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If there’s one thing that Edmonton Oilers owner Darryl Katz is good at, it’s opening up the chequebook.
That’s the opinion of the fans of his team, who ripped into his ownership tenure in Edmonton in a fan poll conducted by The Athletic, where Katz ranked 22nd among the NHL’s 32 different owners.
“Since he has owned the Oilers, Daryl Katz has had something like seven different GMs and 11 different coaches,” read the fan perspective cited by The Athletic. “Unbelievable lack of organizational stability and long-term vision.”
That’s where Katz drew the most heat in the poll, which saw nearly 4,000 NHL fans from all 32 teams respond.
In a scorecard put together by The Athletic, Katz’s ownership tenure ranks fourth in “Willingness to spend,” but in terms of “Organizational stability”, it ranks 28th out of 32 teams. The turnover in Edmonton’s ranks has been significant since he took over the team in 2008.
Craig MacTavish had been the team’s head coach since 2001 when Katz entered the fray, but he was fired after the 2008-08 season that saw them go 38-25-9, finishing 11th in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs by six points. It marked Edmonton’s third consecutive season missing the playoffs since the 2005-06 run to the Stanley Cup Finals, but more turnover was soon to come.
Between then and the Oilers making the playoffs in 2016-17, six different coaches came and went in eight years: Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Ralph Kreuger, Dallas Eakins, Todd Nelson and Todd McLellan all got swings at it, with the latter of the bunch breaking through into the post-season. It wasn’t just the coaches who changed frequently. The general managers did as well.
Kevin Lowe finished his tenure as general manager in the summer of 2008 after holding the role for eight years and then Steve Tambellini entered the mix. He remained as general manager until 2013 before previously-fired head coach Craig MacTavish stepped in for two years. Once the draft lottery saw the Oilers win the chance to select Connor McDavid first overall in 2015, Peter Chiarelli became the next third general manager in eight years, working alongside McLellan to get Edmonton into the playoffs.
All in all, Katz’s 16 years as owner of the team has seen 11 different coaches and seven different general managers — interims included — and it’s clearly something that’s drawn the ire of the fanbase.
“Katz is willing to spend but has made terrible decisions to date with management hirings,” another fan perspective read. “That has held the team back from winning a Cup with McDavid and Draisaitl.”
It comes with its issues in other areas, the poll identified, such as the “Franchise Vision,” ranking 22nd out of 32, and “Treatment of the fanbase,” ranking 28th.
There are undeniably great things that have come from Katz’s tenure for both the team and the city. He helped get Rogers Place built downtown, revitalizing the core with the installation of The Ice District, making it a massive hub for fans to gather. With the arena selling out during the playoffs, so many fans wanted to be in the mix that thousands would gather night in and night out in the heart of Edmonton.
As a result, the valuation of the Oilers as a whole has skyrocketed, becoming the sixth most valuable franchise at $ 2.65 billion, according to Forbes.
A downside of the new arena has been increased prices to not only get into the door, but also to spend once you’re inside, leaving parts of the fanbase who can’t afford to cost of tickets, concessions, and merchandise to feel as though they’re on the outside looking in.
The fanbase was decisive on their confidence in the ownership this year vs. last year, with 51 percent saying they were equally as confident as last year and 38 percent having less confidence than last year. Nearly 90 percent of the fanbase staying stagnant or worse in their confidence isn’t a good look considering the Oilers went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year, but the hiring of Stan Bowman over the summer didn’t sit well with the market and is likely part of the reason contributing to that. A different survey conducted by The Athletic last summer had the fanbase’s confidence in the front office ranking 25th in the league.
Katz has battled significant health issues in recent years, suffering from a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant sinus infection. During the 2017 playoff run, he carried an IV Bag at all times, and the infection had a 50-50 survival rate. Katz underwent three surgeries in 10 months leading up to an appearance in 2019 when Ken Holland was named general manager, with Katz’s appearance altered because of the procedures.
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