An actual starting goalie and new coach would’ve saved this team some face and possibly the season. Ken seems fine letting it burn to the ground. Looking at the upcoming schedule things are gonna get real ugly with no changes.
Speculation: What are the Oilers biggest needs right now?
- Thread starter echlfreak
- Start date
It's not the sum of the players... it's not the sum of the coaches.
It's them taking care of their shit.. .whatever that shit is.. so that they come to the rink and work as a TEAM. They pick each other up.. they catch them when they fall... Whatever the hell goes on that the successful teams do to get the most out of their players.
They're mentally fragile and look like the same team we've seen for over a decade. It doesn't matter the names on the Jersey's or the Coach behind the bench. It's the same team year in and year out.
Something goes on in that building that I don't claim to have a clue about. But there's been too many players, coaches, gm's, that come through here that produce the exact same results. A team that finds a way to lose.. never the same way.. just a way. That's why we always look for the excuse for the team.. Goaltending.. depth... omg our 4th line.. 2nd line lw. it's a revolving door year by year.
I know it's a tough league but some teams get so much out of their players it's crazy. The New York Rangers for example. It's not the UFA's that sign there that help them.. it's the RFA's that play their mother f***ing asses off for that team. A dedication and want that I don't think Edmonton can match. It may be time to acknowledge that Edmonton is not a destination city. No one is going to hit that next gear to want to stay here. So we get complacency. It will never be admitted.. hell it's probably not even something the players on this team really think is happening. They think they're trying and playing their best. But when you have that extra motivation to really, really want to stay in the market. It's enough on a team level to tip the scales. It may be why this team always sees that December drop off that it has a hard time of recovering from. Or maybe it's the opposite and the pressure is enough to tip the scales?
When you have a league that is so close these extra motivations play a factor.
The Oilers tell us they're playing hard, the coaches tell us the exact same thing. Even the media tells us they're putting in the effort. And I'm not really doubting them.
But I also see a team that doesn't have that level of passion/discipline that the good teams do like Vegas. It's always just enough. They call it confidence but I don't think it's really it. I think that's the excuse for saying.. i'm not really in a good place mentally compared to my opponents. I think it's just that teams in a good mental state that generally like where they are play harder.
Quite frankly I think half the team doesn't want to be here.. doesn't want to be recognized on the streets, and doesn't want the pressure and the microscope that come with it.
Move the team to some southern city in the states that doesn't know or care about hockey and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see them have more success.
The Oilers as an organization needs to address the mental health and state of everyone on the team and around the team. They need to put in strategies and support measures that are unique to playing in a cold, dark city during the winter. They need to find a way to support the players, families, coaches, scouts etc for the unique challenges they'll face playing in this market. Otherwise firing a coach.. drafting a mega star.. won't amount to anything.
I just have a feeling that this lack of success is bigger than most of us think. I don't think it can be denied that the Canadian teams are having a tough time being competitive with their American counterparts. I thought things would change with the salary cap but they haven't. There's a reason for this. I have a feeling the answer to making the Oilers lies there somewhere more than "fire tippet" because in the end nothing will really change.
It's them taking care of their shit.. .whatever that shit is.. so that they come to the rink and work as a TEAM. They pick each other up.. they catch them when they fall... Whatever the hell goes on that the successful teams do to get the most out of their players.
They're mentally fragile and look like the same team we've seen for over a decade. It doesn't matter the names on the Jersey's or the Coach behind the bench. It's the same team year in and year out.
Something goes on in that building that I don't claim to have a clue about. But there's been too many players, coaches, gm's, that come through here that produce the exact same results. A team that finds a way to lose.. never the same way.. just a way. That's why we always look for the excuse for the team.. Goaltending.. depth... omg our 4th line.. 2nd line lw. it's a revolving door year by year.
I know it's a tough league but some teams get so much out of their players it's crazy. The New York Rangers for example. It's not the UFA's that sign there that help them.. it's the RFA's that play their mother f***ing asses off for that team. A dedication and want that I don't think Edmonton can match. It may be time to acknowledge that Edmonton is not a destination city. No one is going to hit that next gear to want to stay here. So we get complacency. It will never be admitted.. hell it's probably not even something the players on this team really think is happening. They think they're trying and playing their best. But when you have that extra motivation to really, really want to stay in the market. It's enough on a team level to tip the scales. It may be why this team always sees that December drop off that it has a hard time of recovering from. Or maybe it's the opposite and the pressure is enough to tip the scales?
When you have a league that is so close these extra motivations play a factor.
The Oilers tell us they're playing hard, the coaches tell us the exact same thing. Even the media tells us they're putting in the effort. And I'm not really doubting them.
But I also see a team that doesn't have that level of passion/discipline that the good teams do like Vegas. It's always just enough. They call it confidence but I don't think it's really it. I think that's the excuse for saying.. i'm not really in a good place mentally compared to my opponents. I think it's just that teams in a good mental state that generally like where they are play harder.
Quite frankly I think half the team doesn't want to be here.. doesn't want to be recognized on the streets, and doesn't want the pressure and the microscope that come with it.
Move the team to some southern city in the states that doesn't know or care about hockey and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see them have more success.
The Oilers as an organization needs to address the mental health and state of everyone on the team and around the team. They need to put in strategies and support measures that are unique to playing in a cold, dark city during the winter. They need to find a way to support the players, families, coaches, scouts etc for the unique challenges they'll face playing in this market. Otherwise firing a coach.. drafting a mega star.. won't amount to anything.
I just have a feeling that this lack of success is bigger than most of us think. I don't think it can be denied that the Canadian teams are having a tough time being competitive with their American counterparts. I thought things would change with the salary cap but they haven't. There's a reason for this. I have a feeling the answer to making the Oilers lies there somewhere more than "fire tippet" because in the end nothing will really change.
Trafalgar Sadge Law
Registered User
- Nov 8, 2007
- 11,478
- 6,877
You're kidding yourself if you don't think Gary is trying to get as many Sunbelt teams as he can without regard to the health of the NHL, see: Arizona Coyotes are still allowed to exist despite basically being a parasite that sucks out the lifeblood of the NHL. Getting rid of the Coyotes would have an effect comparable to adding the Vegas Golden Knights in expansion in terms of average revenue and would immediately bump up salary cap by like 3 million.You still buying into that scam? You can count the markets on one hand that are more viable for professional hockey in North America than Edmonton.
Broberg Speed
Registered User
- Oct 23, 2020
- 6,766
- 4,618
It's about the TV deal with Gary and Arizona is a broadcast market in the media region. The lack of interest of hockey in that market is meaningless in the calculation. It doesn't matter how much money they lose. It's a revenue sharing league.
oilexport
Registered User
- Aug 29, 2010
- 2,019
- 624
No they're not good enough to make the playoffs with Koskinen-tier goaltending. They're a 82-88 point team with that probably, bottom 10 in goals against, so yeah no playoffs unless there is a change made there.
They're actually pretty consistent with this too ... they sucked last year with Koskinen/Skinner in net too, bottom 7 GA, 85 point-ish pace (pro-rated). So it's not some magical thing that just occurred this year.
I'm all for dumping Holland and Tippett and Nicholson anyway.
BoldNewLettuce
Esquire
The number one need is to play in a league which prioritizes competitive balance at an on ice level--icing the best hockey on the planet and letting skill play. One where there is no incentive for collusion against Edmonton among the officials, media, managers, players, agents, player wives, player dogs etc.
Number two would be GM/coaching.
Number two would be GM/coaching.
Aceboogie
Registered User
- Aug 25, 2012
- 32,649
- 3,896
1. Fire, Nicholson, Holland, Tippett asap. Hope that Katz sells the team (the common deminator for all bad moves the past 10 season, who has let this all unfold, the guy who put Nicholson in charge in the first place)
2. Roster wise a) a starting goalie. But dont mortgage the entire future b) to jet send Keith, Barrie and Russell to the moon c) to actually look at trading Nurse while his value is highish (if there is a monster return), get back a really good young(ish) roster player. Use the cap space from those moves to bring in good players d) gut the forward depth, let many walk or trade, start from scratch here
2. Roster wise a) a starting goalie. But dont mortgage the entire future b) to jet send Keith, Barrie and Russell to the moon c) to actually look at trading Nurse while his value is highish (if there is a monster return), get back a really good young(ish) roster player. Use the cap space from those moves to bring in good players d) gut the forward depth, let many walk or trade, start from scratch here
Stoneman89
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2008
- 27,429
- 21,835
MinisterOfSinister
Registered User
- Aug 31, 2008
- 734
- 836
What are the Oilers biggest needs right now?
An exorcism, for starters.
An exorcism, for starters.
mcdingdong
Registered User
- Mar 21, 2019
- 240
- 395
