Daum Done?

by Jonathan Willis on May 2, 2008 8:16 AM MDT

From Jim Matheson's article yesterday:

Daum, who signed a one-year contract with the Oilers last summer when Craig Simpson left to be a Hockey Night in Canada colour commentator, is in a state of limbo.

He was an injection of new blood to the coaching staff, but the NHL season's been over for three weeks and there's no indication if Daum will be rehired.

The persistent rumour has American Hockey League farm coach Kelly Buchberger moving up to join Charlie Huddy and Billy Moores as Craig MacTavish's assistants, but the Springfield Falcons head man says that's news to him. He was their roving development coach for a year, going to see the club's prospects, then went to Springfield for his first pro head job.

It's a little difficult for me to feel strongly about either possibility given how little I know about Daum's performance this season. If he's in limbo right now it seems fairly likely that he's done; on the other hand, does the team really want to bump Kelly Buchberger out of his head coaching gig that fast? Given that Buchberger's only been head coach for one season, if they're reasonably happy with his performance it almost seems like a good idea to keep him down there where he can get some more experience.

Still, that said, there's another blog with an interesting entry on Jeff Truitt, Buchberger's assistant, here. Among the interesting items in the article is this one on Buchberger:

It appears at first glance that Buchberger isn't in Springfield for the long haul, so much so, that he isn't even bring his family down to join him.

With that in mind, it seems fairly reasonable to assume that moving forward Rob Daum is likely finished with the organization, a victim to timing and the team having a preferred candidate waiting in the wings. Perhaps he'll be back next season as a coach with Springfield, or perhaps the organization will turn Springfield over to Truitt.

UPDATE: Guy Flaming has done a much more in-depth write-up on this. Thanks to commenter Jamie for pointing it out.

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Guy Flaming had a good take on this on his blog Coming Down the Pipe

http://thepipelineshow.blogspot.com/2008/04/right-man-for-job.html

Daum is an excellent developer of talent with a proven track record. It would seem more logical and beneficial for the Oilers' system for him to be in Springfield, if he is interested.

by Jamie on May 3, 2008 10:31 AM MDT reply actions

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