OT: Watching the sidelines as an Oiler Fan this year...

[Paralyzer]

I felt like posting my feelings on this season as this was one of those seasons where it was tough watching any games they played.

At the beginning of the season, I started watching every game hoping for huge win after win and showing the hockey world we were the next team to show dominance in the league. It was time for players like Klefbom, Nurse, Strome, Lucic, RNH, Kassian, Draisaitl, and Puljujarvi to finally show this league they are a strong core of players and I strongly believed players like Slepyshev, Caggiula, and Khaira to step up in a big way. But it seemed as the months dragged on, I lost my interest once December hit and they were already at the bottom of the league. It hit me then that this team cannot function together and something needed to change.

As a fan, I was beside myself wondering how could the Oilers, a team that floated around the .500 mark the whole season last year tank SOOO bad this year? it made 0 sense! What happened to them? As much as I want to put flak on Chiarelli or MacLellan on this, it seemed like something else is in play. We as Oiler fans have seen MANY GM and coaches change year after year and it seemed like everytime that happened, nothing ever changed. Then when I saw Chiarelli's interview saying he wanted to push guys like Caggiula, Strome, Slepyshev, and Khaira to step it up, it didn't seem too unreasonable to expect that especially they way they played in the playoffs. But it obviously didn't work the way Chiarelli planned.

After January, I basically stopped watching and only saw highlights of the games as I was too depressed to see another flunk of a game happen. I then come to here to see what could be the problem and I see a billion different ideas from Oilers fans here saying TRADE THIS GUY, FIRE THIS GUY, HIRE THIS GUY, BUY THIS GUY, etc. and it seems that these ideas seem a bit too drastic and a lot of them don't seem to be the only solution to the puzzle. So then after January, I decided to just let it go and see what Chia is thinking or planning. I guess what frustrates me the most is when we as a fan base think there is simple fixes in the team that we will be contenders but there really is more at play than just a trade or 2. I'm not saying we should fire Chia or MacLellan or trade Draisaitl for a #1 dman or any of those things, but something is wrong behind the scenes, and I REALLY hope it get's fixed this summer. Otherwise, if they go into ANOTHER flunk next year, I will be having my doubts as being an Oilers fan from here on out.

You guys have known me since Sept 2006 and I was here right after the Oilers Cup Run in 2006 but since joining then, this team has some serious issues internally and I've always gone the path of we'll get them next year! Don't you worry! Attitude, but now I'm feeling a bit on the down-swing of things. Please, Oilers, DO SOMETHING GOOD THIS SUMMER! We need some optimism again!

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[KeithIsActuallyBad]

If you watched that Bob Nicholson presser you know what you're in for.

This organization has problems everywhere and they start at the top.

 

[oil4life97]

They should be and probably are embarrassed for how this season went. I have no doubt they will be better next year, but how much better is the real question.

 

[FlameChampion]

I am pretty much the same way. I watched every game and then stopped watching the games in January. I would watch the odd game here and there, but watching the team just put in a bad mood for the most part. I started to watch the games a bit more near the end of the season. Pretty sure that I watched nearly every game last year.

I agree that something seemed wrong with the team. I still think there was some kind of problem behind the scenes. I know there are rumours but the Oilers for a majority of the season just didnt make much sense. The team was tight last year, the guys played hard for one another. I didnt see that much this year.

Likewise I hope they have a good summer. I still dont think the team is as bad as it played this year but they definitely got some holes. They need to make adjustments to their forwards, defense and goaltending as well as their prospect pool.

 

[Beerfish]

Well for me the worst part of all of this is that I feel they have painted themselves into a corner by squandering trade assets and cap space. I just can't see how they can improve player wise to any large degree next year. I also have no confidence at all in the GM and coach.

 

[VainGretzky]

Add Maroon Vanek in summer try and upgrade RD and were back in playoffs imo. Depends on which Talbot shows up as well because Montoya is no starter.

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

The frustrating part is loyalty. I'm not even from Edmonton, but they've been my team my entire life. My dad was a fan, but even as a kid where I was old enough to choose for myself, I got to watch Joseph, Smyth and Weight play with that heart.

Honestly I just want this team to get a good management team in here and be patient!! Draft and develop. No more big fish signings on July 1st.

 

[rambo97]

Chemistry was definitely off and a few people within the organization have referenced that. I know Hendricks was a glue guy but the team shouldn’t have fallen apart with him leaving. Maybe those rumours of a fight between Drai and Nurse were true and messed up the chemistry to start. And then when we fell behind it all snowballed from there.

This team has to learn to play defense. I read something that Talbot didn’t trust the team in front of him and watching you can see why. We need speed and scoring but we also have to get guys that can defend, kill penalties, win faceoffs and just do all the little things.

See these playoffs for proof or even look at those late 90s Oilers teams as evidence. We lack good depth players as much as anything. Some more veteran leadership might not hurt either

 

[FlameChampion]

Well for me the worst part of all of this is that I feel they have painted themselves into a corner by squandering trade assets and cap space. I just can't see how they can improve player wise to any large degree next year. I also have no confidence at all in the GM and coach.

Yeah pretty hard to do anything with the Lucic, Sekera, Russell contracts. Pretty hard to bring in a scorer when you have Lucic's 6mil on the books, from a cap perspective not to mention the assets that would be required. How do you bring in another defenseman when you have 4-5 defenseman (assuming Nurse gets paid) making 4+ million per year.

They are really backed into the corner. The season has shown that this team is still a bit aways and they have lots of holes. I think the proper thing is to be patient, draft and develop and fill out the roster. The issue is that they have McDavid, and they need to start winning. The management really needs to pull off some suave moves to turn this around, and I dont have much confidence in them either.

 

[FlameChampion]

Chemistry was definitely off and a few people within the organization have referenced that. I know Hendricks was a glue guy but the team shouldn’t have fallen apart with him leaving. Maybe those rumours of a fight between Drai and Nurse were true and messed up the chemistry to start. And then when we fell behind it all snowballed from there.

This team has to learn to play defense. I read something that Talbot didn’t trust the team in front of him and watching you can see why. We need speed and scoring but we also have to get guys that can defend, kill penalties, win faceoffs and just do all the little things.

See these playoffs for proof or even look at those late 90s Oilers teams as evidence. We lack good depth players as much as anything. Some more veteran leadership might not hurt either

Pretty much agree with all of this. I dont think Talbot trusted the defense (the defense was really poor initially, gave up a ton of grade A chances). Then when the defense started to turn it around, I dont think the team trusted Talbot because on most nights, he was outplayed regularly by the other teams goaltender.

 

[McFlash97]

Add Maroon Vanek in summer try and upgrade RD and were back in playoffs imo. Depends on which Talbot shows up as well because Montoya is no starter.

We are slow enough as it is, throwing in Maroon and Vanek into that mix might make us the slowest team in history with the fastest player in history. The team needs to build around what McDavid brings. Not what Lucic brings.

 

[FlameChampion]

Add Maroon Vanek in summer try and upgrade RD and were back in playoffs imo. Depends on which Talbot shows up as well because Montoya is no starter.

What they should be doing is getting rid of Lucic and then signing Maroon imo. If they keep Lucic, than I think Maroon is redundant (I personally think Maroon is better and is cheaper).

 

[VainGretzky]

What they should be doing is getting rid of Lucic and then signing Maroon imo. If they keep Lucic, than I think Maroon is redundant (I personally think Maroon is better and is cheaper).

Getting rid of Lucic is a no go right now ,and not next year either

 

[Drivesaitl]

Totally different impression. Like many others here the concerns that this would be the lineup heading into the season were reasons for concern. From the start there were questions about where the depth scoring would come from on a team consisting of the following'

Cagg, Khaira, Slepy, Kass, Pak, Pulju, Cammeleri, Strome, Jokinen.


That the offseason additions in total were Jokinen, Strome, Auvitu was a complete joke. These are NOTHING additions.

The team lost; Eberle, Pouliot, Hendricks, Desharnais, Pitlick, Lander, Oesterle, Davidson.


Then the team adds jokes like Cammeleri, Malone, Walker to try to stop the bleeding and see if anything could happen. Chia doesn't even address the D and Sekera injury. Just figures Gryba can fill in.

Meanwhile the team had tremendous difficulty scoring goals. Look at the 9 forwards listed above. Would you seriously rely on those guys to score goals?

At the start of the season we had only McD, Drai, Lucic, Maroon that looked even capable of scoring goals. Nuge had come off one of the worst seasons of his career and was showing zero scoring or production confidence.

Now we don't even have Maroon from that bunch.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Totally different impression. Like many others here the concerns that this would be the lineup heading into the season were reasons for concern. From the start there were questions about where the depth scoring would come from on a team consisting of the following'

Cagg, Khaira, Slepy, Kass, Pak, Pulju, Cammeleri, Strome, Jokinen.


That the offseason additions in total were Jokinen, Strome, Auvitu was a complete joke. These are NOTHING additions.

The team lost; Eberle, Pouliot, Hendricks, Desharnais, Pitlick, Lander, Oesterle, Davidson.


Then the team adds jokes like Cammeleri, Malone, Walker to try to stop the bleeding and see if anything could happen. Chia doesn't even address the D and Sekera injury. Just figures Gryba can fill in.

Meanwhile the team had tremendous difficulty scoring goals. Look at the 9 forwards listed above. Would you seriously rely on those guys to score goals?

At the start of the season we had only McD, Drai, Lucic, Maroon that looked even capable of scoring goals. Nuge had come off one of the worst seasons of his career and was showing zero scoring or production confidence.

Now we don't even have Maroon from that bunch.

I still don't understand Chiarelli's plan last year. I questioned it then and I question it now.

 

[soothsayer]

Totally different impression. Like many others here the concerns that this would be the lineup heading into the season were reasons for concern. From the start there were questions about where the depth scoring would come from on a team consisting of the following'

Cagg, Khaira, Slepy, Kass, Pak, Pulju, Cammeleri, Strome, Jokinen.


That the offseason additions in total were Jokinen, Strome, Auvitu was a complete joke. These are NOTHING additions.

The team lost; Eberle, Pouliot, Hendricks, Desharnais, Pitlick, Lander, Oesterle, Davidson.


Then the team adds jokes like Cammeleri, Malone, Walker to try to stop the bleeding and see if anything could happen. Chia doesn't even address the D and Sekera injury. Just figures Gryba can fill in.

Meanwhile the team had tremendous difficulty scoring goals. Look at the 9 forwards listed above. Would you seriously rely on those guys to score goals?

At the start of the season we had only McD, Drai, Lucic, Maroon that looked even capable of scoring goals. Nuge had come off one of the worst seasons of his career and was showing zero scoring or production confidence.

Now we don't even have Maroon from that bunch.

This all seems true to me. It bothers me a little bit when some people in the media gloss over the fact that there was a reasonably large contingent of fans who were concerned about the team going into the season. Stauffer, for example, loves to cite all the "experts" who had the Oilers winning the cup. "Oh, Seravahhhhhli had them winning the cup. No body saw this coming." Actually, a bunch of us thought that this could happen. If during last summer you had said that the Oilers wouldn't make the playoffs, many of us wouldn't be shocked, based on what Chiarelli did (and didn't do), which you've outlined pretty much dead on.

I would add, though, that Chiarelli's fatal flaw last off-season was that he had expectations where he should have had only hope. I get what his plan was, to load up cap for the trade deadline, even if that meant making the team marginally less competitive. Unfortunately for him and all of us, the margin between missing the playoffs and being competitive is razor thin in the NHL. As the saying goes, if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

This all seems true to me. It bothers me a little bit when some people in the media gloss over the fact that there was a reasonably large contingent of fans who were concerned about the team going into the season. Stauffer, for example, loves to cite all the "experts" who had the Oilers winning the cup. "Oh, Seravahhhhhli had them winning the cup. No body saw this coming." Actually, a bunch of us thought that this could happen. If during last summer you had said that the Oilers wouldn't make the playoffs, many of us wouldn't be shocked, based on what Chiarelli did (and didn't do), which you've outlined pretty much dead on.

I would add, though, that Chiarelli's fatal flaw last off-season was that he had expectations where he should have had only hope. I get what his plan was, to load up cap for the trade deadline, even if that meant making the team marginally less competitive. Unfortunately for him and all of us, the margin between missing the playoffs and being competitive is razor thin in the NHL. As the saying goes, if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse.

I don't recall a single person saying this team wouldn't make the playoffs let alone finish bottom 10

 

[Little Fury]

I don't recall a single person saying this team wouldn't make the playoffs let alone finish bottom 10

Lots of people had the Oilers missing the playoffs if you just knew where to look.

 

[soothsayer]

I don't recall a single person saying this team wouldn't make the playoffs let alone finish bottom 10

That's good for you. There were concerned voices on this board, as well as concerned voices in the real world.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

That's good for you. There were concerned voices on this board, as well as concerned voices in the real world.

I was concerned but only that the Oilers weren't a contender, not missing the playoffs...

But here we are, clearly we underestimated our management's ability to f*** it up.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I don't recall a single person saying this team wouldn't make the playoffs let alone finish bottom 10

This is kind of funny because you spent 90% of the season refuting the concerns and saying nothing was wrong. How could you not have remembered the expressed concerns that were being posted all season?

 

[McDNicks17]

I was more apathetic this season than during the Eakins era.

It was pretty obvious by December that the coaches had no intentions to change anything.

 

[rboomercat90]

I don't recall a single person saying this team wouldn't make the playoffs let alone finish bottom 10

They were there but most of them were from the eye roll club so you probably didn’t pay much attention to them.

 

[Aerrol]

I don't recall a single person saying this team wouldn't make the playoffs let alone finish bottom 10

I said that I thought the team would just barely make the playoffs and definitely would struggle. I know many others here said the same. Maybe not exactly the same as 'won't make the playoffs' but there were very very many here who had serious concerns about the team.

 

[FunkyChicken]

Strange season. If it wasn't for McDavid I don't think I would have watched a game after November.
Still they were few and far between, instead of planning a game night the games I do catch are now more background noise than a conscious effort to watch.

I used to blame management for their follies. But after the Chiarelli and Nicholson pressers I realized that nothing is going to change and the Oilers will continue to Oil...that's what they do and who they are. I think I'm now apathetic to management and blame myself for knowing what this process is and still choosing to spend time on it.