Fire Craig Mactavish...Why??

So why do people want to be rid of Craig Mactavish? That I don't understand. Do I agree with firing Eakins? Not completely, but I can see why people want to. Do I agree with firing Lowe? Not really, but again I can see why people want it. But why MacTavish? He gave them decent defensemen, good wingers and made some good trades. Sure not all the signings have worked, but considering what the Oilers needed in the offseason they were good moves. The defensemen, the wingers, and yes, even the goalies. He is also slammed for the lack of some positions and I will also show you why that is wrong.

Starting with the defense, signing three guys who had been solid in the past was a good move. It was no secret that the Oilers struggled on defense last season. Fayne had averaged more than twenty minutes a night with the Devils, Nikitin has an upside, and Aulie was the extra piece to add grit and depth. Were they top of the line? No. But I would love to hear your pitch to bring top of the line players to Edmonton right now. Yeah, that's right you can't really formulate one can you? Aside from the defense Mactavish also made key additions on the wing.

Mactavish added some much needed scoring depth by sending a roll of tape and a half bag of pucks to St. Louis for Perron. He signed Pouliot who has both an upside and experience and he added Purcell who also has an upside. Have they worked out as expected? Not completely, but how is that Mactavish's fault? He just adds the players he can't make them play as expected. He can just look at past stats, play, and in which direction the player is trending and make an informed decision on if to sign him or not. And in the summer we all thought he had done a good job of that. Does what we see now change our minds of Mactavish? It might for some people, but it  shouldn't. Mactavish couldn't see that the team wouldn't gel and he wouldn't be able to see the lack of contribution at times from some of these players. The same goes for the goaltending.

You criticize the goalies he acquired, well guess what? Goalies have to take the next step as a starter at some point, and both those guys looked ready to make that step. Mactavish would have had to pay out the wazoo for any legitimate starting goalie, so it looked like these two guys were trending upwards and ready to be a "1A" and "1B." Oh yeah and like most of the other signings we were all praising this trade and happy to be rid of Dubnyk. You can't just turn on a GM for making what looks like a good move and then turn on him for it not turning out. He can't see the future anymore than you can. Want to criticize him for not acquiring a veteran goalie? Fine that's somewhat fair, but how do we know he didn't try that? And who do you think was available? Brodeur? I don't know about you but I wouldn't want him. For the most part any decent veteran goalie would likely be too expensive. So while certain criticisms may have a point, there is likely a reason your proposal- even if it was reasonable-didn't happen. Mactavish isn't stupid. He likely explores multiple alleys before making a move. This advice is also applicable to what is likely the largest criticism of Craig Mactavish. The lack of centre depth.

People criticize the lack of centre depth, do you honestly think Mactavish is that stupid that he would get every position but centres? Here's the reality. Centres, goalies, and top two pairing defensemen are going to cost you the most in the NHL. Especially a top two centre. The other teams know the players the Oilers have, is it really worth it to give up one or two pieces of a young core, plus a young defenseman, plus possibly a draft pick for one player? Probably not, especially in this upcoming draft where even beyond the top two there is a lot of talent. That is just too much to give up to get help in one position. You would be creating a hole elsewhere to patch up an immediate problem.

In the end a lot of the criticisms of Oilers GM Craig Mactavish are irrelevant. He can't see the future and therefore can't see that certain additions wouldn't work. The moves he made were needed moves, and there was merit to what he was doing. In the end a big reason people want him fired is because he's part of the "Old Boys Club." Well guess what? Maybe you don't like that club because of some night mares it's given you in the past. However, you can't fire someone just because they're associated with that group. You have to assess the job that they are doing, and under "forensic examination" Craig Mactavish has made sensible, logical moves, and if he continues to do so it will eventually pay off. Look on the bright side. At least he didn't trade away two legitimate starting goalies for almost nothing.


What do you think of Craig Mactavish as GM? Let me know either by commenting below this post or on twitter @thewildman111


photo taken from 25stanley.com