from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

Again, it’s All’s Quiet on the Western Front (Oilers version). While Anaheim’s Bob Murray is wheeling and dealing (because of injury concerns mostly on his back-end) and fellow GM Marc Bergevin is making trade noises in Montreal to get defensive help and dumping players like Rene Bourque and proactively signing Brendan Gallagher to a six-year contract, the sounds of nothing happening in Edmonton is deafening.

Again, just say something MacT? Tell us you’re TANKING the season, not in those words (that’s an NHL no-no) and you see absolutely no need to put bandages on all the open sores on your hockey club now.

Eakins, who is in Year 2 of a four-year deal, doesn’t look or sound like a haunted man who’s going to lose job any time soon. As he said Wednesday morning after practice in Winnipeg, “this is not going to break me ... bring it on.” He did not look after the OT loss to the Jets like he was at the end of his rope. Frankly, he looks a lot more wrung out, stripped of his tie and jacket, shirt unbuttoned in his post-game pressers as he describes losses at Rexall Place, the NHL’s softest landing for visiting teams. Eight straight losses.

more

via Darren Dreger tweets,

I suspect the next few days will determine direction Oilers will go. Full forensic analysis from top to bottom will take place...

A culture change is required, but does firing coach and gm do that? Not if the team is fundamentally flawed. Tough decisions for Oil brass.