RE 13-14 KEVIN LOWE: SAINT DOMINIC’S PREVIEW

Kevin Lowe’s life is connected to Edmonton and the Oilers more closely than any of the other Boys on the Bus. It makes sense, he was the first to write a book about the era, he was the most involved in the community, and he was able to sustain through three ownership groups. The years 2006-14 have taken a major toll on the man and the team, and the promise of a new day seems like a distant view.

1. Finally! I guess we haven’t discussed Kevin Lowe in awhile.
2. I’m looking forward to hearing you rip him to shreds. That won’t be happening, but I would direct you to the comments section.
3. How can you possibly defend him? I believe there are things to criticize—and I have—but the general tone in the fanbase is wildly acidic and for me that’s just not what the reasonable expectations series is trying to accomplish.
4. Oh right, take all the passion out of things and evaluate the player/manager. Yes.
5. Right. He sucks. Again, we’re not really going to get very far here.
6. Will you at least admit he’s made errors? God yes. When Kevin Lowe took over as GM, he spent several years in a “caretaker” role, adding pieces as needed, sending away contracts as free agency dictated, and keeping the ship afloat. I don’t recall a major shift from the Sather era from 2000-04.
7. He made some good trades. Sure, but they were the Sather template. Roman Hamrlik for Eric Brewer and Brad Winchester, or Bill Guerin for Anson Carter and a flip of picks that got the team Ales Hemsky. That’s pretty much Sather-era trading, although lacking the creativity Slats displayed so often.
8. Still, good. I thought so. Lowe arrived at the 2004 lockout with a roster full of value contracts. Horcoff, Stoll, Hemsky, Torres, Bergeron, Pisani, they were all underpaid based on the cap of 2005. It was a key element to the 2005-06 success.
9. And then came 2006 and the highlight of his GM career. Yes. Acquiring Chris Pronger changed the story in a heartbeat. The Oilers, who had been a middling team, suddenly became a legitimate contender, not just for the playoffs, but beyond them.
10. He made great decisions. Well, he acquired Peca and that was brilliant, but we knew in October 2005 that the goaltending was poor. Lowe waited until the deadline to trade for Roloson, and an earlier deal might have made things easier.
11. Still, what a ride! Sure. I’d say the only real quibble during that season was dealing Reasoner to Boston at the deadline. The Oilers ended up having very little at center once Pouliot developed mono. Ended up signing Rem the Gem.
12. Was the highlight the trade deadline 2006? No, I’d say his highest high was the Pronger trade. You have to understand that Chris Pronger is the best defenseman to play for this team. Ever. He changed the equation.
13. If that was the highlight, then trading Pronger was surely the lowest point. I don’t agree, but it wasn’t a shining moment in the sun. The return for Pronger—Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, Jordan Eberle, Travis Hamonic and Nick Ross—was substantial. The problem is you’re trading Pronger, who changed the equation, and allowed Oilers nation to run at the front of the pack, breathing clean air and yelling things like ‘blow it our your ass’ because there was a reasonable expectation that the team could back it up.
14. So, it plunged the Oilers into the depths? Yes, and I believe, at some level, Kevin Lowe decided he had to make it right. Which led to countless decisions involving big dollars and free agents and offer sheets. I mean, if you go back and look at the transactions from 2007 summer through Steve Tambellini’s hiring, that is some major league tap dancing.
15. It was a train in vain, though. Yes, because when you trade Pronger for more youth, it’s a setback even if you made a good call on asset return. Now, Lupul didn’t play well here and Smid wasn’t ready, so the trade became even more stark.
16. You should have used T.B. Sheets for the Van song here. I considered it.
17. What was the darkest day? Hiring Steve Tambellini. If Kevin Lowe lacked Sather’s vision, he at least had some of it and the ability to sell ideas to the other GMs (Pronger trade being the example). The Tambellini hire is the kind of transaction that can set organizations back for a long time. And it did.
18. Was Tambellini all bad? No. He structured the minor league system, and it was dead at the time, and I will argue he presided over a golden era of amateur procurement, although we have yet to see the results of that era take root in the NHL.
19. Golden era? Come on! Do me a favor, have a look through the Oilers past and list all of the five year procurement clusters that can boast Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz, Martin Marincin, Oscar Klefbom and the others. I’ll tell you so you don’t have to look. There’s one that’s better: 1979-1983.
20. A lot of people think Lowe was running the show during the Tambellini era. I don’t agree, mostly because the era showed such a distinct lack of imagination. This was an era that looks like it was run by an accountant.
21. You’re being most unkind here to Steve Tambellini. I think he’s likely a very good hockey man, but being a GM of an NHL team requires imagination, and creative selling. I don’t think he had either, and because of it nothing rhymed, nothing got done. It is perhaps harsh, but for me the Tambellini era with the Oilers was the most difficult because it was hopeless.
22. Ultimately, Lowe is responsible because he hired Tambellini. Agreed. The idea that Kevin Lowe is somehow blameless because Tambellini sent Souray to Hershey is a non-starter. I completely agree with you, Kevin Lowe was the overseer during the era.
23. And you believe Lowe saved the day by hiring Craig MacTavish. No, I think he improved the position. We’re still in the process of seeing if this thing gets fixed, and it’s an open question about how much time the current administration has to fix it.
24. But you believe it’s going in a good direction. I believe that the procurement department has a better vision and someone who can execute the plan.
25. What else is there? Tons of things. I like MacT as a trader and a judge of talent, but also remember he can get damn stubborn on a guy. That’s a negative.
26. Are there signs of MacT getting stubborn now? Sure. Keeping all of the coaches would be an example, and I do think there are leaks again—something that did not happen in the Tambellini era. When you’ve got Jim Matheson telling the world that the Oilers like Leon Draisaitl, that’s information that, if true, puts the club in a position of weakness. That’s a thing. A really bad thing.
27. What should MacT do? Find the leak and shoot it between the eyes.
28. Oh. Yes.
29. Back to Lowe. Why do you stick up for him? Plenty of reasons. First, the noxious verbal about him is beyond the pale. There’s more than enough we can talk about being wrong without getting personal. I refuse to be any part of that behavior.
30. Why? Because it’s wrong, mean-spirited and forgets the good deeds done.
31. Like what? Like playing outstanding defense for a long time in orange and blue. Like being a big part of the community pretty much the day he arrived in our city.
32. That’s the past. Sure. That’s all we have to go on with anybody.
33. Let me ask you: do you think Kevin Lowe should be replaced in his current job? I honestly don’t know what he does, so it would be unfair to comment.
34. Do you think he made the right move in stepping down as GM? Yes.
35. Do you think he made an error in hiring Steve Tambellini? Yes.
36. Do you think he should have been fired for it? Yes.
37. Do you think Daryl Katz is the problem? Yes.
38. Do you think the current management group, as is, will find the solution? I am less confident now than I was a year ago.
39. Do you think he has direct input on trades and procurement? Yes.
40. Do you think he has the final say? No.
41. Who does? Daryl Katz.
42. Do you think there is any urgency in Oilers management to turn the corner? Yes.
43. Do you think they are finding the right answers? I’m not sure they are asking the right questions.
44. When was the last time you spoke to Kevin Lowe. Sometime in the 1980s.
45. Do you have any connection to the Edmonton Oilers? None.
46. Have you ever accepted anything from them? No.
47. Media pass? No.
48. Tickets? No.
49. Have you been influenced in any way? Only by alcohol.
50. What is your pin number? Take the gaspipe.
51. If you were given truth serum, and asked if Kevin Lowe will be part of the organization when this team wins their next Stanley, what would be your answer? Yes.
52. In what capacity? Non-hockey ops admin.
53. Will the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup in the next five years? No.
54. Will the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup in the next ten years? Unknown, doesn’t look promising.
55. If you could spend one hour with anyone in the organization, who would it be with? Katz.
56. Why? He’s going the wrong way.
57. When do we talk about him? Next.