OT: Matt Fraser: The Oilers are content with losing

[Aceonfire*]

Did anyone else see Matt Fraser's post game interview?

Some brave comments for a new guy and I live him for it.

It's absolutely true. The current roster is okay with losing and they have a losing culture in the locker room. He also alluded to the effort given by a "young guy in the NHL" when playing 40-50 minutes instead of the full 60.

Coming from Boston he must be shocked as guys have to earn a spot and he sees players like Schultz handed ice time even though he barely tries at times.

Click to read more...

 

[Mowgli]

Did anyone else see Matt Fraser's post game interview?

Some brave comments for a new guy and I live him for it.

It's absolutely true. The current roster is okay with losing and they have a losing culture in the locker room. He also alluded to the effort given by a "young guy in the NHL" when playing 40-50 minutes instead of the full 60.

Coming from Boston he must be shocked as guys have to earn a spot and he sees players like Schultz handed ice time even though he barely tries at times.

Link?

 

[oobga]

http://video.oilers.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=713805&catid=4


He almost accidentally says the organization has become content with losing, not just the players

BOLD talk from the young Oiler newbie. He has a future as an Oilers GM!

 

[Klimando Kostani]

Great interview

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

I feel like he may be a good locker room presence same with Roy

 

[I am the Liquor]

He isnt wrong.

 

[Bps21*]

I'm sorry...this guy has been in Edmonton 2 days and he already is trying to explain that all he feels around him is an organization mired in perpetual failure? I just...I've never...what the hell? We joke...but...2 days..

 

[Jumptheshark]

I'm sorry...this guy has been in Edmonton 2 days and he already is trying to explain that all he feels around him is an organization mired in perpetual failure? I just...I've never...what the hell? We joke...but...2 days..

one of my side gigs here in the UK is as a consultant as part of a group that annylizes why some hotels are failing. I can usually figure out in under 24 hours if the problem is with the staff and the energy of the place. Sometimes I can tell when I walk into a hotel that there is major troubles witout looking at the book

 

[OneMoreAstronaut]

I feel like this quote has come from multiple players new to Edm. Whitney said the same thing, I remember. **** what was that, like 5 years ago?

 

[Tarus]

Not exactly hard to assess what's wrong with the team, nor is he the first player to state something along these lines.

Nor is it surprising that the team itself has stopped giving a ****. They've been playing out the season with no hope for any success since November, and if you twisted the arms of some of the players, they probably would tell you that they knew it would be a lost season when Eakins was brought back to coach a second year.

 

[oilers_guy_eddie]

I hope his attitude is contagious.

 

[syz]

So he'll be traded by the end of the week?

 

[nexttothemoon]

Not exactly hard to assess what's wrong with the team, nor is he the first player to state something along these lines.

Nor is it surprising that the team itself has stopped giving a ****. They've been playing out the season with no hope for any success since November, and if you twisted the arms of some of the players, they probably would tell you that they knew it would be a lost season when Eakins was brought back to coach a second year.

I'm pretty sure most of the players knew Eakins was full of **** in the first week he was hired.

The players certainly share the blame for the teams performance... but that previous coach did nothing to help this team develop and progress... quite the opposite... he took a mediocre but slowly developing team and turned them into a regressing team of players with no passion and no consistent level of compete/intensity.

Eakins plainly put with his horrendous coaching... made this team a hopeless cause and took the fun and entertainment out of the game for fans as well.

Carrot chomping **** should have been purged LONG ago... by far MacT's biggest error.

 

[missinthejets]

You don't have to be in the locker room to know that this team has a lot of mental problems with regards to losing. You can literally see it on the ice when something bad happens. The air goes out of the balloon and the "here we go again" mentality takes over and next thing you know they've given up 2 or 3 goals and have no hope of winning.

The good news is that since they made the coaching change it appears that things are getting better. The team looks like they're giving up less and battling harder. That's not something that is an easy change but it appears that they're getting there and the confidence is returning to some players. Yakupov still struggled last night, but he also looked like he had some good energy and was more willing to try things, schultz is still struggling but he also looks like he is getting more confident. Just little things that appear to be going the right way again. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team look pretty different by the end of the season if the coaches can keep repairing the damage that was done.

The more I see the more you realize just how negative an influence Dallas Eakins was on this group. God what a turd of a hire.

 

[Klimando Kostani]

Team looks like they are fighting ten times harder than the whole start of the season since Fraser got here and he still says this, goes to show just how far behind we were in regards to attitude and morale by the time Eakins was done with us.

 

[Tekneek]

An example of how the team changed is how they get better starts than under Eakins. Unfortunately, it has been replaced with 3rd period collapses, but that is because they still aren't putting in a full game. To me, things are looking better though. I expected Todd Nelson to have this kind of impact. That next step is up to the players.

The rest of these guys should be ashamed that a waiver claim can come in and immediately not only be able to tell they're phoning it in, but not be afraid to talk about it either.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

we'll break matt in less then a month.

 

[Klimando Kostani]

I honestly don't blame the players for getting the life sucked out of them after the way systems, TOI, and roster management was handled to start this season. They are human people and anyone who gets dumped on day in and day out will get worse at their jobs.

Hopefully they get good coaching,a few wins, and finish the year strong.

 

[McPuritania]

He ain't wrong, that's for damn sure. Good for him for speaking up. I was thrilled on the broadcast last night when they said Nelson was upping the intensity of practice.

 

[McDrai]

This is why you bring in players from winning organizations. Hopefully Fraser's attitude rubs off on some of our players who are content with losing

 

[Frank the Tank]

Who knows? Maybe Nelson told Fraser to not be afraid in airing his thoughts. A way to reinforce the much needed message on multiple fronts.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Of course they're content with losing, it's the only thing they're good at.

 

[Gambl0r83*]

Wow. Well it seems to be the consensus that his analogy wasn't wrong.

But he just got here. And off waivers no less

He hasn't been through any of the pain and adversity this team has gone through during the Eakins era

This 'losing contagious attitude of an organization' has faith in your abilities and picked you up, replacing a tough and durable Pinner

The very last thing Fraser should be doing is badmouthing the team when he hasn't been through the fire. He just needs to show up and lead by example, leave his opinions to himself until he establishes his place within the team, which takes alot more than 2 games

 

[Mowgli]

This is why you bring in players from winning organizations. Hopefully Fraser's attitude rubs off on some of our players who are content with losing

You mean like when we brought in Ference from the same organization who said basically the same things?

 

[MrM]

http://video.oilers.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=713805&catid=4

I just wanted to mention something that Fraser said in his post game comments after his first game. He mentioned that it was a bit of a struggle with 'learning new systems' as well as travel and just being busy in general for an explanation of how the first game went.

The part that struck me was the comment about learning new systems. Do we have systems that are unique to other winning teams or is this a common theme for all new players on a new team. I understand that every team will have its own way but really there shouldn't be too much variation. Just curious because of how Yakupov often looks confused and so many times our D looks unorganized and out of synch with our forwards.

Sorry, its actually the post game from the LA game.