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MacTavish wants a ‘non-complaining culture’ in Edmonton

Craig MacTavish.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish announces the firing of head coach Ralph Krueger during an NHL hockey news conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday, June 8, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jason Franson)

AP

Craig MacTavish’s return to Edmonton as their new general manager sees him looking to change up more than the roster.

While speaking as a guest of a local hockey school, MacTavish says he wants to make sure players aren’t complaining as Ryan Frankson shares.

“It’s incumbent on everyone in that locker room to provide the kind of working environment we want … a productive, hard-working, non-complaining culture,” MacTavish said. “I’m going to be diligent in my decision-making in terms of weeding out the complainers. We want guys who want to be here, who want to come to work every day. The competitive environment that is going to be created in training camp is going to have a real residual effect on the rest of our year.”

We’ve all seen our fair share of players complaining, usually to referees, but MacTavish’s aim here makes sense for such a young team. It’s easy for younger players to fall into bad habits and he wants to prevent that from happening.

Of course, the first time you see an Oilers player pick up a penalty for barking at an official a zoom-in on Mac’s face will be necessary.

Curious to know what Ryan Whitney’s reaction to this new policy would be.

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