Mixed martial arts may be his passion, but he’s also a hockey fan too.
Not one to shy away from voicing his opinion, Maximum Fighting Championship president Mark Pavelich sounded off on the current state of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers in an interview with Sportsnet.
The Edmonton native outlined a number of factors for the clubs troubles this season, most importantly head coach Dallas Eakins.
“The problem is there’s no intensity with this team. It seems to me like [the team] isn’t believing in [Eakins]. Same with my organization, if I go there and the people don’t buy into what I’m saying, the fighters and the staff won’t go with the direction I’m going.” Pavelich said.
Interestingly enough Pavelich’s roots in hockey are well documented. His father, Matt, officiated the second most games in NHL history while his uncle Marty was a multiple-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings. Despite being a long-time Red Wings fan, Pavelich’s frustration with the Oilers stems from his decision to recently start cheering for his hometown team.
“I’ve watched this team and it’s so frustrating because I became a pseudo Edmonton Oilers fan this year. Trust me, you need more intensity with this team because they have a lot of talent.”
Along with his coaching critiques, Pavelich also believes a huge detriment to the Oilers’ struggles this season was their choice for team captain.
“I know Taylor Hall very well and they should have made him captain from the second they said ‘go.’ The kid plays with heart every night, he never lays it down.”
Veteran defenceman Andrew Ference was named team captain at the start of the season back after signing as a free agent in the off-season. Pavelich believes the captain should be the star player no matter what their age is, as with the case in Jonathan Toews being named captain in Chicago and Gabriel Landeskog earning his captaincy in Colorado.
“No offence to Andrew Ference but Hall should have been the captain. Ference should have been an assistant [captain]. I think [his captaincy] is causing a ruckus in the dressing room”
“[Hall] wants to win, he’s a winner. You could give him a $100 million and it doesn’t matter. He just wants to win.” Pavelich added.
No word on if Pavelich has submitted an application to owner Daryl Katz to replace current GM Craig MacTavish.
MFC 39 takes place Friday in Edmonton.