Up the Irons
Registered User
100% this. All blame goes back to the GM, POHO and the owner. Those three guys (four if u include Tambo), r at fault for everything.
100% this. All blame goes back to the GM, POHO and the owner. Those three guys (four if u include Tambo), r at fault for everything.
Frank the Tank
The Godfather
Who is available that fits this description? Lecavalier? All the championship teams post-2005 lockout have kept their core together or the veteran stars have retired.
The best chance will be to pry Seabrook or Sharp out of Chicago when the Toews and Kane contacts kick in next season. Maybe the same with Richards out of LA? Neither of those scenarios appear likely. Maybe Boston's core could be part of a trade, if they miss the playoffs?
Mc5RingsAndABeer
5-14-6-1
- May 25, 2011
- 20,184
- 1,385
Even when he was absolutely tearing it up, the Oilers were still a garbage team. That's gotta wear on players - knowing that even if you're playing like one of the best wingers in the game your team is still in the basement.
Philly85*
I Ain't Even Mad
- Mar 28, 2009
- 15,845
- 3
It's MacT's job *gulp*
He's got to do something.
I'm just worried now since things have been so quiet the past 2 weeks in terms of animosity towards the team and upper management that the heat has been taken off...
With this last coaching change, a few very minor pieces being brought in and the team playing marginally better, it's like people are lookin ahead as though everything might just be alright.
This team is a ****ing circus run by some clowns.
I won't be fully content until they're all turfed and at least one of the core pieces will be moved.
The heat needs to be on these guys continually.
I've been at the point (long ago) where I don't want to see the Oil have any success so it will simply be impossible for Katz to not make major changes.
It all starts from the top.
Also, while bringing in another 18 year old clearly isn't the answer, a top 3, top 2 pick out of this draft sure would be very nice.
Lay Z Boy GM
Registered User
I was wondering the same thing. Can't think of many former stars that are on the verge of retirement. Brad Richards would have been good.. Sharp would be great. I guess our GM will need to target winning teams that are close to the cap and try to pry a vet off them.
This is the kind of thing that should have been done years ago. When we had Horcoff centring Hall and Eberle I wanted someone that had won before to mentor them. Horc seemed perfectly content losing, I never saw him mad after a loss. Eberle and Hall were mentored by losers and Schultz is a spoiled brat who strung along and ditched the team that drafted him, so I'm not surprised they lack a winning mentality.
Raab
Registered User
- Oct 6, 2007
- 18,085
- 2,777
Jagr, Gonchar, and Cullen all have been available over the last 2 years. Are they great not really, but they would have all filled a hole and brought some much needed veteran experience.
The Human Torch
Registered User
rboomercat90
Registered User
There are a lot of things that bother me about Schultz but the one I find most disturbing is how untroubled he looks after making a mistake that directly leads to a goal. Considering they happen in just about every game and frequently multiple times a game you'd think there would be some kind of look of concern on his face. There never is though. Not only does he make the same mistakes over and over again, never seeming to learn from them, that nonchalant look on his face makes me wonder if he cares at all.In defense Schultz has one of the biggest idiots on this team *guiding* him.
Ference has been a bit player on really good clubs. he's not, and never has been somebody that played a 100% sensible game and that should be in a position of leadership.
This org has responded by making him captain before a game played. Which I predicted the oilers would do..
**** I hate being right sometimes.
hooknshoot
Dipsy Doodle
Well said! Mac T has a laundry list of errors, but I agree the whole Eakins experiment is the #1 - pretty impressive considering some of his other errors and how detrimental they also were (Draisatil, Gagner, Scrivens/Fasth). Just more proof that he never should have been given the GM position, and should be removed from that position IMMEDIATELY.
When you have lost so many games over such a long period of time you can only do certain things. Nobody LIKES losing but being exposed to it perpetually is sure going to affect how a person responds to it. When you have players that have constantly been exposed to losing, the only thing left to do for them is to re-frame losing in a different way that isn't so damaging to their own ego. That's why you get phrases like "content with losing", it's not that you're content, it's that when you've been exposed to it for so long, you have to re-frame it in a different way in order to function normally. That's why to an outsider from a winning organization it appears ludicrous. Ultimately the vast majority of humans are made so that they conform to the new standard, for the Oilers that standard has become losing.
There are a select few of personalities that push harder and have a harder time accepting losing, but even those need a fighting chance or they'll simply demand a trade or leave through free agency when they feel they can't contribute to a winning team or worse become eventually just as accepting of losing as everyone else. That's why the longer the losing goes on, the harder it is to change the losing tide without removing people who have been in the organization for too long under those circumstances. That's what a "losing culture" means, the people who are in the organization are already operating through those standards and the new people, especially young prospects, are going to be just as infected by the losing culture over time.
The longer it goes on, the more drastic measures have to be made to reverse the losing culture. Things that might have worked 2 or 3 years ago will not suffice now because people from within have conformed to losing so much that a single positive outside influence be it a new player coming in through trade or through the draft, or a coaching change, isn't going to cut it. If an internal evaluation is going on throughout the organization, then the first question to be asked is what moves need to be made to reverse the losing culture and that's where the "real" hard decisions might have to be made, a coaching change is a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things at least in the context of the Oilers franchise, the grand failure of the "rebuild" regime has been the complete failure on the grounds of instilling structure and a competitive team that plays fundamentally sound hockey even if its temporarily over-matched as it goes through the rebuilding process.
There are a select few of personalities that push harder and have a harder time accepting losing, but even those need a fighting chance or they'll simply demand a trade or leave through free agency when they feel they can't contribute to a winning team or worse become eventually just as accepting of losing as everyone else. That's why the longer the losing goes on, the harder it is to change the losing tide without removing people who have been in the organization for too long under those circumstances. That's what a "losing culture" means, the people who are in the organization are already operating through those standards and the new people, especially young prospects, are going to be just as infected by the losing culture over time.
The longer it goes on, the more drastic measures have to be made to reverse the losing culture. Things that might have worked 2 or 3 years ago will not suffice now because people from within have conformed to losing so much that a single positive outside influence be it a new player coming in through trade or through the draft, or a coaching change, isn't going to cut it. If an internal evaluation is going on throughout the organization, then the first question to be asked is what moves need to be made to reverse the losing culture and that's where the "real" hard decisions might have to be made, a coaching change is a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things at least in the context of the Oilers franchise, the grand failure of the "rebuild" regime has been the complete failure on the grounds of instilling structure and a competitive team that plays fundamentally sound hockey even if its temporarily over-matched as it goes through the rebuilding process.
Especially when the fault on the goal is 100% on him.
Like there's no one else in the picture but him getting schooled again and again.
There should be some anger, some frustration at costing the team a goal.
Some Oiler fans are content with losing as well. Fall in line, it hurts less if you just accept it.
Replacement*
Checked out
People gave me the gears last year when I was roasting Schultz for being HS in the pressbox and camera shows him throwing popcorn in his face with not a care in the world like he's a kid on springbreak seeing a comedy flick
The look of mirth on his face was priceless Schultz. What me worry?
joestevens29
Registered User
- Apr 30, 2009
- 52,885
- 15,656
Meh everyone says this even Ryan Whitney who makes fun of the Oilers now. I won't get to excited, although maybe a coach that makes them work in practice coupled with some new faces will help this time.
joestevens29
Registered User
- Apr 30, 2009
- 52,885
- 15,656
Discontent seems alive and well in dressing room... name the gritty fan favorite who said this...
“We’re going to miss him,†???? said, “but at the same time, he’s going to an organization that wants to win."
Answer:
Matt Hendricks
“We’re going to miss him,†???? said, “but at the same time, he’s going to an organization that wants to win."
Answer:
Matt Hendricks
joestevens29
Registered User
- Apr 30, 2009
- 52,885
- 15,656
Hendricks. Who like many others said the samething Fraser said. At least he's still going strong, but with comments like that I can see he will become tired soon as well.
Yes, Tambo and MacT have ruined this team but, to defend Petry is ridiculous. Petry gives the puck away like he has been paid to throw the game.
One of the problems with Oilers fans is, they are so starved for real talent, they simply can't discern what a good player is. Compared to the **** we have had on D for the past 5 years, Petry might appear to be competent but, the reality is, he is garbage. Petry is a terrible defenseman.
Oiler fans were deceived by the same illusion with Hemsky. These guys suck and only appear decent because they are on a team with complete garbage teammates. Oiler fans who defend Petry are content with losing, just like so many of the players.
I traded him for Radko Gudas in NHL 15 - a freaking steal.
Doc Scurlock
Registered User
- Nov 23, 2006
- 1,211
- 6
That's pretty much what I expect to happen to any of the guys that got traded here or signed here. The core that was drafted who have been losing since they got in the league have pretty much accepted it at this point and it's like meh, what are you going to do. I don't want to say they don't care but if that's all you've experienced then you just eventually accept it.
Zihuatanejo
Registered User
I 110% agree. I think people forget that these players are human beings and will respond to situations the way most normal people would. The same way fans have started to tune out the team (myself included) just to function normally. It's to preserve sanity.
Confidence is massively underrated by a lot of people and this team has negative confidence right now. Building back a positive environment will be the biggest challenge the Oilers face in upcoming games and later seasons. Every player has to be evaluated with the taint of playing in this environment, other GM's realize this too.
It is a very rare person who can overcome this many years of losing and continue to pour every ounce of who they are into every night. Asking a group of 20 plus players to be able to accomplish this is basically asking for the moon in a hand basket.
I don't dislike Fraser's comments but I also think he is being naive in terms of how hard it is to play here right now. I don't blame the players, its management who needs to look in the mirror and figure out where they went wrong.
Replacement*
Checked out
I disagree with the premise of that post entirely. Its a cop out on autonomy and professional responsibility. It is possible to perform well in a bad organization and countless people do it well for indefinite periods of time. Its possible as well to realize your own positive contributions within a less than ideal environment and continuing to motivate to do your best. Most people in the world work in less than ideal conditions and focus on maintaining their best performance.
Pro hockey, and pro sports has countless examples of good players that have played lengthy careers on bad teams for bad orgs. Daryl Sittler spent his entire career doing just that under Ballard. Marcel Dionne spent his entire career in LA knowing the team would lose most nights, and never be a contender, but ensured that his line, and his play on every night was top notch. Theres many more NHL legends that have never won anything than those that have lifted the cup. The French Connection is one of the most famous and prolific lines of alltime. Always playing on a relatively weak Buffalo team that rarely got traction and never got close to a championship. Those guys never decided to mail it in. They kept playing in an insignificant market being allstars where hardly anybody would notice if they didn't.
The Oilers have even put Nuge, Hall, Eberle in an insulated position by giving them all the ingredients to succeed as a one unit line. They've kept them together for eternity, give them the best D pairings, best toi, and most PP time. That line should be able to be good. It up to the component players on that line to bring their best on every shift which they very seldom do. When all 3 players on this line are going they dominate. They should be dominating on a regular basis. That every member of this line is around 100 or worse in the pts standings while being a stacked line is an abomination. This Should be a topten line in the NHL by now.
Weird thing was the second half of last year they were. They were on of the most productive trios in the league. Eberle is disinterested, Hall is playing like he is hurt or has completely checked out and RNH is trying to do everything and ends up doing nothing. The loses destroyed all their confidence, if they get it back then I can see them being good again but it's a hard thing to regain.
