May 17th is a date I shouldn’t forget. It was on this day in 1997 that I was married. 15 years later and on this day not my wife and I but the Edmonton Oilers and Tom Renney got a divorce. Since April 7th when the Oilers played their last game the couple (that’s the hockey team and the coach) haven’t been talking. The silent treatment is what Renney had been given while Steve Tambellini and others decided the fate of the head coach. Thursday we found out that there were ‘irreconcilable differences’ and so parting ways was the only solution.
On the surface the firing of the head coach from the 29th place team in the NHL might not seem like a big deal unless of course you are Tom Renney. However this situation was so very hard to predict. Had Renney done enough to warrant another chance? His first year was a flat line after he took over from Pat Quinn and was promoted from associate coach to head coach. Under Quinn the team had 62 points and finished 30th. Under Renney the team had 62 points and finished 30th.
This year it was a much different stats pack that you would uncover in Tom Renney’s second season. The team only moved up one place in the standings to 29th but they had seven more wins and 12 more points. The powerplay finished third in the league after being a dismal 27th in year one under Renney. The penalty kill also jumped 14 spots from 28th to 14 over the course of one season. Edmonton scored more goals (212-191) and allowed fewer (239-260). In this day and age where we so often talk about trending, the Edmonton Oilers were trending upwards.
Not only were they doing it as a team, but individually as well. Taylor Hall, even though his season was cut short, was a considerably better player in year two. Jordan Eberle had astonishing growth in his sophomore season. Neither looked like they didn’t like playing for Tom Renney or that their development was hurt under his watchful eye. Ryan Nugent Hopkins also came in and flourished in his rookie season. None of the ‘Big Three’ were stopped from forwarding their progress. I understand that these kids might have been this good under a different head coach. The key is ‘might have’ or ‘could have’ but we don’t know that answer. What we do know is the kids started to look more like men with Tom Renney on the bench.
When you don’t make the playoffs in six years, change ends up being the result. But Edmonton has to be careful there isn’t too much more behind the bench. After nine seasons with Craig MacTavish at the helm, once a new bench boss is hired that will be three different men behind the bench in the last four years. Coincidence or not it seems like the timing of Renney’s departure will lead to further speculation that Brent Sutter could be soon ushered in to Edmonton. Hours after his Canada team was dumped at the World Hockey Championships, Renney gets dumped by Edmonton.
For now Renney is staying quiet but he did offer up this quote when I exchanged e-mails with him. “I am very proud of my work and of having been an Oiler.” His way of saying goodbye to a marriage that wasn’t made in heaven. Tom, I wish you luck and to my wife a Happy Anniversary on a very unhappy day for Tom Renney.