com