And you thought those offer sheets to Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner came out of nowhere!
Let’s first clarify one fact: Kevin Lowe did not step down Thursday afternoon as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. He stepped up; and so did Steve Tambellini. As the most consistently-overlooked and underrated hockey mind in the NHL, it was a move long overdue for Tambi.
The fact is Tambellini was not going to leave his job as an assistant GM in Vancouver for a lateral title in Edmonton. So consider the title of GM the carrot Edmonton needed to dangle to get him to jump ship. But make no mistake; Kevin Lowe is still the boss. And he’s enough of a boss to recognize that the most successful executives in any business surround themselves with great people.
To that effect, he has given Tambi the title he should have had five years ago in Toronto. Not to mention the one he should have landed this spring in Vancouver, instead, losing out to a pair of under-qualified, over-connected candidates in both cases.
But to the burning questions: Who makes the trades? Who makes the decisions? The Oilers say it’s been a collaborative effort for a long time, and that concept is not about to change, as they add one more valuable hockey mind to the equation. More importantly, who gets to throw sand in Burkie’s face now? It’s old, and it’s overused, but, “only time will tell.”
While this makes for a crowded room full of titles at the Oil Country headquarters, it’s a blueprint pioneered by the Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings who have it down to a science in Detroit, with a core management team that’s four bodies strong in Jimmy Devellano, Ken Holland, Jim Nill and Steve Yzerman. Attach whatever title you want to those names in Detroit, the structure in Edmonton is now undeniably comparable. So, call Kevin Lowe, Steve Tambellini and Kevin Prendergast whatever you like, they comprise a front-office team in Edmonton that is now three-minds deep. Given the nuances and complexities involved in running a successful hockey operation in today’s NHL, it is a structure you may very well see a lot more of down the road.
Contrary to popular belief, the most valuable positions on a hockey team don’t come with a stall. They come with an office. The executives with pens have far more to do with the long-term success of a franchise than the players with sticks. In adding Steve Tambellini to the equation, the Oilers just landed a top-six forward — for the front office.
Make no mistake, Kevin Lowe is still taking the face-offs up there, but he just added a valuable forward to his line. And he plucked him from a division rival.