Post-Game Talk: Twas the Disappointment Before Christmas

[GOilers88]

So reading comprehension is an issue for you I see. I explained my reasoning.

I would love to drink the blue Kool-Aid like you, but this team is a half glass full team. It is a glass half empty. Things can change, but nothing has changed in how they play.

Nah, I understood just fine. You've been proclaiming your disdain and how you don't want to watch for weeks now because it's so bad. And every game you're back proclaiming it with renewed vigor.

Have some balls and follow through for a few weeks. Nobody cares that you don't want to watch them play. So don't and quit talking about it every game.

 

[Stoneman89]

A handful of people on here (maybe two handfuls)have such a powerful hate-on for Draisaitl that every loss is automatically his fault. Even if he was on the bench for all of the GAs, they'd still find a way to blame him.

Thank God I'm leaving the country for a month. I sure as hell won't miss the Oilers in January.

But Merry Christmas everyone.

There are some haters for sure, and that is just wrong. But there are also some who think he can do no wrong, and blame everyone else. So it balances out a bit.

And Merry Christmas to you as well.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

And we are still chipping in on salary

And draft picks!

 

[EnufAlready]

There are some haters for sure, and that is just wrong. But there are also some who think he can do no wrong, and blame everyone else. So it balances out a bit.

And Merry Christmas to you as well.

No “hate” from me. Not a fan either. Love his skills and abilities. My feeling is a player with this skillset who seems to be one of the stronger personalities in our leadership group needs to do the little things. It makes me think of the saying “never be too big to do the small things”

Merry Christmas to all!

 

[Stoneman89]

No “hate” from me. Not a fan either. Love his skills and abilities. My feeling is a player with this skillset who seems to be one of the stronger personalities in our leadership group needs to do the little things. It makes me think of the saying “never be too big to do the small things”

Merry Christmas to all!

Absolutely agree. And it seems when Drai and McDavid are together, it's not too long before they forget the script, and things start to unravel. The PP has been their saving grace this year, because the 5 on 5 performance has been careless and unstructured for the most part. If teams can avoid penalties, their chances of beating us go up astronomically.

I give them a hard time about being a fanbase prone to falling on and off the bandwagon, but it's actually what this fanbase could use more of. Too much loyalty and filling seats for a shit, and now merely maddeningly inconsistent team.

However, while I agree that them being that close is troublesome, their management believed in that team and doubled down instead of the rebuild many of their fans called for. I think it was a poor decision and will just prolong the inevitable but they should be more competitive than they've been. It really doesn't shock me that they're that close with similar issues. Regarding Demko vs Campbell, if Demko wasn't injured he likely would be getting the Campbell treatment as he's had a pretty shit season as well (exacerbated by poor defense).

Never understood why people blame the fans for supporting the team, as if they are part of the problem. Full seats or empty seats, the team will be what it is based on the organization as a whole.

 

[Oilhawks]

Absolutely agree. And it seems when Drai and McDavid are together, it's not too long before they forget the script, and things start to unravel. The PP has been their saving grace this year, because the 5 on 5 performance has been careless and unstructured for the most part. If teams can avoid penalties, their chances of beating us go up astronomically.


Never understood why people blame the fans for supporting the team, as if they are part of the problem. Full seats or empty seats, the team will be what it is based on the organization as a whole.

I do because empty seats, reduced spending on merch etc are more likely to lead to changes than status quo. Fan support of mediocrity further entrenches it

 

[Soundwave]

I disagree there. Points are great, but not at the cost of defense.

Like Drai has been on the ice for 27 even strength goals against in his last 22 games. He has to put up points because the team pretty much starts down 1-0 with him in the lineup.

McDrai play like 3/4 of the game. The only way for the forwards to start playing defense is if they're one of the ones committing to it.

Really? So all of the other 9 forwards who don't contribute anywhere near as much as McDavid/Draisaitl can stand around with their thumb up their ass defensively because they think they're McDavid?

The team sucks defensively because the defence sucks. McDrai gas themselves to death playing huge minutes just to keep the team afloat offensively, otherwise they would never score more than 2 goals a game.

There's nothing magical about this ... bad D Corps + coach who never has employed a defensive system (was Bakersfield even a defensive juggernaut? No? Then why would you expect this coach to coach a D heavy system? Where's the logic?) is going to be a bad defensive team. They were bad defensively last year in the playoffs too.

Nothing has changed, yelling at McDavid and Draisaitl to exert even more energy (so I guess go to 150%) to make up for the management putting together a mediocre defence is not a fair ask. Nurse, Ceci, Barrie, Bouchard, Kulak, Broberg as a group is simply a terrible blue line. Colorado would not make it out of round 1 with that blue line, why are McDavid and Draisaitl asked to work miracles with that garbage group?

The one season the Leafs had Ceci and Barrie on their blue line they were bottom 5 in the league for goals against ... and then improved massively once they dumped both the next year. Makes you go "hmmmm".

 

[Stoneman89]

I do because empty seats, reduced spending on merch etc are more likely to lead to changes than status quo. Fan support of mediocrity further entrenches it

Highly doubtful. Empty seats just mean less money to spend up to the cap, reduced scouting, etc, and ultimately reduced chance anyone wants to play here. And in worst case scenario, potential movement of a franchise.

 

[The Panther]

The one season the Leafs had Ceci and Barrie on their blue line they were bottom 5 in the league for goals against ... and then improved massively once they dumped both the next year. Makes you go "hmmmm".

Last time I checked, Barrie and Ceci played in the final four last spring, while the Leafs as a franchise haven't been there for 21 years.

The Oilers have generally done well in the Ken Holland era, with respectable / solid finishes:

2016 -- .427 -- 7th place (10th year in a row missing playoffs)
2017 -- .628 -- 2nd place (lost second round)
2018 -- .476 -- 6th place
2019 -- .482 -- 7th place
Holland hired:
2020 -- .585 -- 2nd place (lost weird bubble / qualifying round)
2021 -- .643 -- 2nd place (lost first round)
2022 -- .634 -- 2nd place (lost third round)

We can probably now see 2016-17 as a bit of a fluke season where suddenly some third and fourth-line pieces (and Pat Maroon) fell into place magically, at the same moment Draisaitl broke out and Talbot had his best season. Obviously, it wasn't sustainable... or maybe it was if Chiarelli hadn't traded away every winger on the club. 2018 and 2019 were completely "lost" seasons, which, as a fan, I'm still angry about years later.

Holland is a GM who's been around the block and wants to go for the win 'now', and isn't really interested in the rebuild of the rebuild of the rebuild... I'm okay with that, and I think the fanbase deserves the club to go all-in right now, which they are, and they had considerable success last spring. (I still think if the Makar 'onside' call wasn't idiotic and if Nurse and Drai weren't crippled, the Oil would have pushed Colorado to the brink.)

However, the clear danger of the 'all-in' approach is that if you sign one crippling contract to the wrong player, you're really in trouble (in the cap-era). And I think we can all see the Nurse contract as having the potential to be that crippler.

There are things about Nurse I like (his physical skills / skating are excellent, and he used to be kind of mean), but honestly I was sort-of hopeful that they'd trade him back in 2021 when the contract was up. His value was high then, and obviously Holland and his team gambled that Nurse had taken the big step up to becoming a near-elite NHL defenseman and that it was worth over-paying him to get that #1 Dman locked down. However, 1.5 years later, it appears that gamble was a loss. Had they traded Nurse in 2021 and gotten another Ceci and another Niemeläinen (or whatever), I think the D-core would be a lot more solid today than it is.

(The Campbell signing also at present looks bad, but I still think Campbell might come back to form and surprise everyone. Anyway, the price of the two goalies in tandem isn't too bad. Skinner has been great.)

So, in general, I think Holland and co. have had the right approach and they've mostly made good moves. I mean, every GM is going to lose some gambles here and there, but in moves like dumping Lucic and turning that into Hyman, and in acquiring and locking down Kane., etc., I think Holland has done well enough with the forwards.

But the defense core is just not getting it done, and they need some help. I'm afraid the Nurse contract is going to be the crippler for the next... oh, six or seven years.

 

[Oilhawks]

Highly doubtful. Empty seats just mean less money to spend up to the cap, reduced scouting, etc, and ultimately reduced chance anyone wants to play here. And in worst case scenario, potential movement of a franchise.

Disagree. It’s gotten changes in other markets. This idiot owner would sell first though, massive valuation.

 

[Soundwave]

Last time I checked, Barrie and Ceci played in the final four last spring, while the Leafs as a franchise haven't been there for 21 years.

The Oilers have generally done well in the Ken Holland era, with respectable / solid finishes:

2016 -- .427 -- 7th place (10th year in a row missing playoffs)
2017 -- .628 -- 2nd place (lost second round)
2018 -- .476 -- 6th place
2019 -- .482 -- 7th place
Holland hired:
2020 -- .585 -- 2nd place (lost weird bubble / qualifying round)
2021 -- .643 -- 2nd place (lost first round)
2022 -- .634 -- 2nd place (lost third round)

We can probably now see 2016-17 as a bit of a fluke season where suddenly some third and fourth-line pieces (and Pat Maroon) fell into place magically, at the same moment Draisaitl broke out and Talbot had his best season. Obviously, it wasn't sustainable... or maybe it was if Chiarelli hadn't traded away every winger on the club. 2018 and 2019 were completely "lost" seasons, which, as a fan, I'm still angry about years later.

Holland is a GM who's been around the block and wants to go for the win 'now', and isn't really interested in the rebuild of the rebuild of the rebuild... I'm okay with that, and I think the fanbase deserves the club to go all-in right now, which they are, and they had considerable success last spring. (I still think if the Makar 'onside' call wasn't idiotic and if Nurse and Drai weren't crippled, the Oil would have pushed Colorado to the brink.)

However, the clear danger of the 'all-in' approach is that if you sign one crippling contract to the wrong player, you're really in trouble (in the cap-era). And I think we can all see the Nurse contract as having the potential to be that crippler.

There are things about Nurse I like (his physical skills / skating are excellent, and he used to be kind of mean), but honestly I was sort-of hopeful that they'd trade him back in 2021 when the contract was up. His value was high then, and obviously Holland and his team gambled that Nurse had taken the big step up to becoming a near-elite NHL defenseman and that it was worth over-paying him to get that #1 Dman locked down. However, 1.5 years later, it appears that gamble was a loss. Had they traded Nurse in 2021 and gotten another Ceci and another Niemeläinen (or whatever), I think the D-core would be a lot more solid today than it is.

(The Campbell signing also at present looks bad, but I still think Campbell might come back to form and surprise everyone. Anyway, the price of the two goalies in tandem isn't too bad. Skinner has been great.)

So, in general, I think Holland and co. have had the right approach and they've mostly made good moves. I mean, every GM is going to lose some gambles here and there, but in moves like dumping Lucic and turning that into Hyman, and in acquiring and locking down Kane., etc., I think Holland has done well enough with the forwards.

But the defense core is just not getting it done, and they need some help. I'm afraid the Nurse contract is going to be the crippler for the next... oh, six or seven years.

When you have the top 2 scorers in the league, including your best player scoring at a *70* goal rate and you're still not in a playoff spot at Christmas in a weak division ... you haven't done a good job as GM, plain and simple and something is really wrong.

Nurse contract sucks, but so the D corps as a whole, so does the depth, same as always.

They made the Conference Finals because basically 4 players dragged the rest of the team there, not because they played well *as a team*, blue line in particular was completely useless in the playoffs.

Nurse not being a no.1 D was utterly predictable anyway, you can't improve low hockey I.Q. IMO, many teams have tried with many players and it basically never works out.

Holland is in over his head. He got lucky last year that Kane dropped into his lap out of nowhere for no cost because his ex-wife is out there, that type of thing happens like once every two decades maybe. The only other good player he's added that really makes any real difference is Hyman, and he can't add anymore Hyman tier players because we don't have the cap room. This isn't Detroit in the 90s anymore, you can't just spend, spend, spend, Holland has never really adjusted well to a cap league, he's just lucky he already had Lidstrom + Datsyuk + Zetterberg.

 

[The Panther]

When you have the top 2 scorers in the league, including your best player scoring at a *70* goal rate and you're still not in a playoff spot at Christmas in a weak division ... you haven't done a good job as GM, plain and simple and something is really wrong.

Nurse contract sucks, but so the D corps as a whole, so does the depth, same as always.

They made the Conference Finals because basically 4 players dragged the rest of the team there, not because they played well *as a team*, blue line in particular was completely useless in the playoffs.

Nurse not being a no.1 D was utterly predictable anyway, you can't improve low hockey I.Q. IMO, many teams have tried with many players and it basically never works out.

Holland is in over his head. He got lucky last year that Kane dropped into his lap out of nowhere for no cost because his ex-wife is out there, that type of thing happens like once every two decades maybe. The only other good player he's added that really makes any real difference is Hyman, and he can't add anymore Hyman tier players because we don't have the cap room. This isn't Detroit in the 90s anymore, you can't just spend, spend, spend, Holland has never really adjusted well to a cap league, he's just lucky he already had Lidstrom + Datsyuk + Zetterberg.

It's probably possible to criticize Holland, but you don't have to make stuff up to do it.

First of all, I don't care that the Oilers aren't ripping it up at the moment. We're 43% of the way through the regular season. Where the club is in terms of a playoff spot right now means means jack squat.
-- The team's record a year ago was exactly the same as now. Then, they ended up the 4th-last team standing out of 32 clubs.
-- St. Louis was last overall at mid-season in 2018-19. Then, they won the Cup a few months later.

Second, "they made the conference finals because basically 4 players dragged the rest of the team there" is one of the sillier comments I've seen in a while. You don't make it to the third round on account of four players in hockey. That's impossible. Are you forgetting Tyson Barrie's fine play? Cody Ceci's (who was heroic in round one)? Hell, Nurse was pretty great before the third round started. Nuge? Kane? Hyman? McDavid? Drai?

Finally, "Holland has never really adjusted well to a cap league." Frick, I'm tired of bitter Oilers' fans trotting out that line. Yeah, he's been a disaster in the cap-era... except for this in 2008:

9 times in the cap-era, Holland's clubs have finished in 1st or 2nd place (six Detroit, three Edmonton).

Could the Oilers' management be better? Yes. Am I happy about the Nurse contract? No. Do I think the chances of someone else hired by Katz and Burgers being better than Holland were good? Hell, no.

 

[Stoneman89]

Disagree. It’s gotten changes in other markets. This idiot owner would sell first though, massive valuation.

That's what I mean. The team would move, and if that makes you feel vindicated and better, than I don't know what to say.

 

[Oilhawks]

That's what I mean. The team would move, and if that makes you feel vindicated and better, than I don't know what to say.

Katz selling doesn’t mean the team would move.

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

Katz selling doesn’t mean the team would move.

Exactly
This franchise makes money hand over fist and it’s positioned to do so for years to come. Buyers would be silly to move.

 

[Stoneman89]

It's probably possible to criticize Holland, but you don't have to make stuff up to do it.

First of all, I don't care that the Oilers aren't ripping it up at the moment. We're 43% of the way through the regular season. Where the club is in terms of a playoff spot right now means means jack squat.
-- The team's record a year ago was exactly the same as now. Then, they ended up the 4th-last team standing out of 32 clubs.
-- St. Louis was last overall at mid-season in 2018-19. Then, they won the Cup a few months later.

Second, "they made the conference finals because basically 4 players dragged the rest of the team there" is one of the sillier comments I've seen in a while. You don't make it to the third round on account of four players in hockey. That's impossible. Are you forgetting Tyson Barrie's fine play? Cody Ceci's (who was heroic in round one)? Hell, Nurse was pretty great before the third round started. Nuge? Kane? Hyman? McDavid? Drai?

Finally, "Holland has never really adjusted well to a cap league." Frick, I'm tired of bitter Oilers' fans trotting out that line. Yeah, he's been a disaster in the cap-era... except for this in 2008:

9 times in the cap-era, Holland's clubs have finished in 1st or 2nd place (six Detroit, three Edmonton).

Could the Oilers' management be better? Yes. Am I happy about the Nurse contract? No. Do I think the chances of someone else hired by Katz and Burgers being better than Holland were good? Hell, no.

I really getting tired of people continuing to use the St. Louis example of why it's seemingly okay to suck or be mediocre halfway through the season. That was a once in a lifetime event, that will probably never happen for another 20-30 years, I'd never seen it before in all my years of watching.

As for Holland's good fortune in the cap era, a large part of that good fortune was the continued existence of the last monster bit of drafting by his scouts (Datsuyk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom,Franzen, etc, etc), and continuing to live off the fumes of them until they finally retired one by one. He had a great run there, but once those stars retired, there was an appalling continued lack of success with the teams and also with the draft picks (Dylan Larkin excepted), which is why he is now here. The further maturation of the teams core has also helped him immensely since he's been here. (No one can tell me McDavid and Draisaitl are the same players now that they were 5-6 years ago). I'm not going to fully crap on him, but despite some great signings like Hyman and Kane, they've been negated and hamstrung by the bad ones (Nurse, and right now Campbell, and then a string of multi year deals to batches of no names that never turned out), not to mention having to can his own selected coach little more than 2 years into his term. His story remains to be written, but it would sure be nice to finally have a monster season where we can breath easy for once, instead of always seeming to have to fight for every critical point.

 

[Stoneman89]

Katz selling doesn’t mean the team would move.

We don't have a guarantee of that though. Lived through the angst and threats in the 90's and early 2000's and really don't want to go back to that place again.

Exactly
This franchise makes money hand over fist and it’s positioned to do so for years to come. Buyers would be silly to move.

They make money because they sell out or have high attendence figures throughout the year. Take that away, as is suggested in this discussion, and then see how attractive they are here.

 

[Drivesaitl]

It's probably possible to criticize Holland, but you don't have to make stuff up to do it.

First of all, I don't care that the Oilers aren't ripping it up at the moment. We're 43% of the way through the regular season. Where the club is in terms of a playoff spot right now means means jack squat.
-- The team's record a year ago was exactly the same as now. Then, they ended up the 4th-last team standing out of 32 clubs.
-- St. Louis was last overall at mid-season in 2018-19. Then, they won the Cup a few months later.

Second, "they made the conference finals because basically 4 players dragged the rest of the team there" is one of the sillier comments I've seen in a while. You don't make it to the third round on account of four players in hockey. That's impossible. Are you forgetting Tyson Barrie's fine play? Cody Ceci's (who was heroic in round one)? Hell, Nurse was pretty great before the third round started. Nuge? Kane? Hyman? McDavid? Drai?

Finally, "Holland has never really adjusted well to a cap league." Frick, I'm tired of bitter Oilers' fans trotting out that line. Yeah, he's been a disaster in the cap-era... except for this in 2008:

9 times in the cap-era, Holland's clubs have finished in 1st or 2nd place (six Detroit, three Edmonton).

Could the Oilers' management be better? Yes. Am I happy about the Nurse contract? No. Do I think the chances of someone else hired by Katz and Burgers being better than Holland were good? Hell, no.

Good balanced post. Its harder to make a post like this when the mood regarding the Oilers is down but it offers some perspective.

I maintain that Holland is at the very least a credible experienced NHL GM that has built a dynasty. He's the gold standard next to imposters like Tambellini and Chiarelli.

My take is that if we had Holland instead of Chiarelli the Oilers would have had a finalist or better showing by now.

 

[Oilhawks]

We don't have a guarantee of that though. Lived through the angst and threats in the 90's and early 2000's and really don't want to go back to that place again.


They make money because they sell out or have high attendence figures throughout the year. Take that away, as is suggested in this discussion, and then see how attractive they are here.

Different time and different situation in a much poorer league in general. And you don't need to be from the city to keep it there. Boston's Fenway Sports Group bought a controlling share in the Penguins just recently and no machinations of relocating the team in a much more fickle market.

If this future owner / ownership group were astute business minds (as billionaires tend to be) they would look at how this fanbase was very loyal to a non competitive product for a decade and would quickly realize that even an average team would sell out here all the time.

Some might reference Winnipeg relocating (not saying you would, but some would). Both cities had similar size populations at the time of the OG Jets relocation. Winnipeg population has grown about 10% since that time and they've had a team relocate back. Edmonton has doubled in that time and is projected to have among the most population growth in the coming decades (along with the rest of Alberta). There is no way they would allow this team to relocate, and in the slim off chance it did happen, there would be an expansion here immediately.

Either way it's a moot point, I doubt Katz sells even if the worst comes to pass, unless he suspects the valuation will tank.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

We don't have a guarantee of that though. Lived through the angst and threats in the 90's and early 2000's and really don't want to go back to that place again.


They make money because they sell out or have high attendence figures throughout the year. Take that away, as is suggested in this discussion, and then see how attractive they are here.

The Oilers are a big breadwinner franchise in the NHL. They exist is monopolistic conditions with what seems like unlimited price elasticity to charge high end of league ticket pricing during a sustained decade of losing unparalleled in NHL history. It's also critically tied to the record Canadian broadcasting contract signed by ad wizards that gave us the Rogers Red Event.

The owner undertook a stalking bid approach to buy this franchise; he utilized all the usual scare tactics including an extended PR employee with a bully pulpit radio show to threaten, cajole and bulldoze their way to a highly public subsidized hockey palace with all revenue sources and more! (City ad spending) to maximize profit for this private business enterprise. Said owner has since pivoted from his core business empire selling it into a hockey and entertainment conglomerate.

NHL Executive and consortia ownership have also gotten smarter believe it or not. There hasn't been any relocation since the poverty Atlanta franchise was airlifted back into a lucrative, monopolistic Canadian market. With NHL expansion now at $650 million (increased from $500 million just a Golden Knight ago), it will be pay to play as the NHL 'grows the game' aka revenue for its consortia partners by select movement into crowded U.S. cities like Houston, Portland, etc, etc. Each new 'Merica market deepens the league's national broadcast and sponsorship revenue potential.

The Oilers in Edmonton are a lock. It's always been based on strong business case and profitability.

Addendum: Notably too that the last two expansions play in fully private-funded hockey palaces as they should.

 

[Drivesaitl]

We don't have a guarantee of that though. Lived through the angst and threats in the 90's and early 2000's and really don't want to go back to that place again.


They make money because they sell out or have high attendence figures throughout the year. Take that away, as is suggested in this discussion, and then see how attractive they are here.

As mentioned this is a much different time. The NHL is overextended in multiple markets as it is and is keeping the Yotes on life support for a couple decades and even as they move into a high school type arena. That would seem to be demonstration the NHL has no interest or intent to pull out of any markets.

Indeed the NHL hasn't for quite a long time now.

Edmonton, Central and Northern Alberta and indeed Western Canada is becoming a much larger market population wise and has always been a hotbed for hockey. Alberta is a redhot immigration target meaning pop will only continue to expand. In some time we won't even be a "small market" anymore as the Metro pop is 1.4M and climbing.

Edmonton and Canada are ideal locations now for NHL clubs. Provided they have arena's. The NHL gets the fancy arena and no Basketball or other pro clubs as competition, except in the case of Toronto which is populated enough region to support several pro teams. But for the others its hot rocks for the NHL to be the only pro ticket in town.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Different time and different situation in a much poorer league in general. And you don't need to be from the city to keep it there. Boston's Fenway Sports Group bought a controlling share in the Penguins just recently and no machinations of relocating the team in a much more fickle market.

If this future owner / ownership group were astute business minds (as billionaires tend to be) they would look at how this fanbase was very loyal to a non competitive product for a decade and would quickly realize that even an average team would sell out here all the time.

Some might reference Winnipeg relocating (not saying you would, but some would). Both cities had similar size populations at the time of the OG Jets relocation. Winnipeg population has grown about 10% since that time and they've had a team relocate back. Edmonton has doubled in that time and is projected to have among the most population growth in the coming decades (along with the rest of Alberta). There is no way they would allow this team to relocate, and in the slim off chance it did happen, there would be an expansion here immediately.

Either way it's a moot point, I doubt Katz sells even if the worst comes to pass, unless he suspects the valuation will tank.

Just to add that all of Western Canadian cities and particularly Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton have seen influxes of speculative real estate buying of an international variety. This is something that wasn't occurring the last time long ago the Team was in ownership jeopardy. The Oilers are now a Real Estate play with Ice District and the surrounding investments. Some consortium could step in and take that play if it was on the market for speculated price. Many holdings have gone for more than they maybe should.

 

[Stoneman89]

Different time and different situation in a much poorer league in general. And you don't need to be from the city to keep it there. Boston's Fenway Sports Group bought a controlling share in the Penguins just recently and no machinations of relocating the team in a much more fickle market.

If this future owner / ownership group were astute business minds (as billionaires tend to be) they would look at how this fanbase was very loyal to a non competitive product for a decade and would quickly realize that even an average team would sell out here all the time.

Some might reference Winnipeg relocating (not saying you would, but some would). Both cities had similar size populations at the time of the OG Jets relocation. Winnipeg population has grown about 10% since that time and they've had a team relocate back. Edmonton has doubled in that time and is projected to have among the most population growth in the coming decades (along with the rest of Alberta). There is no way they would allow this team to relocate, and in the slim off chance it did happen, there would be an expansion here immediately.

Either way it's a moot point, I doubt Katz sells even if the worst comes to pass, unless he suspects the valuation will tank.

I just don't understand why the fans in this town always get ultimately blamed for the teams incompetence, all for the heinous crime of supporting them.

P.S. Just wondering, have you been to any games in the last 2-3 years? And, do you plan on not going to any games in the future?

 

[Oilhawks]

I just don't understand why the fans in this town always get ultimately blamed for the teams incompetence, all for the heinous crime of supporting them.

P.S. Just wondering, have you been to any games in the last 2-3 years? And, do you plan on not going to any games in the future?

They could stand to be more fickle. Supporting this garbage with unquestionable loyalty doesn’t help

I usually make it to a few games during the season but didn’t really go to many during the Chiarelli years, went to game 2 vs the Sharks since it had been so long since a playoff game. Glad I did. Have had a power pack each season since the pre-Covid one and went to the hot stove that Holland and Tippett were at. I intend this to be my last, however, and only have this one because I had a credit to use up. I knew multiple season ticket holders including some corporate and some personal holders and only one remains, he is very diehard but might give his up as well.

As foolish as Katz is, it’s not a very well-kept secret that he’s been frustrated by that. I’m sure Oilers+ is a way of trying to mitigate some leaner merchandising sales and a dwindling season ticket holder base

 

[Fourier]

I do because empty seats, reduced spending on merch etc are more likely to lead to changes than status quo. Fan support of mediocrity further entrenches it

It won't happen. While the NHL is still very dependent on local revenues, you are not going to get the team to make changes by having a few thousand fans boycott the team. Its just a drop in the bucket to the overall revenue stream.