Interesting insight from Andrew Ference (31 Thoughts: The Podcast)

[McAsuno]

When there's a divide between two camps, things get polarized. Each camp experiences the same thing differently. Both Ference and Nugent-Hopkins are telling the truth.

The locker room wasn't on the same page. It is hard to accomplish goals in a group of people if people do not have the same approach, and not every approach is as good as another.

Talent wins you hockey games. Teamwork wins you hockey games. Talent and teamwork wins you a lot of games.

/thread

Generally, winning and success takes away any negative issues. That's how it is and will always be.

 

[Panda Bear]

To everyone who is dismissing bad teamwork, work culture, and atmosphere as being irrelevant to success: have you ever been part of a genuinely successful venture with other people?

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

If @CantHaveTkachev is upset by the suggestion, you can bet there is more than a little coincidence to the timing of Ference’s big interview. The fact that the Devils are awful right now .... the fact that the Oilers have actually won some games .... the fact that Chiarelli has a couple of long shots looking good. It’s the best possible moment to trot out a stooge like Ference. Start shaping that narrative.

Boy that’s quite a far-fetched theory
I need what you are smoking

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

You really think the current Oilers care about what he thinks?
They are more fragile than I thought

I doubt it, but there's still no reason for the media to be asking RNH about this nonsense.

 

[RegDunlop]

Even if you sucked and were trying really hard in practise to get better and he was making fun of you for trying hard?

But part of my point about this mess is how hypocritical Ferrance is. If that was indeed the case (and sorry my feelings aside I dont buy it), then he and his buddy Eakins are responsible. Or go higher to idiot MacT at al for thier placements.

Andrew Ferrance simply was part of the problem here. Perhaps he didnt deserve to be as he was thrust into a situation, but he was. And his relationship with his coach caused as big a chasm in the room, I'm guessing, then anything anyone else did.

 

[McAsuno]

Ference trying to proclaim Dallas Eakins is a great coach still makes me laugh.
Even Spector and his intolerable ass mentioned on the show today that earlier on Eakins would watch the practice with the media in the seats instead of being on ice with the team. Yeah, don't place any blame on your fitness buddy, Ference!

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

To everyone who is dismissing bad teamwork, work culture, and atmosphere as being irrelevant to success: have you ever been part of a genuinely successful venture with other people?

I don't doubt that Hall wasn't the best teammate.

But when Ference doesn't even hold himself accountable, why should we champion this guy when he was a complete dud from the get-go?

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

But Ference hasn’t owned up to his failure. And he was captain of the team to boot. At least Hall owned up to his mistakes.

yes he has

 

[JarvisFunk]

B-BUT MUH CULTURE!!!!

B-B-BUT MUH TAILER HAULLL!!!

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

B-B-BUT MUH TAILER HAULLL

B-BUT MUH MUH MIA!

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

yes he has

Alright then. That's a start. I'll give him credit for that.

 

[Barrsy]

Pretty sure if he’d knocked Hall on his ass in practice you would have heard of it. He did **** all as a leader. You can infer that means I disagree with the fact that the environment was a **** show. But I don’t. I make none of the apologies you attribute to me for Hall, Eberle et all. Hall could have played ten more years in Edmonton and still been an *******. He needed the trade to wake him up. I’m just tired of hearing what I already know from the Ferences of the world who did **** all about it while collecting a fat ****ing paycheque at the time.

How do you know he didn’t make an effort? And that Hall told him to f*** off?
Your talking out your ass.

 

[RegDunlop]

He was asked a question in an interview. He has nothing to do with the team anymore and is free to do or say what he wants. Who are you to tell him different?

He was in a scripted discussion with Jeff Merek, who is in the Ferrance-Merek-Eakins friendship ring.

Hes also not a stupid man. They all knew the s**tstorm they would create.

I have a problem with him for that.

 

[Panda Bear]

Generally, winning and success takes away any negative issues. That's how it is and will always be.

I agree.

But when it comes to any successful group venture, there needs to be talent and teamwork. There are other factors, but the aforementioned two are by far the most important in sports.

If you're winning and succeeding, then you have a good group. If you're not, then you have problems in talent, teamwork, or both.

(Luck is a much, much bigger factor in business than in sport due to the sheer number of people participating in an economy.)

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

How do you know he didn’t make an effort? And that Hall told him to **** off?
Your talking out your ass.

How do you know he did?

 

[RegDunlop]

I’m sure there’s a lot of merit to some of Ference’s comments. The list goes on of former players airing their grievances about the organization.

But at the same time when he spouts about how awesome Eakins is, you know that obviously he’s not quite on the same page as reality.

In my own twisted version of reality I figure Brad strutted in on day one, flashed his ring and went on and on about how awesome Zeno Chara is as a teammate. After 40-45 minutes of this most of the youngsters tuned him out.

Shane Corson is still the worst Oilers captain, I think. But the three dudes from the DOD are right up there.

My sentiments exactly.
I wonder when Corson will spout out?

 

[McAsuno]

I agree.

But when it comes to any successful group venture, there needs to be talent and teamwork. There are other factors, but the aforementioned two are by far the most important in sports.

If you're winning and succeeding, then you have a good group. If you're not, then you have problems in talent, teamwork, or both.

(Luck is a much, much bigger factor in business than in sport due to the sheer number of people participating in an economy.)

There's more to it. Yes, the players on the team need to have the talent and teamwork to succeed, absolutely agreeable. But the management needs to be held accountable as well. Imagine if the Oiler pro scouts could actually draft outside the first round during the decade of darkness instead of going for grinding big slow meatheats that amounted minimal to nothing in the NHL. Or an owner that actually cared more about success than he does in regards to his friendship with the OBC.
It doesn't help the talent and teamwork for the players when every year, there was a coaching carousel along with terrible GM's that failed miserably to bring the right pieces for this team to succeed. Such as signing scrubs like Belanger, Hordichuk, Eager, Foster, Nikitin, Barker, Grebeshkov, etc.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Nuge is one of the few players still around from the time Ference is talking

 

[RegDunlop]

Thanks for bringing this to light when the team is trying to get back into the playoff race. That’s what the Oilers need. And they are a lot closer now then at any point during your reign of terror Andrew. You should’ve done something about the culture of the team instead of just collecting your bloated paycheck.

Well said.

Exactly what purpose does this serve now? This 'plug's needs to have his 15 minutes again because his failures faded him into obscurity thr first time he was connected with the Oilers.

 

[McAsuno]

Well said.

Exactly what purpose does this serve now? This 'plug's needs to have his 15 minutes again because his failures faded him into obscurity thr first time he was connected with the Oilers.

And I thought Laraque's false pissing on Hall last season was a trainwreck. Didn't surprise me when HK97 tried to use the narrative to slag on Hall, which is evidently funny since he kept his mouth shut about it right after Laraque went back on his crap and apologized.

 

[McBaevid]

Ference was dog shit and was on the IR or in the press box for most of his time here. Who cares what he has to say, it's not like he was actually out there winning us games with his 'leadership'. The fact that he think Eakins was a good coach should be all there needs to be said about his opinion.

 

[RegDunlop]

Does not cease to amaze me the lengths some will go to defend Hall and Ebs when comments like this happen. Ference makes a point about division within the locker room, those guy (without directly naming them) partying every night, and like clockwork someone throws up a stat that shows Hall was a good player (which he was), and that somehow erases the lack of commitment (it doesn’t).

Taylor Hall was a back to back Memorial Cup MVP. No one had ever done that before. His talent was undeniable, and his potential/ability was classed in that tier around previous draft peers (I’ll say below Tavares hype, comparable to Stamkos/Doughty hype). So why didn’t his game follow a similar development path? Lack of mentors? Yes, that falls on management. But at what point do you not look in the mirror and realize the party lifestyle is also hindering your game? It took being traded and having his former team make the playoffs the very next year in order to humble him enough to take the game more seriously. What does he do the next year? Wins the Hart Trophy. Why did it have to get to that point, 8 seasons in?

We’ve seen multiple former players (Belanger, Scrivens, Ference) point out how dysfunctional this team was and why, and all we hear back from the fans of the young guns is how useless those players were on the ice. Please realize this doesn’t alter the validity of their comments.

????
How did Halls career not follow the path? Checking the award list from last year, I'd say he was on the right track. 25 years old with a Hart ain't bad.

And on the topic of "not naming names" why didnt this self righteous piece of s**t come out and name them? Puke

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Nobody is addressing the elephant in the room here. The great unanswered question.

Will Taylor Hall donate to the Andrew Ference led NHLPA Carbon Offset Program this year?

 

[ThreeOfAPerfectPair]

Ference exaggerating claims of hard-partying Edmonton Oilers team that didn’t care, says Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

“To say that guys were going out all the time and were showing up hung over, I don’t remember guys doing that at all,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who has evolved into the best two-way player on the team.

He really rolled his eyes at the notion players were routinely mocked for working hard in practice.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

How do you know he didn’t make an effort? And that Hall told him to **** off?
Your talking out your ass.

Speaking of talking our your ass you’re the world champ hucklebery. Calling anyone who has something different than you a “Hall apologist” or some other stupid catch phrase. If he wanted to to be a leader and show that he wouldn’t stand for the foolishness he should have been calling out his mates in the media if a subtle talking to didn’t work. Or a punch in the face in an open practice. No, I don’t know what happens behind closed doors. Neither do you. But if I didn’t succeed in affecting a change under my leadership I don’t go bitching about it in public.