OilFans.com :: Fan Forum: Oilers => Yakupov Interview

Guest

This day on May 13
None

Happy Birthday To: Devon, Shauno99, TruckerD, WhoreableGuy, patd, Gino, oilergrl, Bo Dangles

OILERS INFO OILFANS
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 3:07 PM MT

F.A.Q.

Members

Home

Oilers » Yakupov Interview

Re: Yakupov Interview [message #825433 is a reply to message #825422 ]	Mon, 11 September 2023 10:55

Adam
Messages: 7757
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Fri, 08 September 2023 19:21

Think many here saw something similar to what Yak describes. He knows it part his fault too, but he is what he is. He dominated Jr with a skill set that didn't translate easily to the NHL and he did a.poor job of adapting and self motivating. With perfect circumstances and support.maybe he could have ended up a decent 2nd liner, but he didn't get the luck needed.

What a disaster that MacT GM hire was. We actually had a decent core of players setting up, but needed some major trades to fill holes on D and the forward depth. MacT didn't have a clue. And he hired a coach that was just as in over his head as Yakupov was. Only Eakins could try to compensate for his sucking by scapegoating and treating players like garbage. We had a perfectly good HC in Krueger to build up confidence in the young players, and could have hired a more demanding coach when it looked like we were ready to contend.

Of course all the embarrassing moves by this org got us McDavid and Drai.

I think it's so funny that anyone who left criticizes anything about the organization and certain fans and columnists immediately turn to character assassination rather than any level of introspection about the organization and it's failings.

Certainly, as bad as Tambellini was, MacTavish may have been actually worse. The Kruger/Eakins thing was embarrassingly poorly handled, and then it turned out that the guy he fell in love with was actually a brutal coach who mishandled their young players and seriously regressed the whole group for two years. Say what you want about players needing to improve themselves, but when you're talking about early picks making the team as teenagers, these are young kids who need direction.

Throw on top of that MacTavish's approach to destroying the market value of Hemsky, Horcoff, Petry and the bungling of the goaltending - absolutely obliterating Dubnyk after he had the 14th best stats the year before on one of the worst teams, then creating a wild carousel all season, followed by "checking the box" with Fasth and Scrivens.

Maybe that's one of the stunners about Oilers GMs. As bad as one has done, then we always seem to have hired someone to do one better and make the team worse. Lowe was impulsive and fiery and pissed off everyone who left, but he made a few good moves. Tambellini was a ditherer and paralyzed to make any serious moves. I mean, the one time the Oilers look like they have a chance at the playoffs, he brought in Jerrod Smithson as the only deadline add, even knowing that they had Hemsky on only one foot at that time.

MacTavish was no ditherer - he made more trades than anyone in the league in the couple years he held the role, but he made the team substantially worse through his constant action and inability to keep his mouth shut. As you say, the only great thing about MacTavish & Eakins is that through their sheer ineptitude, we get Draisaitl and McDavid.

So then we go to Chiarelli who's a little better about keeping a secret (although he certainly had his avenues for leaking his intentions out) but who made some much bigger, much crappier moves that again further set the team back. He did realize the importance of goaltending though and brought in Talbot who solidified the position for a little while...although that last signing of his was a bit of a puzzler.

And that brings us to Holland, who's basically semi-retired (although yet still extremely expensive) and who approached the first several years of his tenure by throwing his hands in the air and suggesting his predecessor already screwed the team over and there's nothing he could possibly do to fix it until those contracts expire. That's bolstered by his belief that you can't and shouldn't want to "win" a trade, because someone might hold that against you. Someone really should tell the Islanders and Devils that they still owe us for fleecing us in years past...

Oh yeah, and Holland, despite being a goalie himself in his playing days, holds no value in having a good one in the nets and so his tenure is marked by the team always having mediocre at best netminding - which remains the squad's biggest question mark going in to this season too.

If there was ever anyone close to the team with the balls to write it, there's a hell of a case study in incompetence about the Oilers over the last 15 years. I think the hardest thing would be boiling it down to a few learning points because with that much failure there's just so much to speak to...It's almost too messy to even get a coherent lesson from!

"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
#FireBobbyNicks

Report message to a moderator

Yakupov Interview	By: Adam on Fri, 08 September 2023 10:15
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: RDOilerfan on Fri, 08 September 2023 14:09
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Adam on Fri, 08 September 2023 15:39
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: RDOilerfan on Fri, 08 September 2023 16:31
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: NetBOG on Fri, 08 September 2023 17:18
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Kr55 on Fri, 08 September 2023 19:21
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: RDOilerfan on Mon, 11 September 2023 08:26
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Dragon_Matt on Mon, 11 September 2023 10:41
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Mike on Tue, 12 September 2023 06:56
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Adam on Mon, 11 September 2023 10:55
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: CrusaderPi on Mon, 11 September 2023 12:47
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: RDOilerfan on Mon, 11 September 2023 13:17
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Adam on Mon, 11 September 2023 14:01
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Rutuu on Mon, 18 September 2023 18:50
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: inverno76 on Mon, 18 September 2023 08:28
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Adam on Mon, 18 September 2023 09:57
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: inverno76 on Mon, 18 September 2023 10:12
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Kr55 on Mon, 18 September 2023 11:45
Re: Yakupov Interview	By: Adam on Mon, 18 September 2023 13:50

Previous Topic: Michael Parkatti - Senior Director, Analytics
Next Topic: Adam Erne - PTO
Oilers NHL Minors Speculation For Sale

Copyright © OilFans.com 1996-2022.
All content is property of OilFans.com and cannot be used without expressed, written consent from this site.
Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to oilfans@OilFans.com
Privacy Statement

Hosted by LogicalHosting.ca