Pat Quinn Oiler Medicine Man?

In all due respect to the TV drama Dr Quinn Medicine Woman that aired in the 90′s starring the eye-catching British actress Jane Seymour, coach Pat Quinn seems to be just what the doctor ordered for the Edmonton Oilers.  The brash, no nonsense, old-time hockey coach has the Oilers playing exciting hockey and is making this team work where others have failed.

In recent seasons the Oilers have fallen on hard times.  They have not made the playoffs since they lost game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final against the Carolina Hurricanes and had to endure high profile players like Chris Pronger requesting a one-way ticket out of town, multiple free agents spurn offers citing personal reasons for not wanting to play in Edmonton, and Dany Heatley putting the kibosh on a trade that would have seen him suit up in Oiler blue and orange.  General manager Kevin Lowe had to wonder if there was a cosmic joke being played on the team when the high profile restricted free agent acquisition of Dustin Penner looked like the worst signing since some producer in Hollywood thought it would be a great idea to get Sharon Stone’s name on a contract to star in Basic Instinct 2.  But after Lowe cleaned house in the off-season and hired Quinn, things have been turning around in Oil-town.

Quinn’s coaching career is long and distinguished.  Although he has never won a Stanley Cup, he has been to the final twice and has a record of 663 wins, 483 losses in 1327 games as a NHL coach.  His greatest achievements have come internationally with coaching the gold medal team in the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 and more recently the gold medal winning Canadian entry in the last Under 20 World Junior Hockey Championships.  It was that last victory that put Quinn back on the map as he had been out of hockey since he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs after the 2005-2006 season.  Back with Edmonton, he is showing that he is more than capable in taking a young team and turning them into winners.

If anyone saw the game on December 31 2008 between Canada and the United States in the U-20 WJHC, you would have seen what intangible elements Pat Quinn brings to a hockey team.  Canada was down 3-0 before the game was 13 minutes old but Quinn did not panic and under his guide Canada fought back for a 7-4 victory.  Last night the Oilers played the Columbus Blue Jackets and I saw the exact same drama unfold.  The Oilers would be down 4-1 by the midway point of the second period only to claw their way back, regain momentum by scoring 5 unanswered goals, and win the game 6-4.  Former whipping-boy Dustin Penner had a career high 5-point night.  Under former coach Craig MacTavish, Penner spent so much time in the doghouse he should have been paying rent.  However, under the tutelage of Quinn, Penner has blossomed into the the strong power forward the Oilers thought they were getting 2 years ago.  The kids are playing with confidence, the coach believes in them, and the Oilers are playing exciting hockey.

No one is suggesting that the Oilers will comeback every game or that Penner will win the Hart Trophy but in an age where life-long hockey men are cast aside as the old guard it is good to see a man like Pat Quinn succeed.  Quinn proves that while the NHL is vastly different from his early days with Philly, old dogs can learn new tricks and be damn good at it in the process

Greener \m/