Hey Steve: Get on the Stick!

The hiring of Steve Tambellini to run the Edmonton Oilers represented a new day. He had no connections to the boys on the bus, he did have a real resume that included most of the things we associate with the general manager's job and he seemed (unlike Kevin Lowe) able to do business without making it personal.These are all good things.Tambellini's track record has been solid since arriving: he traded a soon-to-be-ufa Erik Cole and acquired the useful shooter Patrick O'Sullivan. He dealt a second round pick in an effort to both save the coach and audition another NHL shooter for the role of Hemsky's Shutt.However, this summer represents the period of time in which the rubber hits the road. When Tambellini held his media event to announce Craig MacTavish had been flushed, he was very specific in terms of the work that needed to be done:There were to be changes, the players would be held accountable. Grit and size would be addressed, they would look internally and then ...