Kevin Lowe Fired!

1) OK, he wasn't really fired. Technically he was given a promotion, but anyone with any understanding of hockey management can see that he was removed from a place where he over saw all the operations of the team to one of an advisor. More of a figure head than anything now. He was the team's GM from June 2000 until today. His biggest accomplishment was guiding the 2006 team to within 1 win of The Cup. Thereafter the wheels fell off, starting with the Pronger situation, then the Ryan Smythe trade, and finally the Penner offer sheet last summer. To be fair we feel Lowe did a good job overall. In fact many believe the Oilers are poised to return to the post season, and in no small thanks to Lowe, but apparently the new owner in Edmonton wanted a new man at the helm and in our opinion he made a good choice.



2) The Edmonton Oilers named Steve Tambellini as their new general manager. Tambellini, 50, has been part of the Vancouver Canucks hockey operations staff for the past 17 seasons and was most recently the Assistant General Manager and Vice-President of Hockey Operations. His name had long been bandied about as the successor to several of the open GM positions the past couple of years, as he is well regarded in NHL circles. As Director of Player Personnel, Tambellini helped put together the roster that won the gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah and he was also a member of the management team for Team Canada's gold medal triumph at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He also served as the General Manager of Team Canada at the 2003 and 2005 IIHF World Hockey Championships, winning the gold medal in Finland in 2003 and silver in 2005. Good luck Steve!