News Article: Friedman: Everybody is feeling the heat of Oilers’ start

[Tyrolean]

Tired of listening to all these rants. Just fire and hire the right people again an hopefully they will have better credentials.

 

[RegDunlop]

I said it before, and I'll say it again;

The Oilers are blackballed by every other team in the league.

The tank was real, we stockpiled first overall's and high picks for years and the other gm's, as they should have been, were appalled at the behavior.

When we won the Mcdavid lottery, that sealed our fate. I am absolutely convinced that there is a league wide understanding that nobody trades with the Oilers unless it's a clear win for the other team.

It also stands to reason, that is why there is such a long leash for current coaching and management. Ownership and the "audit" were aware of the situation and have alloted more time under the current regime because developing our own draft picks and free agency are literally the only way we are going to acquire players.

The Hall trade is the most obvious thing I've ever seen that supports this theory.

Interesting

I have a theory close to yours that I'll share at some point.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

such as???

Talbot, Maroon, Sekera, Letestu, Kassian

 

[Soundwave]

Talbot, Maroon, Sekera, Letestu, Kassian

Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky eat your heart out. What an amazing supporting cast that was for a player of McDavid's caliber.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky eat your heart out. What an amazing supporting cast that was for a player of McDavid's caliber.

you disagree these guys didn't help the team that year?

 

[Soundwave]

you disagree these guys didn't help the team that year?

I think it's become fairly evident 16-17 season was largely fools gold.

That's not a cast around McDavid that was ever going to win anything. You look at all the great players and what it took to win with them, now look at that roster again.

And where are all the supposed "great little moves!" that Chia is supposedly famous for. Maroon is now 2 1/2 years ago, what has he added since then to this group that's moved any needle?

 

[MessierII]

such as???

Talbot, Larsson, Sekera, Maroon, Letestu, Benning, Lucic, Russell and Kassian all had good to great seasons that year.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

I think it's become fairly evident 16-17 season was largely fools gold.

That's not a cast around McDavid that was ever going to win anything. You look at all the great players and what it took to win with them, now look at that roster again.

And where are all the supposed "great little moves!" that Chia is supposedly famous for. Maroon is now 2 1/2 years ago, what has he added since then to this group that's moved any needle?

who cares

they helped the team win that year

 

[Soundwave]

who cares

they helped the team win that year

Katz should care. A great player deserves a great team, either get someone who can build one, or f*** off Darryl. You're wasting everyone's time.

That's really all it boils down to in the end. You don't surround a player of McDavid's caliber with a bunch of barn yard scraps like that and think you're building a winner. That group wouldn't win anything with Wayne Gretzky in his prime.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Katz should care. A great player deserves a great team, either get someone who can build one, or **** off Darryl. You're wasting everyone's time.

That's really all it boils down to in the end. You don't surround a player of McDavid's caliber with a bunch of barn yard scraps like that and think you're building a winner. That group wouldn't win anything with Wayne Gretzky in his prime.

even through another one of your rambling rants, you didn't answer the initial question which isn't surprising in the least

 

[oiler4ever]

Talbot, Larsson, Sekera, Maroon, Letestu, Benning, Lucic, Russell and Kassian all had good to great seasons that year.

Larsson is a very good player but not for Hall
Sekera would have been good signing if the term was 2 years lesser
Russell's second contract with that term is not good
Kassian was a freebie now he is in PressBox
Lucic contract length not so good
Benning another PressBox
Letestu in AHL

I just hope that Chia will be known for acquiring Reinhart, hopefully he makes one good move and makes him famous for it

 

[redgrant]

who cares

they helped the team win that year

That year
As everyone said a million times that year was an aberration. Look at the garb ge team we have this year that your BFF chairelli has built.

How bad do thinks have to get for you to take off your rose colored glasses?

The team looks awful yet again and chairelli a awful moves have crippled the team.

 

[MessierII]

As everyone said a million times that year was an aberration.

Was it? Or was last year an aberration? Nobody on either side of the debate can say definitively until this year plays out.

 

[Soundwave]

Was it? Or was last year an aberration? Nobody on either side of the debate can say definitively until this year plays out.

We will know soon enough, probably in a month's time, in all likely hood. You don't need to wait an entire year for your answer there.

But this team is already displaying all of the hallmarks of last year's team. They're not scoring when McDavid is not on the ice, the defence without Sekera looks shakier than a house of cards, the RW depth is not looking good against real NHL competition, the PP still looks abysmal.

You need to have a better team around McDavid, this is no where near good enough. No great player has won anything with a bunch of middling role players.

Even Wayne Gretzky as dominant as he was (much more dominant than McDavid versus his peers) never even made a SCF without a very loaded team around him. The worst Finals team he had was that 93 Kings team that still had Robataille, Blake, Kurri, on it.

Get someone who can build a real team around McDavid that's worthy of being feared Darryl, or your precious lottery ball win isn't going to keep your coffers full indefinitely.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

ugh, this was actually the 1st game in years (prior to McDavid draft) that I wanted them to lose. Of course, the head of the snake stays, all thanks to Connor McDavid. This team is pretty damn good on paper, but the product on the ice looks lost, slow, with a complete lack of confidence. I hope they already started the process of scouting for a new coach, the right coach for this team. And not Gulutzan, he's a good #2 but we need someone with the ability adapt and be creative

 

[Skolman]

ugh, this was actually the 1st game in years (prior to McDavid draft) that I wanted them to lose. Of course, the head of the snake stays, all thanks to Connor McDavid. This team is pretty damn good on paper, but the product on the ice looks lost, slow, with a complete lack of confidence. I hope they already started the process of scouting for a new coach, the right coach for this team. And not Gulutzan, he's a good #2 but we need someone with the ability adapt and be creative

We are actually pretty bad on paper imo

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

We are actually pretty bad on paper imo

Agreed. On paper, we might have a bottom-5 defense league-wide and have a bottom-10 starting goalie.

 

[frag2]

Was it? Or was last year an aberration? Nobody on either side of the debate can say definitively until this year plays out.

2 out of 3 years, we've been horrid so I think it's fair to say that, at this point, until we lock up a playoff spot this year, 16-17 was an anomaly.

 

[voxel]

We had depth in 16-17. Maroon, Pouliot, Eberle, Pitlick, Sleppy, a red-hot Letestu. What did we replace them with? Aberg, Rattie, Strome, Reider, Yamamoto.

In 16-17 we transitioned the puck a whole lot better... I don't know why.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

We had depth in 16-17. Maroon, Pouliot, Eberle, Pitlick, Sleppy, a red-hot Letestu. What did we replace them with? Aberg, Rattie, Strome, Reider, Yamamoto.

In 16-17 we transitioned the puck a whole lot better... I don't know why.

Sekera and klefbom werent awful

 

[MessierII]

2 out of 3 years, we've been horrid so I think it's fair to say that, at this point, until we lock up a playoff spot this year, 16-17 was an anomaly.

2015-16 was still an improvement from before. We were moving in the right direction.

 

[frag2]

2015-16 was still an improvement from before. We were moving in the right direction.

This team screams lipstick on a pig

 

[Drivesaitl]

2016-17 was the best regular season we’ve had since 1988 and the best playoffs we’ve had since 2006 before that 1992. That was with a lot of his aquisitions playing big roles.

Did you somehow miss 97, 98. Those were equal accomplishments to 16-17 and altogether more impressive as that team was playing precap allstar clubs. They were playing clubs with twice the payroll. Tat the Oilers were knocking off SC giants was pretty incredible. The Oilers those seasons beat Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche cup winning teams in their prime. Those were huge victories. How could you not remember those?

16-17 was not all that exceptional. We got by a Sharks team with Jumbo playing on one leg and Pavelski and Couture playing hurt. The Sharks were heavily wounded. It would have been miraculous to lose that series.

What the Oilers accomplished in snd round against the Ducks was more impressive but lets not kid ourselves thinking the Ducks are any great team.

 

[joestevens29]

Tired of listening to all these rants. Just fire and hire the right people again an hopefully they will have better credentials.

We had guys with good credentials. Not a lot were pissed off when we hired Nicholson, TM or PC.

 

[MessierII]

Did you somehow miss 97, 98. Those were equal accomplishments to 16-17 and altogether more impressive as that team was playing precap allstar clubs.

Game 7 in round 2 is deeper albeit I agree the first round wins were more impressive at that time.