Edmonton Oilers extend General Manager Steve Tambellini's contract -NHL Update
Edmonton Oilers’ general manager, Steve Tambellini, had four consecutive seasons to prove his worth to the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, which seems like he was successful at doing as he was awarded a contract extension by the Canadian club on Wednesday, June 6, 2012.
Kevin Lowe, the Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Operations, was to make the announcement and it was certainly one that made fans think about the past few years that have been with Tambellini on board.
"Three years ago, we asked Steve (Tambellini) to begin a rebuild which we all know hasn't been easy," said Kevin Lowe.
"However, Oilers fans can take some consolation in the fact that Steve and his staff have acquired some amazing talent which will most definitely be the cornerstone to future sustained success for the Edmonton Oilers," Lowe added.
Edmonton has definitely seen turbulent times and they need to become a top level team if hockey is something Oilers want to continue being a part of since the past few seasons, performance wise, have been horrendous for sure.
On the other hand, many observers would rather term his decisions to be long-term for the team looking at how Tambellini has managed to grab two of the first overall draft pick in the past two years.
Taylor Hall was the first in 2010 while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was up for grabs in 2011. Talks are that Edmonton is moving forward to grab this year’s top player, Nail Yakupov, as well or maybe even high rated defenseman, Ryan Murray.
“This whole time of drafting and free agency and assessment is a critical time,” Tambellini said. “I had one GM who is in the finals (New Jersey’s Lou Lamoriello) tell me, “You build your team in July and then you watch it (grow).”
The financial terms and conditions along with length of the contract were not released by Edmonton Oilers, but the duration is reported to be somewhere around two to three seasons.
With next year being especially crucial for Edmonton Oilers as far is performance is concerned, these upcoming seasons will determine his future with the franchise. If there is no significant progress, Tambellini most likely, will not be as lucky as this time.
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