Hearsay: Olympian teaches Oilers’ Eakins

Dallas Eakins responded to Lars Eller comments about the Edmonton Oilers, after a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. (CP)

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OLYMPIAN TEACHES OILERS’ EAKINS

The Edmonton Sun believes that one of the things you should know about new Oilers coach Dallas Eakins is that second only to his hockey passion in the winter is his triathlon obsession in the summer.

A good friend of Simon Whitfield, Eakins will ride together with Canada’s gold and silver medal-winning Olympian at the third annual 160-kilometer Okanagan GranFondo in Penticton on July 7.

“Dallas and I became friends over Twitter after I realized he’s such a committed endurance enthusiast,” said Whitfield when contacted Wednesday.

“He’s extremely passionate about learning new training methods and best practices.

“We’ve been out riding, talk triathlon and coaching.

“I will say he needs a lot of work on his swimming.

“I get the impression he’ll bring a whole new attitude to the team. Growing up an Edmonton fan, I’m looking forward to seeing the Oilers winning again.”

MARLIES LOOK TO FILL EAKINS’ COACHING SLOT

The Toronto Star indicates the interview process to replace former Marlies bench boss Dallas Eakins, new head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, has yet to begin. But Marlies GM Dave Poulin has begun the search and reportedly received as many as 20 resumes.

Poulin said by email Wednesday that he’d had brief conversations with Marlies assistants Gord Dineen and Derek King, who hopes to have a formal interview as early as next week.

“There’s some big shoes to fill there with Dallas leaving — and good for him, it’s well deserved — but sure, why wouldn’t you want to take over,” said King, part of a Marlies staff that has developed several players now with the Maple Leafs.

CANUCKS’ WEISE REMAINS VISORLESS

Dale Weise tells The Vancouver Province that as a physical, fourth-line player for the Canucks in a role that occasionally requires fighting, he won’t wear a visor.

Weise says he would don a visor instantly if he progressed to becoming a third-line player.

“If I was playing in a bigger role and playing more minutes, I’d put one on for sure,” Weise told The Province. “In that fourth line role, you’re getting targeted by other guys. If you’re not playing on the fourth line, then you’re not going to have as many opportunities to fight.”

Sometimes players who wear visors take their helmets off — through mutual consent — before they fight, but Weise believes that’s even more dangerous.

“You’re better off with a helmet on when you fall on the ice during a fight,” Weise said. “It saves you two ways. You get to keep your helmet on when you don’t have a visor. And as a defence mechanism, getting punched in the side of the head it takes a little bit of the blow and the same thing if you fall on the ice. With a visor, and you’ve got to take it off, I think you’re in more danger.”

FLYERS LOOK TO SIGN STREIT

In case you missed it Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired the rights to pending unrestricted free agent Mark Streit from the New York Islanders.

The Islanders’ last offer to Streit, a three-year deal worth $4.75 million per year, was made before the trade deadline in April, a source told ESPNNewYork.com. It is believed that Streit is looking for a multiyear deal worth more than $5 million per year.

Streit’s agent, Pat Brisson, told the Daily News he would begin negotiating with Holmgren on Wednesday afternoon.

Brisson told CSNPhilly.com he’d like a deal before July.

The Daily News also reminds readers it is not a slam dunk guarantee that the Flyers and Streit will be able to come to terms on a deal. The Flyers also acquired the rights to Dan Hamhuis from Nashville in 2010, but moved his rights six days later at the NHL Draft for a third round pick once they couldn’t sign him.

RED WINGS BUILDING FOUNDATION FOR FREE AGENTS

Michigan Live relays how Red Wings general manager Ken Holland says a foundation of success must be laid to attract the top free agents.

“High-profile free agents don’t want to go to rebuild,” Holland told WDFN’s Matt Shepard on Wednesday. “You’re going for a variety of reasons, one of which is winning.

“The teams, in my opinion, that want quick fixes, you’re not building a foundation. You’ve got to start at the draft table, and you can complement it with trades and free agency. If we don’t have a strong foundation, free agents aren’t going to want to come here.”

He added: “We’re not that far away. We’re trying to get 5 percent better. We’re not going to go 50 percent better. We’ve got to get a little deeper, a little more scoring, a little more experience for some players who haven’t been there before.

“Certainly it was rewarding for the organization to see young guys make an impact. That gives us optimism as we head into the offseason. We also have a lot of tough decisions to make. You like tough decisions when young people are pushing for jobs.”

YOUNGER BLUES READY TO TAKE CHARGE         

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out that minus Scott Nichol (38, retired), Jamie Langenbrunner (37, may or may not be brought back) and Andy McDonald (35, retired), the Blues may not have a single forward in his 30s next season.

“We’ve talked to our leadership group about this,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “Those players were brought in to certainly play on the ice, but to give assistance off the ice. I think this group now is past the point of needing mentorship. What they’ve learned from those guys, they’ve learned. They have to put it in to place now.”

This feeling, Armstrong said, does not preclude the Blues from entering the free agency market at forward in July. But no longer does the franchise believe that adding veteran players for the sake of having them will make the team better.

“(David) Backes and (Alex) Steen and (Barret) Jackman are all older players now,” Armstrong said. “(David) Perron, (Patrik) Berglund, (Chris) Stewart and (T.J.) Oshie … they’re in their sixth year pro. I don’t think they need to be given any more instruction on what it takes to win. At some point, these guys got to take charge of this team and it becomes their team. If they don’t, then we’ve got the wrong guys.”

WHAT THEY’RE TWEETING ABOUT

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