Oilers Looking For A Return To The Playoffs

from Todd Kimberely at NHL.com, The Heatley affair sullied what otherwise has been a solid offseason for the Oilers, who are trying to find their way back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after three years out. After parting ways with veteran coach Craig MacTavish after eight seasons, Tambellini delivered a master stroke—drawing on his old Vancouver Canucks connections by bringing on board the tandem of Pat Quinn and Tom Renney as head coach and associate coach, respectively. Between them, the duo has coached nearly 2,000 NHL games—Quinn in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto; Renney with Vancouver and the New York Rangers—and use a common approach of strategizing, teaching and demanding total commitment. That’s seen as a perfect fit for a young Oilers group, including Sam Gagner, Robert Nilsson, Patrick O’Sullivan, Cogliano and Tom Gilbert, which took a collective step backward last season in the face of high expectations. more