EAKINS FIRED
EDMONTON (CP) – Dallas Eakins has been fired as coach of the Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton has lost 15 of its past 16 games is dead-last in the Western Conference with 19 points through 31 games.
Oliers general manager Craig MacTavish will take over as coach for the rest of the year, according to media reports. MacTavish was scheduled to address the media later Monday.
With the Oilers well on their way to missing the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, further changes could be coming this spring.
The Oilers went 36-63-14 under Eakins in parts of two seasons, including 7-19-5 so far this year.
Hired in the summer of 2012 to help the Oilers “be in the mix every year to win,” Eakins missed the playoffs in his only full season behind the bench.
“We fully understand critics and we fully understand and I embrace the result,” Eakins said after a win last month over the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres. “You can stand and talk about how well you’re playing and how you’ve improved, but if you’re not getting points, no one’s going to listen …
“(Players) understand what process we’re going through, they understand where we’re at and where we’re going and that’s our main concern right now.”
It was on Eakins to get through to the Oilers, and they didn’t seem to make any significant strides under their fifth coach in seven seasons. Likewise, Pat Quinn (2009-10), Tom Renney (2010-12) and Ralph Krueger (2013) couldn’t get this team to the playoffs.
Edmonton has not made the post-season since 2006.
The Oilers finished with the third-fewest points in the NHL in 2013-14 with a record of 29-44-9 in the one full season under Eakins.
Considered one of the hottest coaching candidates when with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Eakins got the job with the Oilers in large part because MacTavish believed “he could relate to young players.”
With an average age of under 27, the Oilers’ roster includes three No. 1 overall picks: Taylor Hall in 2010, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2011 and Nail Yakupov in 2012.
This was Eakins’ first NHL head-coaching job. Before coaching the Marlies, he was an assistant for two years with the Maple Leafs.
The GM should have fired the GM and the coach. What a bush league organization. And yet there are still fans of this club….all over. Hard to understand how they pack that arena.
Speaking of firing, FIRE OBAMA!!
#NoMoreObama
Maybe the Oilers can recruit Jim Harbaugh to come north.
I'm a celebrity, get me out of here! Nail Yakupov 1st round pick disaster.
MacT should be fired . they need an overhaul. And trade Hall, he gets points but that is all he does. I magine if the oil would have traded the 1st pick for the second to boston? Boston would have given up a 4th or 5th dman to ensure first pick, the oil would have seguin and probably Boychuk. Then what if they grabbed another top four d man to trade Columbus the 1st overall pick to end up with Ryan Murray and maybe another 3 or 4 man. Three extra solid D and Seguin would be looking pretty good… Read more »
I heard they are considering hiring Obama for next year as head coach and GM……..details to follow…..
Charles from Nepaul
Obama as Oilers coach would be worse than Pierre Mcquire as head coach of the Hartford Whalers!
Send Draisaitl back to the Raiders as well! What a mess Edmonton is.
I just saw the interview with MacT and he is going to point Nelson down the same path he directed Eakins to follow. Ralph Kruger wouldn't follow the course so he was fired after half a season. MacT is just Kevin Lowe's messenger so things won't change until Katz gasses Lowe.
Does anyone really believe that the problem in EDM is coaching ??? "City of Champions" ?? – This Team has become the laughing stock of the League. How many Free AGents do you think this Team can/will attract in the next 2-3 years. Sadly, they are doomed.
The whole front office staff needs to be fired. Kevin Lowe has been at the helm of the organization for years and has done a sub-par job at best. I feel sorry for Eakins. Hopefully he gets another shot. It's good to be a Leafs fan right now.
The Oilers of today are like the Riders of the 90's. Old boys club running the show and no desire to get better. Sadly, the only way to correct things is the fans staying away and quit dumping money into a team that does not care. That's what happened in Riderville and finally the board realized they had to shake things up. Enter Roy Shivers. Love him or hate him, nobody can deny he turned things around as much as Hopson would like people to forget that. Sure the Flames have lost five straight but they play hard every night… Read more »
Actually Obama could coach that team he know hockey pretty inside and out. His kis is really good to.
EAKE !!!!!!!
The problems are much deeper than the head coach musical chair game. They should trade their #1 McDavid lottery sweepstakes pick this year. They have ruined all former first rounders.
Typical. Why change now? They're leading the McDavid sweepstakes and they'll mess that up too with a few wins. Since they waited this long Katz should have finished the season then fired Lowe, MacTavish and Eakins.
Much like the Pats of recent past. They Pats manager went through more coaches than he did clean underwear. The results are much like what the Oilers are going through. The only way the Oilers will ever get to a better place is by cleaning house. Katz has to seek some competent hockey people and learn the truth. Lowe, Mctavish should all be handed pink slips. They should hire Hitchcock (an Edmonton guy) to be their GM and have him clean up the mess. It's the only way.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
This likely won't change much.