Just Give Us Effort

[mactforcoach]

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas day.

Just like everyone else I'm disappointed with the team this year because of where they are in the standings but even more so I'm disappointed with the effort on the ice. How can a group of professional's turn in such an effortless game so damn often? On some nights you can see it even during the warm up! It's like they don't care, or don't want to be here sometimes.

We all know the season is over and the next 50 or so games are "evaluation" time for everyone but the organization as a whole owes the fans some entertainment. I don't care if we loose, but loose to a score of 6-5. I don't care if J Shultz screws up but let it be during an end to end rush with a great scoring chance. I'm fine if Scrivens lets in a soft one but at least give us a highlight save once per game. More than anything I want to see this team stick up for one another, when someone runs Hall, then let's see Gadzic, or Ference stick up for him, to hell with the powerplay.

Oiler fans have had to put up with a lot, the team is fortunate to even have fans at this point. The very least they can do now is play with some heart. I don't want to hear after the game how Stauffer thinks some guy's are sick, if they are then sit them and bring up a kid from OKC. If Yak isn't going to score then he needs to make a couple of those big hits he likes.

Anyway enough of my rant, heres hoping we see a new found energy starting in Calgary tomorrow night.

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[Tirefire]

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas day.

Just like everyone else I'm disappointed with the team this year because of where they are in the standings but even more so I'm disappointed with the effort on the ice. How can a group of professional's turn in such an effortless game so damn often? On some nights you can see it even during the warm up! It's like they don't care, or don't want to be here sometimes.

We all know the season is over and the next 50 or so games are "evaluation" time for everyone but the organization as a whole owes the fans some entertainment. I don't care if we loose, but loose to a score of 6-5. I don't care if J Shultz screws up but let it be during an end to end rush with a great scoring chance. I'm fine if Scrivens lets in a soft one but at least give us a highlight save once per game. More than anything I want to see this team stick up for one another, when someone runs Hall, then let's see Gadzic, or Ference stick up for him, to hell with the powerplay.

Oiler fans have had to put up with a lot, the team is fortunate to even have fans at this point. The very least they can do now is play with some heart. I don't want to hear after the game how Stauffer thinks some guy's are sick, if they are then sit them and bring up a kid from OKC. If Yak isn't going to score then he needs to make a couple of those big hits he likes.

Anyway enough of my rant, heres hoping we see a new found energy starting in Calgary tomorrow night.

One would think that playing with some passion would be the least of a perennial losers worries. However it I think has been the most disturbing source of frustration for fans over the past 4-5 years, the complete lack of energy, heart and passion this team displays at all levels on the ice.

Perhaps they are tired of being out of the playoffs each year by Remembrance Day.

That haven't had any passion the last many years, I doubt the short Christmas break will change that. I fully expect the next 3 games to be total domination by Calgary and LA.

 

[Zguy370]

Like our $6 million core group, we have to hope and beg them for an effort., ? insane. I bet 4 out of 5 players don't want to be on this team and don't give a **** anymore., mostly thru no fault of their own, but by just the way thevy've seen and been exposed to the way this mickey mouse organization operates.

 

[I am the Liquor]

I remember when they used to put out Yak in ot and late in the third and he would score and Rexall would go nuts.

Then they hired the dumbest man in hockey to be the gm.

The passion was gone soon after.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Just give us Effort?



More like just give us McDavid!

 

[Replacement*]

Its a shame that any devout fan has to hope that a collection of players paid multi million bucks/year to play the game they supposedly love has to hope that the group may actually play a BOA game with effort.

Theres an awful lot wrong with that.

 

[BudBundy]

I became an Oiler fan over 30 years ago because the Oilers played with speed and passion. Even in the darkest days of the nineties, though overmatched by finances and lack of skill, the Oilers were still fast and physical, and entertaining. If they couldn't beat you on the scoreboard, they'd at least blow you through the end boards. Since the start of the millennium, the Oilers have relentlessly traded away character, speed and size, and anyone drafted to buck that trend was stunted or busted. Chasing Danny Heatley with love letters and throwing the Brinks truck at Nylander while ignoring Glencross and dumping Smid for magic beans are emblematic. I pray the Oilers clean house in the off season. anybody who isn't fast and physical (regardless of size if enough talent is there) need not be kept. Bring back real Oilers hockey!

 

[CorpseFX]

I became an Oiler fan over 30 years ago because the Oilers played with speed and passion. Even in the darkest days of the nineties, though overmatched by finances and lack of skill, the Oilers were still fast and physical, and entertaining. If they couldn't beat you on the scoreboard, they'd at least blow you through the end boards. Since the start of the millennium, the Oilers have relentlessly traded away character, speed and size, and anyone drafted to buck that trend was stunted or busted. Chasing Danny Heatley with love letters and throwing the Brinks truck at Nylander while ignoring Glencross and dumping Smid for magic beans are emblematic. I pray the Oilers clean house in the off season. anybody who isn't fast and physical (regardless of size if enough talent is there) need not be kept. Bring back real Oilers hockey!

as much as i agree with most of this i dont think their identity started changing until the Katz acquisition.

all in all you can't blame them for trying to develop an "orthodox" competitive infrastructure that is emulated across the league instead of trying to depend on less skilled over-achievers to play very mediocre. in fact, some of that method still exists in the organization and it has been poisonous.

people seeing that very mediocre era as some "golden age" looking through rose colored lenses needs to give their head a shake.

if the only choices we have as fans is between a hard working bad team, or a "highly skilled" bad team as my only visions/models of the future - i'd rather just turn off hockey.

 

[McLotto 97]

As I sit here and watch Russia vs Denark, the way Russia plays reminds me so much of the Oilers when things go poorly. So much individual effort, very little team play, and frustration sets in very easy.

Russia will dominate play for several minutes and Denmark comes down and scores. Russia deflates Denmark takes over. This game would be 5-0 if they were playing Sweden. Not 2-0( as I sit and watch I second)

 

[BudBundy]

as much as i agree with most of this i dont think their identity started changing until the Katz acquisition.

all in all you can't blame them for trying to develop an "orthodox" competitive infrastructure that is emulated across the league instead of trying to depend on less skilled over-achievers to play very mediocre. in fact, some of that method still exists in the organization and it has been poisonous.

people seeing that very mediocre era as some "golden age" looking through rose colored lenses needs to give their head a shake.

if the only choices we have as fans is between a hard working bad team, or a "highly skilled" bad team as my only visions/models of the future - i'd rather just turn off hockey.

Who the hell called it a "golden age"?? I called it "the darkest days of the nineties" FFs, so lay of the judgemental Rose coloured glasses bs. As for the rest of your post, stop trying to copy Russell Brand. Big thoughts don't need to come from big words.

My point is that the Oilers should be a fast and hardworking team as their blueprint and identity used to be. And they've sucked since well before Katz came on board. Unless you have an agenda, I don't see how you can argue otherwise.

 

[Kinibo]

I've said for years that the end result is less important to me than the effort. If you lose to a better team, I can live with that and support you. If you lose because you didn't try hard enough, I have no respect for that. And I think that's where our frustration lies. This is not a collection of underdogs fighting the good fight. This is a motley crew of individuals who most nights seem to have just given up.

 

[oobga]

The snowball of poor team culture and inept management performance just keeps rolling and growing. From the players all the way up to king Lowe and his best bud Katz, no one in this org really knows what they're doing anymore. Just aimless wanderers collecting paycheques.

 

[Craig MacAtaracts]

This team is too fragile mentally.

They need to stop worrying about winning and losing, they need to start worrying about things that THEY can control. One of those things is putting in an honest effort for a full 60 minutes.

 

[Captain Catatomic]

the team is tanking. and trying pretty hard at it.

 

[Jumptheshark]

my prediciction is sometime in Jan one of the core members will go public with a trade request and that will lead to another long losing streak

 

[ponokanocker]

I'm actually hoping the effort gets worse. Maybe fans will actually stop going and watching, and the owner will be hit harder than he ever thought possible. I would love to hear of a game where there was no one in the stands. Only until Katz gets hit really hard will things change it seems.

 

[NeverForget06]

Give me effort or give me Mcdavid!