inverno76 wrote on Tue, 16 May 2023 12:08

Adam wrote on Mon, 15 May 2023 21:43 CrusaderPi wrote on Mon, 15 May 2023 13:08 Kr55 wrote on Mon, 15 May 2023 13:05 NZ Oiler Fan wrote on Mon, 15 May 2023 12:41 Just read this on ON: "Steve Staios is highly regarded by many as an up-and-coming GM, and today on the DFO Rundown podcast my co-host Frank Seravalli outlined he can see Ken Holland holding the President of Hockey Operations while Staios has the GM title. I think change is on the horizon in Edmonton,” said Seravalli. “When you consider what is looming out there in other searches, I expect the Oilers to be very proactive and protective of Steve Staios. He is someone they value, and they have a thin staff as it is. The Oilers see Staios as their next general manager, and how quickly that happens will depend on a few things." Full article: https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-off-season-mov es-steve-staios-in-as-gm Adam is going to love that Well, if we're gonna do ex-Oilers, at least we can get ones that worked their way up the hockey ranks the right way. Not guys that get a job because they have drinks with Katz and talk about the glory days. Staios seems like a smart guy, maybe we get lucky for the first time in forever. If not, meh, par for the course. Unless this is a big old red herring to make the nepotism hiring a little more palatable. Wasn’t there a big fuss because Staios and Moreau went on vacation with the MacTavishes one summer? I’m thrilled if Bobby “Slush Fund” Nicholson leaves the organization. Taking Holland out of the role of decision maker is a great thing. Hiring another ex-player with very limited relevant experience? Not great. Staios has played a significant role with the Hamilton Bulldogs, but really, what relevance do you get from managing a minor league franchise? There’s no salary cap to manage. There’s very few contracts to worry about - none for your best players - and there are no trades. He probably learned a lot though in his year as special assistant to the general manager here in Edmonton though…. I mean, what are the odds of him being substantially worse than our current GM? He’ll still have him as a boss, but Holland is pretty sleepy. He’s not likely to have a lot to add. I will say that if you believe the leaked press clippings, the Oilers really do have a brass to be envied. Haven’t we also heard about how in demand Keith Gretzky and Brad Holland are? Clearly it must be the dream team there. What a coincidence that they’re all former Oilers or related to someone else in management? Running a CHL team is much different than an NHL team, but even though they do not have a salary cap, managing money in the league is a huge issue. Player procurement can be difficult with the allure of college hockey, and managing assets to stay relevant for extended periods of time is probably the hardest of any league. Players age out, and you can only have 3 - 20 year olds. Import player cap. Win windows are small, so you have to make bold decisions on going for it, or staying pat or selling off for the future. The draft is a great unknown for the most part. If a GM is excelling in the CHL, then I have time for a person like that. The article Kr55 linked in also highlights that he surrounds himself with quality people who fit in to the group dynamic. I am excited and curious to see what he can do. He might not be able manage the Cap like Chiarelli did, but he would hard pressed to hire worse people to surround himself with, or make worse trades than a lot of experienced GM's.

I stand a little correected in that I thought the Hamilton Bulldogs was still an AHL team. You can have trades in the CHL, so there's that.

I am still skeptical that the best person available A) is a former Oilers player who B) just happens to already be in the organization.

It's possible we luck in to a great hire, but the hiring practices of the Oilers are consistent - we go get old players, most of whom have Oilers or Team Canada connections and who Kevin Lowe likes. We don't tend to interview, and even where we say we're going to, we get distracted easily (like with Holland - where they abandoned their interview process to jump to hire a guy long, LONG past his prime).

We've heard this before with Brad Holland and Keith Gretzky that they're great hockey minds that any other team would jump at having. Hell, we heard the same thing about Craig MacTavish for that matter. And Scott Howson! I just don't trust the glowing reports because until I see evidence that the Oilers are going to stray out of their comfort zone and accept that there's more to running a team than having "been in the dressing room", then we're almost certainly doomed to have some management weakness.

If any of this turns out to be true and Staios gets a promotion, I hope the article is right and Staios is great at building a high performing management team and a phenomenal culture because we could really use those things. It's been an incredibly long time here without either.

Worth noting - I am not a fan of recycling failed NHL GMs either. I think you have to look for different skillsets - and that the most successful teams in the future are going to have a lot of people who aren't just old hockey players in their management groups - no matter who has that title. I think most old hockey players aren't comfortable hiring lawyers and stats guys. They prefer the company of their own ilk, and so you end up with management teams that are just big echo chambers of people with similar mindsets. It leads to weakness compared to more rounded rival teams, and they lack the varied skillsets needed to be successful. If Staios (again, assuming a change actually happens) can buck that trend, he'd be the first Oilers manager to do so. The fact that he's already in-house doesn't make me feel any great comfort that he will though.

[Updated on: Wed, 17 May 2023 16:15]

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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