Scott Burnside: Bonjour, Pierre. Comment ça va? That's "How are you?" in French, as you well know, you noted bilingual. Wondered if we should try a scatter-gun approach to this week's edition as opposed to the finely honed focus we generally employ. For me, I'd like to stop in Edmonton first.
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AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarCraig MacTavish has coached the Edmonton Oilers since the 2000-01 season.
A lot of talk that this is the end for coach Craig MacTavish after his disastrous stick-measurement gambit against Anaheim went bad earlier this week. Only Lindy Ruff (Buffalo), Barry Trotz (Nashville) and Jacques Lemaire (Minnesota) have coached longer with their current teams, and MacTavish is a treat to work with from the media perspective. Do you think this is it, and, if so, who steps in? I think, barring a miracle finish, this is it. And wouldn't a guy like Tom Renney look good behind the Oilers bench?
Pierre LeBrun: I do indeed speak French and English, but it's the language of hockey that mattered Tuesday night when MacT gambled the season away on the stick call. Marty McSorley, where art thou? Funny thing is, if Teemu Selanne's stick ends up being illegal, the Oilers coach is a genius. Such is the fickle nature of our business. And I like the way MacTavish handled the fallout the next day -- took it like a man, answered questions about his future and didn't sound testy with the media at all. He's a real likeable character.
But will he last past this season? The new owner, Daryl Katz, apparently loves the guy (Dan Barnes of The Edmonton Journal reported Friday that Katz said MacT isn't going anywhere). Team president Kevin Lowe is very, very tight with MacTavish. But I still think the time has come. That's OK; MacT won't be without a job for too long, I can guarantee you that. Same goes for Renney, who I agree would be a great fit in Edmonton (if not Calgary, but I digress). But you touched on Ruff and his endurance in Buffalo. What would you do there?
Burnside: Talk about a team that is likewise done like dinner (sorry, Oilers and Sabres fans). Buffalo lost to Atlanta on Wednesday night, the second time it failed to defeat the Thrashers in the past couple of weeks; even though the Sabres earned a point in both cases, the points left on the table will haunt them through the summer.
I don't sense the same kind of unrest in Buffalo as there seems to be in Edmonton. The Sabres were without Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller for key parts of the season, but I still don't think this team has found the leaders in the room to take them over the hump. You've mentioned it before: Craig Rivet comes over from San Jose and becomes the team's captain? Rivet is a terrific guy, but it doesn't say much for the group that has been in the Sabres' locker room the past three or four years and hasn't seen a leader step forward. What do you think, is it time for Ruff? Not to sound like Renney's agent or anything, but the Sabres are another team that would, I think, thrive under Renney's tutelage.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarCraig MacTavish has coached the Edmonton Oilers since the 2000-01 season.
A lot of talk that this is the end for coach Craig MacTavish after his disastrous stick-measurement gambit against Anaheim went bad earlier this week. Only Lindy Ruff (Buffalo), Barry Trotz (Nashville) and Jacques Lemaire (Minnesota) have coached longer with their current teams, and MacTavish is a treat to work with from the media perspective. Do you think this is it, and, if so, who steps in? I think, barring a miracle finish, this is it. And wouldn't a guy like Tom Renney look good behind the Oilers bench?
Pierre LeBrun: I do indeed speak French and English, but it's the language of hockey that mattered Tuesday night when MacT gambled the season away on the stick call. Marty McSorley, where art thou? Funny thing is, if Teemu Selanne's stick ends up being illegal, the Oilers coach is a genius. Such is the fickle nature of our business. And I like the way MacTavish handled the fallout the next day -- took it like a man, answered questions about his future and didn't sound testy with the media at all. He's a real likeable character.
But will he last past this season? The new owner, Daryl Katz, apparently loves the guy (Dan Barnes of The Edmonton Journal reported Friday that Katz said MacT isn't going anywhere). Team president Kevin Lowe is very, very tight with MacTavish. But I still think the time has come. That's OK; MacT won't be without a job for too long, I can guarantee you that. Same goes for Renney, who I agree would be a great fit in Edmonton (if not Calgary, but I digress). But you touched on Ruff and his endurance in Buffalo. What would you do there?
Burnside: Talk about a team that is likewise done like dinner (sorry, Oilers and Sabres fans). Buffalo lost to Atlanta on Wednesday night, the second time it failed to defeat the Thrashers in the past couple of weeks; even though the Sabres earned a point in both cases, the points left on the table will haunt them through the summer.
I don't sense the same kind of unrest in Buffalo as there seems to be in Edmonton. The Sabres were without Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller for key parts of the season, but I still don't think this team has found the leaders in the room to take them over the hump. You've mentioned it before: Craig Rivet comes over from San Jose and becomes the team's captain? Rivet is a terrific guy, but it doesn't say much for the group that has been in the Sabres' locker room the past three or four years and hasn't seen a leader step forward. What do you think, is it time for Ruff? Not to sound like Renney's agent or anything, but the Sabres are another team that would, I think, thrive under Renney's tutelage.
