Oilers fans seem to blame Kevin Lowe for everything from the Ryan Smyth trade to global warming (he hasn't publicly declared that he's not the cause of global warming, so who knows). Hell, fans spent almost $6,000 to take out a full page ad in the Sun pleading for Lowe to be fired.
But other than the numerous blunders and a seemingly unending leash, there's another reason to remove Lowe from the Oilers equation.
Because we fans are never going to get inside the real inner workings of the organization, the only way to judge who is in charge is by the additions and subtractions in management. The Oilers have changed coaches, trainers, scouts, general managers and assistant general managers and yet the team continues to make strange decisions.
The way the team develops young players has not changed despite Tambellini's firing. The half-measures in the off season are the same. Trading assets for futures is still going on. But is that culture and organizational philosophy Kevin Lowe's doing? Or is it Katz?
There's a strong belief that Katz was pulling the strings at the 2012 draft, when he overrode the opinion of his scouts. So how far does that influence go? The only way to know for sure would be to gut management - and Lowe in particular - and see if things change.
If we see sweeping changes to the front office in the off season and business carries on as usual, we'll know that there's a deeper problem in the organization.
And its name is Daryl Katz.
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