Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins acknowledged he probably took things a little far in denouncing a fan who tossed a replica Oilers jersey onto the Rexall Place ice surface last week as a “quitter.”
But the first-year coach stood by the passion he brings to his job and the respect he has for any jersey, not merely the Oilers iconic oil drop. He said if he were saw a Flames jersey discarded to the floor, he’d pick that one up, too.
I think what happened was my passion for our logo, which is the same as a country’s flag, a family (coat of) arms, it was clearly on display. Did I take it too far? I probably did. But I do not take kindly to our jersey every being on the fllor. i don’t take kindly to any jersey (being discarded on the floor). Listen, we don’t care for the Calgary Flames, but if I was walking out of the building here tonight and I saw a Calgary Flames jersey laying on the ground, I’d pick it up.” — Dallas Eakins
Eakins was the featured guest on Hockey Night in Canada’s After Hours segment with Scott Oake and Kelly Hrudey following the Oilers 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. He handled himself well, as you’d expect, in a somewhat truncated segment.
Here’s the audio from his the discussion on the popular post-game broadcast. Eakins1 includes his jersey remarks, notably.
In the second clip, Eakins responds to a question about his approach to coaching, walking the fine line between teaching, enforcing standards, and keeping the environment a happy one. Interestingly, he echoes longtime Yankees, Mets and Dodgers manager Joe Torre in saying that the time to be stern and insistent is when things are going well, not poorly. Which some may find counter-intuitive. Not that Eakins mentions Torre, mind you, but Torre has offered a similar point of view on this issue elsewhere.
When you’re getting wins and getting points, I think that’s when it’s a real good time to hammer on details and really get into guys when they’re coming off their game.” — Eakins
Eakins also defended the work habits of his young team, saying that everyone defines hard work differently.
I think what we need here is more experience and we’re getting that, game by game. But i firmly respect all of our guys’ work ethics. — Eakins
