Blue And Orange
Oilers & Seahawks
Fans wanted Kevin Lowe gone since 2010. But most Oilers fans (including myself) fell into the hype of drafting Taylor Hall and drank a ton of kool-aid thinking the rebuild was going to be successful. Kevin Lowe has had a managerial/executive position since 2000 and since he took over, the Oilers have made only 3 playoff appearances in 15 years, including the one Stanley Cup run.
There were many incidences where Kevin Lowe put his personal ego ahead of business and hockey.
Prime examples:
1) In 2003, Lowe was about to trade Mike Comrie to Anaheim for Corry Perry and a 1st round pick, but Lowe wanted to stick it to Comrie by forcing him to pay back his $2.5 million bonus, which Comrie refused. The deal was made, but Anaheim pulled out and was infuriated and vowed never to do business with Kevin Lowe ever again.
2) In 2008, when Brian Burke called out Kevin Lowe on his unprofessionalism with the Dustin Penner offersheet, he went on a tirade about how much better he is and challenged him to a fight. He even took shots at the city of Anaheim as a hockey market. Although Anaheim may not be the best, you have to stoop pretty LOWE to insult a fanbase.
3) He then bashed Mike Gillis after he was hired by the Vancouver Canucks as their GM in 2008. Gillis was the player agent for Michael Nylander after his wife refused to come to Edmonton. While I don't blame Gillis for that unfortunate incident, Lowe held a grudge against him and blasted him on the media which is unprofessional.
There's a reason free agents don't want to sign in Edmonton, it's not just the weather or Edmonton's lack of nightlife options. It's well documented that Lowe carries himself with a holier-than-thou attitude.
Tambellini and Mac-T were horrible GMs, nobody will deny that, but I felt they were yes men to Kevin Lowe who was the guy behind the scenes that called the shots. He could nix any trade proposal that a GM would make.
The biggest evidence of his arrogance is this:
So yea, Lowe has been hated as early as 2003. In 2006, he caught lightning in a bottle and his ego grew even more and he tried to replicate that. The problem is, he acquired Chris Pronger from a St Louis team that was desparately shedding salary to get under the salary cap and Dwayne Roloson played out of his mind during the playoffs.
I still think Cam Neely has a long way to go before he reaches the same level of hatred that Kevin Lowe was given by the fans in Edmonton. Hopefully, Neely realizes this and steps down before his reputation and goodwill he's built as a player is destroyed by his ego and selfishness as an executive.
