Hitchcock calls out team.

GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
9,712
6,432
Brampton, ON
This reminds me of the Rangers from 98 to 2004. Lots of individual talent but just could not function as a team. Took them to blow up the team, a lockout, and elite seasons from Jagr and a Lundqvist to finally change the culture of the organization.

They don't have lots of individual talent. They have three top six forwards and their defense isn't anything to write home about.
 

GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
9,712
6,432
Brampton, ON
Then blame Chia for destroying the team, not the owner.

But the most important person to blame is McDavid. He's not a leader. If he can't step up and inspire his team mates he's nothing but a follower.

Jeez, put Toews on that team with McD and Drai and they would be first in their division.

You do realize CHI is as bad as EDM, right?
 
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General Disarray

Registered User
Jul 21, 2016
3,422
2,506
Toronto
I wonder if it's a vicious cycle they are caught in? The current roster is build so that there are only 3 good players who are forced to do everything and play so many minutes due to terrible depth. As a result, they get tired and lazy taking short cuts. The rest of the team follows them as they are the leaders. The rest of the team plays like that and the 3 good players have to compensate and get tired and lazy. The cycle repeats.
 

North Cole

♧ Lem
Jan 22, 2017
11,351
12,585
Blaming the owners for the performance of players is hilariously a reach.

Didn't they pay McD and Drai outlandish contracts? It's not like Bill Wirtz who completely sabotaged his team and selling off his best players because he didn't want to pay them.

You need to look at McDavid, who pretty much mailed it in after he got his points in the Hawks game, or Drai, who could care less this last game. Hitch is saying what's wrong with the team and I wouldn't blame him if he walked away after the season.

Blame the owners lol

"Outlandish contracts".

Christ. Just stop, put your account of vacation mode or something.

The owner has absolutely no influence on the team, because he is in LA trying to harras and pay actresses for sex. When the owner of the team is not around to make decisions or give inputs, his chosen replacement takes over.

This is the Alternate governor on the right, his replacement:


These people run this organization.... Look how much they lived in the past, just in this video. They felt like they were entitled to maximum respect and authority, BEFORE they got promoted to the highest levels of the organization. Lowe and MacT and gods I'm their own mind, its sickening

"Any time you win 5 cups, there's a semi-mess that comes along with that." Haha. It's been f***ing 30 years...
 

doorbag

Registered User
Jun 26, 2008
518
794
Then blame Chia for destroying the team, not the owner.

But the most important person to blame is McDavid. He's not a leader. If he can't step up and inspire his team mates he's nothing but a follower.

Jeez, put Toews on that team with McD and Drai and they would be first in their division.

Please explain to me what McDavid should be doing differently to “inspire” the team. Do you seriously think that a rousing locker room speech is going to turn a bunch of fringe NHL players into 20 goal scorers? The roster and contracts were assembled by a moron who should have been fired immediately after the Reinhart trade. No amount of “leadership” is going to get a group of press box dmen to shut down legit top lines or elevate sub .900 goaltending to a respectable level. You’re either out of your mind or trolling if you think McDavid should be doing more than he currently is. Give me a break.
 

King'sPawn

Enjoy the chaos
Jul 1, 2003
21,812
20,607
Blaming the owners for the performance of players is hilariously a reach.

Didn't they pay McD and Drai outlandish contracts? It's not like Bill Wirtz who completely sabotaged his team and selling off his best players because he didn't want to pay them.

You need to look at McDavid, who pretty much mailed it in after he got his points in the Hawks game, or Drai, who could care less this last game. Hitch is saying what's wrong with the team and I wouldn't blame him if he walked away after the season.

Blame the owners lol

Considering this culture of losing with the Oilers started before Draisaitl and McDavid were drafted, I have to respectfully disagree.
 
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Fixxer

Registered User
Jul 28, 2016
3,224
1,629
There's been water in the oil for some time...
The issues there date back from the Souray days... 2010.
I mean, he was the first player speaking out about it.
 
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PromisedLand

I need more FOOD
Dec 3, 2016
41,857
52,058
Hogwarts
Yes hitch it started with Chirelli giving inflated contract to the RFAs and UFAs and then making dumb ass trade moves. And then the players' lack of effort every game relying on McJesus to bail them out every freakin' time.

If NHL had NFL rules of no "guaranteed contracts" then all the players would put in more effort
 

dookers9

Registered User
Mar 30, 2008
2,518
122
Edmonton
"Outlandish contracts".

Christ. Just stop, put your account of vacation mode or something.

The owner has absolutely no influence on the team, because he is in LA trying to harras and pay actresses for sex. When the owner of the team is not around to make decisions or give inputs, his chosen replacement takes over.

This is the Alternate governor on the right, his replacement:


These people run this organization.... Look how much they lived in the past, just in this video. They felt like they were entitled to maximum respect and authority, BEFORE they got promoted to the highest levels of the organization. Lowe and MacT and gods I'm their own mind, its sickening

"Any time you win 5 cups, there's a semi-mess that comes along with that." Haha. It's been ****ing 30 years...

Yeah, the old guard has undoubtedly had some influence in the chronic dysfunction here. They are the common denominator, and to be at this stage having fired and re-hired and embarked on x number of "rebuilds", it's outrageous that Nicholson stood before the city and its fans - season ticket holders - and inferred that a change at the top level is off the table. EVERYTHING should be on the table.

That said, for the immediate intervention, getting rid of Lowe et. al will have no effect. That's an off-season move among others.

The problems in my mind are such: 1 questionable roster, 2 player mis-management (meaning having players in the wrong slots, playing erong minutes, etc.), and 3 player effort/players doing their own thing without team buy-in. And they're all coming into play.

Point #1: Manning, Petrovic, Cave, Benning, Gravel, Brodziak, are all examples of players that shouldn't be in the NHL of are at best on the proverbial bubble. The game has either passed them by (Brodziak), or they're simply not skilled enough. Any game we have at least 2 of the above in the lineup, some nights all of them.

Point #2: Talbot, Koskinen, Lucic, Larsson, Puljujarvi, Russell, Rattie, Rieder, to some degree Nurse, and in some ways Kassian are examples of players incorrectly slotted into spots that require skills that aren't there to meet the minutes. Granted, Hitch has resorted to moving players all over the lineup, but the results speak volumes.

Point #3: Rieder, Larsson, Kassian, Draisaitl, Rieder, Lucic are not bought-in. Either through lack of confidence or belief in the system, or simply not investing the effort required.

That leaves McDavid, Klefbom (injured most of the year), Khaira, RNH, and Chiasson - 5 freaking players - who're properly slotted into roles with the team that suit their skill level and are committed to the team vision. Of course, as the burden of carrying the team weighs on them, each is vulnerable to stretch their play beyond their capacities and to eventually show a lack of buy in as well. By-product of fatigue.

So there you have it, imho, the reasons for our failures and the breakdowns of why they've occurred. A team with 5 properly utilized players is going nowhere.

Fancy that.

Regardless of what Hitch has to say or do.
 

Cubs2024WSChamps

Tate MacRae follows me on Tiktok
Apr 29, 2015
7,885
2,459
As usual, white knight poor McDavid when his coach calls him and the rest of the team for not trying.

Carry on.
 

vanarchy

May 3, 2013
9,100
8,355
He is one of the greatest coaches of all time and he has no idea what to do with the dumpster fire that is Edmonton.
Yeah. It’s simply not on the coach anymore. The roster is somehow worse than the previous jersey throwing one but is propped up by the best player in the league. Chiarelli absolutely ****ed this team.
 

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