Tom Renney Will Not Be Back!

The Edmonton Oilers announced that Tom Renney will not be back as the head coach for the 2012-13 season.

While its not surprising, they should have told him earlier as it has been over a month since the Oilers season ended.

Like I've said before, I'd fully expect OKC Barons head coach Todd Nelson to be on the short list when they have it ready. I'd strongly consider hiring him. He's done well so far with the club in his two years. He might even coach this team to a Calder Cup championship.

I'm interested to see how this plays out over the summer.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Tom Renney Is Very Unhappy With Ales Hemsky?

No doubt in my mind the Oilers coaching staff has had enough of Ales "Too Soft" Hemsky. Today's comments by Tom Renney rings out loud and clear.

With only 11 seconds left to play in the game, Ales Hemsky couldn't beat out the icing call setting up a faceoff in the Oilers end. In other words, he eased up.

"I've gotta play him. Manpower situation being what it is, his skill level, his ability to turn a game around.", says Renney. "I'll keep playing him till someone tells me not to, or I get to the point where we need to change the scenery. I'm not to that point yet."
Yet...

-Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

**Quotes from Marc Spector**

OKC Barons Coach Todd Nelson To Replace Oilers' Tom Renney?

It was announced tonight that Oklahoma City Barons head coach Todd Nelson will coach the western conference AHL all-star team at the upcoming all-star game. Congrats to him. He's having a fantastic season thus far.

The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic is to be held on Jan. 29-30 in Atlantic City, N.J.

As of right now the Barons are 1st overall in the AHL standings with a record of 22-8-1-3 (48 points). That's pretty damn good.

Then there's the parent club Do we dare talk about the Oilers record right now? Good grief what a bad season.

Here's my idea. For all that Nelson has done for OKC, you'd have to think he's one of the first on the list to replace a sinking Tom Renney. The Renney era is coming to a close and why not roll with Nelson at the helm?

His first season he helped the Barons make the playoffs. This year, he's helping this team be champions.

I say if and when Tom Renney is fired. I'd take a long serious look at hiring Todd Nelson. He's earned a look.

-Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

Katz Angry / Tom Renney Fired After 4-2 Loss To Wild / Krueger Takes Over

"I've had enough!", Oilers owner Daryl Katz said early this morning to a couple of local scribes. "Tom Renney is no longer the coach of the Edmonton Oilers. We thank him for his time and for what he has done, but we need to move on. Enough is enough."

Surprisingly Katz made the claim himself. He's generally quiet and isn't one to speak out often, but for what ever reason he decided to speak for himself this morning. The scribes said he was visably upset that it's almost spring and no playoffs yet again for his beloved club.

He also mentioned that Ralph Krueger will take over the team until further notice.

The Oilers will make an official announcement later on this morning.

Stay tuned for more developments...

-WRITTEN BY YAD SLOOF LIRPA-

Oilers Postgame: Game 61 @ Colorado

Scoring Summary:
1st: EDM Dustin Penner (14:17) PP; Assists: Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky
2nd: EDM Sam Gagner (7:08); Assists: Magnus Paajarvi, Ryan Jones
2nd: EDM Taylor Hall (15:49); Assists: Jordan Eberle, Tom Gilbert
2nd: COL Milan Hejduk (17:36); Assists: Matt Duchene, John-Michael Liles
3rd: EDM Jordan Eberle (11:08); Assists: Andrew Cogliano, Theo Peckham
3rd: EDM Kurtis Foster (12:55); Assists: Tom Gilbert, Taylor Hall

Resources
Boxscore
Oilers Time on Ice
Scoring Chances

Game Highlights

Taylor Hall, Tom Gilbert, Devan Dubnyk, Tom Renney

Paul Stastny

David Jones

-Written by Eric Rodgers-

Oilers Game 60 Postgame

Scoring summary:2nd: MIN Martin Havlat (9:23); Assists: Greg Zanon, Clayton Stoner
2nd: EDM Kurtis Foster (17:37); Assists: Linus Omark, Sam Gagner
3rd: MIN Kyle Brodziak (1:28); Assists: Nick Schultz, Pierre-Marc Bouchard
3rd: MIN Jared Spurgeon (6:33); Assists: Marek Zidlicky, Pierre-Marc Bouchard
3rd: MIN Pierre-Marc Bouchard (14:33); Assists: Cal Clutterbuck, John Madden

Resources:
Boxscore
Oilers Time on Ice

Game Highlights



Oilers postgame: Shawn Horcoff, Tom Gilbert, Kurtis Foster, Tom Renney



Minnesota: Jared Spurgeon



Minnesota: Coach Todd Richards



Minnesota: Kyle Brodziak



Minnesota: Pierre-Marc Bouchard



-Written by Eric Rodgers-

The Playoffs, Or Not The Playoffs, That Is The Question

The Last Cup Won By The Oilers

I had a good conversation with a couple of friends the other night on twitter (they disagreed with me) about whether or not the Oilers should make a run for the playoffs this year (not really our choice). This conversation was sparked by Tom Renney's words earlier on this week and it wasn't until the Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones egged it on even more, that we started to talk more about it.

Renney had this to say, "It won't surprise me when we make the playoffs. It won't. The biggest surprise of all might be if we don't."

He then went on to say, "Just because I know how deep the care is. I know how willing they are to be coached. How proud they are, quite honestly, to be here doing this in Edmonton. That's the hard part about losing. The masses don't get an appreciation for how badly our guys want to do well and win and be a playoff team. When they have those tough nights, and there's more to come, we all know that, it's tough."

So the coach believes this team can do it even if it will be tough to do. Well... I believe it too. I do.

Is it wrong for the Oilers players to want to make it to the real season we call the playoffs? Is it wrong that the players don't want to roll over and play dead, no matter if Tambellini is willing to acquire better talent to help them out or not? Is it wrong that the Oilers players don't see or want another high draft pick in the clubs future?

I don't think so. I think it's great that they want to win. I think it's great that they want to get a taste of the playoffs. I think it's great that the word loser isn't in their vocabularies.

I said it at the start of this year that the kids will want to win (can't find link). They didn't make the team to be losers. The returning players had enough of that the last few years and good for them to not want to be a loser ever again either. Finishing last might have been OK with some of the fans, but it shouldn't and won't be OK with the players. I can respect that. A lot.

Some might say that no matter how much the Oilers want to make the playoffs, they can't without another decent center and some better defenceman. Fair enough. But I will say this. If this club DOES make the playoffs (today they are only 8 points out of 8th place) with the current roster as is, -- I'm not stupid. Some trades need to and should happen anyways. Playoffs or not -- then they deserve a chance to prove us wrong. Even if they get swept in 4 games, they earned it and they deserve our praise and admiration.

So let's not cheer for the Oilers to bomb again.

Never again.

If I remember correctly, by the end of last season there wasn't very many people/fans other than myself and a select few that kept following the team to the bitter end. Not many people gave a crap about the Oilers until the 1st overall pick was granted to the Oilers. The fan support sucked and I don't want that to happen again either.

I'd rather have a mid round pick and see the Oilers get that taste of the playoffs rather than have that crappy taste in my mouth as we watch them sputter to another last place finish. Remember, Ales Hemsky was picked 13th overall and correct me if I am wrong, but isn't he the Oilers best player right now?

Bottom line, if the Oilers want to ever win the Stanley Cup in the future, then at some point they need playoff experience. Look at the Pens, Hawks and Caps. No team wins without experience. No team.

I can put my personal guarantee on one thing. The Oilers rookies will not give up. They will not lay down and die for the sake of the fans. They will not beaten down because a part time bandwagon fan (or a fat sports writer) thinks it's the best choice. I am a proud Oilers fan and I'll support this team not matter what. I would hope that you would do the same.

This is my Edmonton Oilers. Everyday of the week. Everyday of the year. 24/7.

GOILERS!!!

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

WOW! What A Day For The Fans Of The Oilers

Today -- which started out as boring and lame -- turned out to be really exciting for all the fans of Edmonton Oilers.

First it started out with a Bruins/Panthers trade which to me, means that the Oilers will be taking Taylor Hall. With acquiring Nathan Horton and parting ways with the #15 pick, any hope of getting that pick is out the window (that's what I was hoping for). Back to Hall. It's also quite clear now that the Bruins have picked up a good solid winger in Horton, they seem to be preparing for drafting a center. And that's not Taylor Hall. Maybe I am wrong here, but I get the feeling the Oilers will take Hall.

Then I'm told that Steve Tambellini is going to have a press conference at noon. I figured I'd look around to see what it's about and I came across an article by the Edmonton Journal that was saying basically that Tambo was just going to talk about heading to the draft today and what the Oilers have planned for the future. So like a moron I'm telling people it's no big deal. No huge news today.

BAM! Pat Quinn has stepped down as head coach of the Oilers and Tom Renney is now the coach of the Oilers. So much for no news.



My mind has been blown.

I really didn't mind Pat Quinn as coach and I figured he'd be back next season. Quinn just had some really bad things happen to this team this year and I didn't really blame him for the failure. I did however blame him for a few other things he did but I won't get into it again. Thanks for your great quotes Pat. I'm going to miss you.



Listening to Pat Quinn ( http://oilers.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer.htm?pid=98&iid=23047 ) talk about the situation he made it clear that he was not happy about not returning as coach next season. He went on to say that he was looking forward to coaching two 19 year olds that he has coached before. Who's that you ask? Well one guy is Jordan Eberle. The other? My money is on Taylor Hall. There is no other kid in the Oilers system that Quinn has coached before other than those two. So if it's NOT Hall, who is it?

The next big shocker for me was opening the mail today. Our friend Scott from OilFieldHockey.com sent me a puck from the OKC Barons name reveal. How cool is that?

Thanks Scott for this, it's going to be great to add to the collection. Is this the first Barons merchandise in Alberta? Maybe... but I doubt it.

Here is a audio link for the new Oil Change documentary preview if you still need something more to do.

http://oilers.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer.htm?pid=98&iid=23038

What a day...

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

If I was Owner / GM / Coach... #3

The Panic Mode Button has been pushed.  Thousands of Oiler fans are crying out for Tambellini to make some sort of a trade/move.  Anything right now would appease these fans.  Well... almost anything.

IF I WAS OWNER I WOULD: If I was Katz, I'd suck it up and send Nilsson down to the minors.  The guy stinks and needs to be shown the door.  I'd probably do the same to Moreau as well.  He sure isn't helping the team either. And let's be real... who is going to take those two?  So much for having money.

IF I WAS GM I WOULD: The Oilers desperately need a guy who can win faceoffs in a consistent and winning manner.  As of right now, it's anyone's guess which Oiler will be the best of the night.  One day it's Gagner and the next it's Horcoff, the day after that it's Cogliano.  It's just crazy right now and it seems to be hurting this team. 

The other need this team has, is it needs players that can demolish the other teams better players.  We had that with Jacques and Stone, but Stone has not played in awhile and Jacques is now suffering from his bad back.  Without those two, the Oilers are a soft team.  Nevermind not having Souray back yet either.  Quinn wants this type of player in his lineup and if Tambo was smart, he'd find one.  So if I was GM, I'd try and shore up those two positions and give this team a better chance to win.

IF I WAS COACH I WOULD:  If I was Quinn, I'd be bugging Tambo and Katz everyday for a little help on the ice.  You know the team isn't in good shape when Reddox is called up.  There isn't much that Quinn and Co. can really do to improve.  It's up to Tambo and Katz.

This team is in trouble and there is some easy fixes.  But can it all be pulled off?

Cranbrook = Stanley Cup

Ok folks. Your probably saying what? What is Ray up to this evening? I have a theory that I want to share with you. Ready? Ok.

Since 1994/95 there has been a person from Cranbrook, British Columbia associated on the Stanley Cup winning team every year. What you say? Impossible. Here... Let me show you.

1994/95 New Jersey Devils - Scott Niedermayer (Raised in Cranbrook)

1995/96 Colorado Avalanche - Jon Klemm (Born/Raised in Cranbrook)

1996/97 Detroit Red Wings - Steve Yzerman (Born in Cranbrook)

1997/98 Detroit Red Wings - Steve Yzerman (Born in Cranbrook)

1998/99 Dallas Stars - Brad Lukowich (Raised in Cranbrook) name is not on cup, yet he played in 8 games of the playoffs. 2 in the conference finals. Go figure?

1999/00 New Jersey Devils - Scott Niedermayer (Raised in Cranbrook)

2000/01 Colorado Avalanche - Jon Klemm (Born/Raised in Cranbrook)

2001/02 Detroit Red Wings - Steve Yzerman (Born in Cranbrook)

2002/03 New Jersey Devils - Scott Niedermayer (Raised in Cranbrook)

2003/04 Tampa Bay Lightning - Brad Lukowich (Raised in Cranbrook)

2004/05 Cancelled

2005/06 Carolina Hurricanes - Randy Petruk (Goalie) was in the Hurricane system but never played. He was born and raised in Cranbrook. But in my mind... the Oilers won that cup and Jarret Stoll was the captain of the Kootenay Ice, which is in Cranbrook. Take your pick.

2006/07 Anaheim Ducks - Scott and Rob Niedermayer (Raised in Cranbrook)

2007/08 Detroit Red Wings - Steve Yzerman (Born in Cranbrook)

2008/09 ?

So what am I telling you? We need a guy from Cranbrook in our organization. Now that we have traded Stoll we're up a creek. So who could we get? Hmmmm... Scott or Rob Niedermayer most likely won't come here. Yzerman is a Detroit lifer. Jon Klemm is in Europe. And he's old and not worth it.

Brad Lukowich is a plausible option. 32 years old. Decent 5-6 d man. Plus he wins no matter where he goes. Expect San Jose to win the cup this year. (If they can get by the Oilers in WCF that is...)

The best option is Nigel Dawes (was Captain for Kootenay Ice) from the New York Rangers. He is a great leader who plays with proper conduct. Hard worker and is willing to be coached. Someone to think about.

Orrrrrrr.... We could get my old neighbour Tom Renney to come and coach or something along those lines. Not that we need a new one.

Take this for what it's worth, but the facts are the facts. Not my fault.

Smokin' Ray Burnt