Craig MacTavish
Craig MacTavish
Craig MacTavishis a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is the current Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Edmonton Oilers, and has also served as the team's head coach and general manager. He played center for 17 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues, winning the Stanley Cup four times. MacTavish later coached the Oilers from 2000 to 2009 and also served...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth15 August 1958
al crucial ends everybody excuse game guest perfect pick ready retire wondered
The perfect guest again. I wondered why they're going to pick us to retire Al MacInnis' jersey. There's no excuse for not having everybody ready to play and we end up being the perfect guest for what ends up being a crucial game for us.
four lines maybe roll stretch
Maybe (only) one stretch we were able to roll four lines in succession. That's not the way we wanted to play.
criticism maybe moved
I thought we moved it around well, but when we did get the five-star opportunities, we didn't put it in the back of the net. That's maybe the only criticism I have of the game.
best both couple edmonton everybody felt few game home hopefully hurt impatient injuries last leaves losses playoff sixth starting tough wanting wondering
We were up 2-1, and both of our losses at home were tough to swallow. I thought that even the sixth game was our best game of the playoffs, a game we felt that we should've won. It was difficult, but we had a few injuries that hurt our chances. The thing about Edmonton is that there is no better place to play playoff hockey. When it's over a prematurely as it has been in the last couple of years it just leaves everybody wanting more and wondering why more hasn't been delivered. We're starting to get impatient and hopefully we can deliver.
due four games lost overtime row
We had lost four overtime games in a row and we were due for a win.
forward fourth lines mind regular scenarios starting three top
We haven't made our mind up yet on a lot of players. We're starting to see some combinations on how our top three lines will look going into the regular season. But there are still a lot of different scenarios that could play out with the fourth line and who the 13th forward will be.
good guys work
It's good that the young guys go through that. Now they know how much work they have to do.
create definitely great league
It's great for the fans. The league wanted to create these rivalries and they've definitely done that.
coach crop curve early everybody learning saying struggle teams work
It will be a work in progress. We like to think, as everybody would at this stage, that we're progressing and we have our teams prepared. But there will be things that crop up. Every coach is saying we don't want to struggle with the learning curve early on. But some will.
lots seamless
You think it's going to be a seamless transition. (Right now) he's making lots of plays.
ourselves pick
It's devastating for a team. We'll have to pick ourselves up tomorrow.
confidence fall penalty people shoot shot
You have to have the confidence to do it with 17,000 people watching. I had one penalty shot once and all I could think of was don't fall and don't shoot it into the corner. Get a shot on net.
bring depend good guess largely looking mike point poorly pressure season start until worked year
Up until this point it hasn't been a distraction, but I guess it will largely depend on how well we start the season. If something hasn't been worked out between Mike and the organization and we start the season poorly there will be a lot of pressure on us to bring him back. We're looking to have a good year with or without Mike.
close team
You get to know how close they are. You get to see what your team is going to look like down the road.