What Is Truly Wrong With The Oilers?

[Porkleaker]

Quite simply, Katz because of the incompetent morons he put in charge and refuses to hold accountable.

 

[Zerotonine]

I think as much as people want to blame the OBC (which rightfully so is part and parcel to blame). The real problem was chiarelli with out a doubt .I mean look at the roster. We are cap maxed with plugs .and if you look at his last few moves it's pretty obvious he was out to sabotage this team knowing full well he was getting his walking papers sooner rather then later . And the Hitchcock hire I think was one of his worst decisions. That and of course the Manning trade. Not even close

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

It's almost too bad they succeeded two seasons ago. The only thing that accomplished was validating management's "vision" which in turn led to one of the worst summers seen around these parts.

That summer will haunt the Oilers for a very long time.

 

[BlackDogg]

Katz learns the business quick or the franchise is doomed (if McD leaves). If he doesn't this repetitive cycle will continue as long as people go to games (as some sort of entertainment).

Maybe drafting is better now, but other than a few 1oA's, some of which didn't pan out or are gone now, not much else has panned out. They can't develop a winger and they haven't bothered to find one.

 

[TFHockey]

Easy. No talent.

Drai, RNH and McDavid. No talent. Worthless post.

 

[TFHockey]

It starts even above Katz. It’s the City.

You mean the fanbase who has supported the team through losing seasons by selling out every year? The City that helped build the Arena? You don't know what you're talking about.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Drai, RNH and McDavid. No talent. Worthless post.

You literally just posted all the talent on the team.

That guy that scored twice against us yesterday... Johnnson I think his name was? He'd be our 4th leading goal scorer.

None of the wingers currently on this team would make any playoff team.

And then there's the defense... Hoo boy.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Its not complicated. When you have an org run by people so congenitally stupid that they convince themselves of getting rid of talent like Hall and Eberle, and they can't even develop high picks like Yakupov and Puljujarvi, and let players like Gagner, Brodz Dubnyk, Petry, Schultz etc go in prime its not hard to see that the org has trouble accruing talent, or developing it, and thus never get better.

We just played a club that has 3 times as many talented players that are being properly utilized than we do.

But this is a board and fanbase that supported the Hall trade,the Eberle trade, that hated Yak, that push out Schultz, Petry. This board supported idiot moves by the org every step of the way. The Oilers fanbase enables these clowns to have decades of inurement deep sixing this club.

I was never more disgusted than when people cheered this org acquiring individuals like Eakins and Chiarelli. McLellan was OK, at least not harmful. But I can't fathom how people didn't sense how absolutely tragic the Eakins and Chiarelli hires were. Or Nicholson who is just overrated .

Another consideration is we have seniors like Nicholson, Hitch, Lowe, McTavish, Keith Gretzky running the show.

Anybody that tells you that they have grander vision, more acuity, more cognitive ability, and planning ability at age 58 or beyond is lying to you. The same org that hired the blatantly senile Pat Quinn, and learned absolutely nothing from that, has these guys all currently at the helm one looking as confused and bewildered as the next. The only one of them that doesn't look miserable is Wayne Gretzky, except those moments he sobers up.

You know that years later there will be new books written evaluating these flame outs. Looking at these as the lost Gretzky years where he fell in the bottle after decades of enduring pressure. Where the Great one might actually have been the hardest thing for a McDavid casting glimpses into his potential future. Albeit without the cups. but no, for Leon, Connor, Ryan, one of the hardest things to see is how thankless this org is. Doesn't matter who you are, what you've done. Hall had this team strapped on his back 6 seasons trying to move it. He was the most motivated player on the entire team. For all his efforts he was called a cancer and tossed off.

People wonder whats wrong?

 

[CupofOil]

Katz <- Has no idea how to hire NHL staff
Lowe/Nicholson <- Have no idea how to hire NHL staff
Tambo/MacT/Chia <- Well below average at their jobs
Everyone else in the organisation <- Likely to underperform

It's as simple as that.

It's not that Katz doesn't have an idea how to hire qualified front office people although there's no way of really knowing. It's that he's so star struck by the 80s Oilers that he just can't let go of them but yes, he's the root of the problem.

Quite honestly (and this is no shot at the OP), I'm sick and tired of these threads. I've been posting here since '09 and it seems like we have about 50 different variations of the same exact thread (What's wrong with the Oilers?) every year since. After a while, it's just a recycling of the same old tired answers every single time. In other words, f*** you Katz and cronies.

 

[oobga]

Org doesn't care enough about winning to fire friends/family that suck at their jobs. And this org never makes an honest effort with proper interviewing and hiring practices to fill important jobs. All problems root from these things.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

It's not that Katz doesn't have an idea how to hire qualified front office people although there's no way of really knowing. It's that he's so star struck by the 80s Oilers that he just can't let go of them but yes, he's the root of the problem.

Quite honestly (and this is no shot at the OP), I'm sick and tired of these threads. I've been posting here since '09 and it seems like we have about 50 different variations of the same exact thread (What's wrong with the Oilers?) every year since. After a while, it's just a recycling of the same old tired answers every single time. In other words, **** you Katz and cronies.

I think there's some hope by Oiler fans that these messages will reach the ears of those in charge.

Of course they won't but that's all the hope we have left.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

I pin this squarely on Chiarelli's shoulders. He has nuked this team and most prospects in Bako are a couple years away from being NHL regulars...will they be contributing NHL regulars? TBD.

They had a 103 point season and things were looking up. Sekera got injured long term that spring and that moron knew he wouldn't be available for 2/3's of the next season and did nothing to address the defense in the offseason. Instead he dealt Eberle for Strome because he panicked off the slight belief there was an offer sheet coming for Draisaitl. He didn't acquire a capable backup goalie for Talbot (Brossoit had question marks going into 17-18).

The bad trades significantly outnumber the good trades he made. This season, it was like he was trying to get fired from the Strome-Spooner trade. Did he and Mclellan have a bad enough relationship he traded Strome to spite Mclellan? It made no sense then and it makes no sense now. The return for Caggiula is so astronomically bad (not a knock on Manning-not his fault he was traded to the Oilers, but the return and Manning's contract). A third for a healthy scratched Petrovic . The two aforementioned players aren't the difference between making the playoffs and not but they actually had a role with the team.

At least Burke thinks the lineup will be around the block to be the teams GM, despite it being a "five aspirin headache" to fix. Let's see how many candidates these idiots actually interview.

 

[CupofOil]

I think there's some hope by Oiler fans that these messages will reach the ears of those in charge.

Of course they won't but that's all the hope we have left.

The only messages that will kick Katz where it hurts is "Connor McDavid has requested a trade" or if fans stop showing up to games, buying merchandise etc. Those two things might well go hand in hand if the trade request comes first.

If being the armpit of the league for the last 10+ years, jersey tossings, billboards, heavy media criticism, angry fans etc. isn't enough to reach the ears of Katz then I highly doubt the billion threads on a message board criticizing the Oilers will.

Hit him where it hurts, in the wallet, or Connor requesting a trade. Then and only then will we see meaningful change. In the meantime, we just have to hope that the new GM is smart enough to ignore the "voices in the room" because dem old boyz ain't going nowhere.
The last one clearly wasn't so lets hope the new one is.
FTR, I lay the blame for the current mess squarely on Chia.

 

[TFHockey]

You literally just posted all the talent on the team.

That guy that scored twice against us yesterday... Johnnson I think his name was? He'd be our 4th leading goal scorer.

None of the wingers currently on this team would make any playoff team.

And then there's the defense... Hoo boy.

Nurse is still pretty good. Kelfbom as well. Don't be so negative.

I know it stings fellow Oiler fans, and the eastern media is making hay with that debacle last night. Other teams have turned things around in short order, including the Leafs. In 2015 they were voted the worst team in professional sports.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

The only messages that will kick Katz where it hurts is "Connor McDavid has requested a trade" or if fans stop showing up to games, buying merchandise etc. Those two things might well go hand in hand if the trade request comes first.

If being the armpit of the league for the last 10+ years, jersey tossings, billboards, heavy media criticism, angry fans etc. isn't enough to reach the ears of Katz then I highly doubt the billion threads on a message board criticizing the Oilers will.

Hit him where it hurts, in the wallet, or Connor requesting a trade. Then and only then will we see meaningful change. In the meantime, we just have to hope that the new GM is smart enough to ignore the "voices in the room" because dem old boyz ain't going nowhere.
The last one clearly wasn't so lets hope the new one is.
FTR, I lay the blame for the current mess squarely on Chia.

If the posters are to be believed in the STH thread, season tickets renewals and the numbers on the wait list are apparently free falling with no safety net.

 

[frag2]

I pin this squarely on Chiarelli's shoulders. He has nuked this team and most prospects in Bako are a couple years away from being NHL regulars...will they be contributing NHL regulars? TBD.

They had a 103 point season and things were looking up. Sekera got injured long term that spring and that moron knew he wouldn't be available for 2/3's of the next season and did nothing to address the defense in the offseason. Instead he dealt Eberle for Strome because he panicked off the slight belief there was an offer sheet coming for Draisaitl. He didn't acquire a capable backup goalie for Talbot (Brossoit had question marks going into 17-18).

The bad trades significantly outnumber the good trades he made. This season, it was like he was trying to get fired from the Strome-Spooner trade. Did he and Mclellan have a bad enough relationship he traded Strome to spite Mclellan? It made no sense then and it makes no sense now. The return for Caggiula is so astronomically bad (not a knock on Manning-not his fault he was traded to the Oilers, but the return and Manning's contract). A third for a healthy scratched Petrovic . The two aforementioned players aren't the difference between making the playoffs and not but they actually had a role with the team.

At least Burke thinks the lineup will be around the block to be the teams GM, despite it being a "five aspirin headache" to fix. Let's see how many candidates these idiots actually interview.

I almost kind of hope Burke would be our POHO. lol

Nurse is still pretty good. Kelfbom as well. Don't be so negative.

I know it stings fellow Oiler fans, and the eastern media is making hay with that debacle last night. Other teams have turned things around in short order, including the Leafs. In 2015 they were voted the worst team in professional sports.

Both Nurse and Klefbom are put in positions they are ill-suited for. Nurse is Jekyll-Hyde on ice and has no spatial awareness; Klefbom is injured too often. Both are complimentary pieces to good lineups, not pieces you tout as your impact players

Leafs turned it around because they were savvy with their roster. We had an idiot GM who came out and said our players aren't slow, they just aren't playing fast.

 

[soothsayer]

Simpletons who mistake having a lot of hockey friends for being hockey-smart.

End/

 

[McRobbiezyg]

Whoever is advising the GM on other players around the league. Whether thats the pro scouts, Katz, MacT, Lowe, Howson or all of the above. #FireTheMall

 

[Todd from Leduc]

By giving away NMC’s and overpaying by at least $1.5 mil on almost every single signing in the last 5 years.

By giving away star players at their lowest value for scrubs.

By overplaying our top guys.

By rushing prospects into the NHL and ruining them.

By signing guys before you need to and paying more because of it.

By trading for the only player that injured McDavid and made a joke of it.

By giving a 18 year old kid the C when he had enough pressure already.

By using the media as a propaganda network.

 

[CupofOil]

If the posters are to be believed in the STH thread, season tickets renewals and the numbers on the wait list are apparently free falling with no safety net.

Here's to hoping.

I've already seen tons of empty seats in Rogers the last several games so maybe the fans are FINALLY getting the message that it just isn't worth it.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

You mean the fanbase who has supported the team through losing seasons by selling out every year? The City that helped build the Arena? You don't know what you're talking about.

That's part of the problem...

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Nurse is still pretty good. Kelfbom as well. Don't be so negative.

I know it stings fellow Oiler fans, and the eastern media is making hay with that debacle last night. Other teams have turned things around in short order, including the Leafs. In 2015 they were voted the worst team in professional sports.

Klefbom and Nurse are forced to play roles they can't handle at this current time. The Leafs made Klefbom and Nurse look like rank amateurs.

There's a large difference between the Leafs and Oilers. The Leafs' front office isn't stacked with Wendel Clarks and Mats Sundins. They have people who know what they're doing. They also don't have a bundle of untradeable contracts. Even back when they were a joke they still managed to offload some of their worst deals (Clarkson) and draft some really good players.

The Oilers have two of the best centers on the planet and have surrounded them with a roster that I'm not sure could beat the legendary 2011 Oilers.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Here's to hoping.

I've already seen tons of empty seats in Rogers the last several games so maybe the fans are FINALLY getting the message that it just isn't worth it.

Step 1 is to now stop buying tickets in the first place, which therein lies the problem. Most game tickets are bought and paid for months in advance of the game so Katz already has his money despite the seat being empty. I live in SE Alberta so I don't have the extra money or proximity to go to games in Edmonton but I imagine not a lot of tickets are available for purchase on game day walking up to the box office window.

 

[TheNumber4]

You mean the fanbase who has supported the team through losing seasons by selling out every year? The City that helped build the Arena? You don't know what you're talking about.

Didn’t say fan base. Said city.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Step 1 is to now stop buying tickets in the first place, which therein lies the problem. Most game tickets are bought and paid for months in advance of the game so Katz already has his money despite the seat being empty. I live in SE Alberta so I don't have the extra money or proximity to go to games in Edmonton but I imagine not a lot of tickets are available for purchase on game day walking up to the box office window.

Step one was not allowing the team a funded arena and I fought that tooth and nail as hard as anybody could. on here, social media, and in challenging City Hall and specifically Sohi.

That this arena deal was allowed, at all, allowed this org another decade of empowerment. The fanbase heavily supported the funded arena whereas more of the population were opposed to a funded arena (as per polls)

I want people as well, years later, to maybe rethink how much people that opposed granting Katz a funded arena were shouted down, and off the board.