Edmonton is No Good Episode 4: New Rink, Same Stink

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by stang

Same with the Blackhawks.

Great username btw

Are we already forgetting that no team has ever been as bad as the oil for so long and were gifted so many high picks?

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by amazing_oilers

Sadly people will forget how bad the Oilers were for a decade. A whole generation of kids were lost or not interested in hockey because of them. However in Chicago nobody talks about how they were drawing 8000 fans to a game when they missued the playoffs 10/11 years. They talk about all the cups they've won and how Toews and Kane lead them to a dynasty. Hopefully the same happens in Edmonton. Also for all the #1 overall pick hype it's interesting that the only one of them that really matters is #97. Nuge hasn't lived up to the hype, Yak was a bust, Hall was a franchise player but had to be sacrificed. The Oilers really got lucky getting Draisaitl and Nurse as those two will have huge roles when they are hoisting the next cup.

Haha best of luck with that.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by The Familia

I believe there were a few of us on this thread who were ridiculed for saying the Oilers were going to finally make the playoffs and finish above the Flames this year....

Well done, I hope you get the recognition you think you deserve.

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

not quite... 7 top 6 picks in 7 years, is pretty much the worst i've seen... Pittsburgh had 5 years of top 6 picks, but only 2 #1s and 2 #2s in grouping...

the islanders only had 4 years with top 6 picks, and only Tavares was number 1. Ditto with Chicago.

Oilers are the team that has taken advantage of the NHL Welfare system the most...

with that kind of support, that franchise HAD to get better, regardless of how bad they are.

But Pittsburgh also got extremely lucky in that they were terrible in strong draft years- at least at the top end- and were essentially able to add a Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal) despite drafting 2nd overall, and not 1st like the Oilers.

The Islanders were a bottom-5 team every season from 2007-2012, and aside from an aberrant 2013 shortened season which saw them in the playoffs, finished bottom-5 yet again in 2014. Of course, their clown management were/are just as bad as MacT and Snow ended up trading down from pick 5 to 7 in 08 when they drafted Bailey. They saw tremendous growth between 2014 and 2015 because Snow finally addressed some needs on D and net (Leddy, Boychuk, Halak) just like Chiarelli did for Edmonton (Sekera, Larsson, Russell, Talbot)

Also, I don't see a major difference between 5 years of ineptitude vs 6 or 7. Just like Pens fans forgot all about it circa 2007, Oilers fans are forgetting in 2017.

PS: Not defending the Oilers organization. I just don't think they should be singled out. The Penguins and Islanders deserve just as much ire if we're being objective.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by MisterJoji

Maybe you should check the head to head record over the last decade. Not just 4 months. Dumbass.

Why?

This is a chirp thread and they ruled us this year lol. If I was an Oiler fan I'd be in here taking the easy trolls too. I mean everyone takes the bait all the way to the gills, it's just too easy for them.

edit: actually that's not true, if I was an Oilers fan I probably wouldn't be on this site, but my point stands.

[stang]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Are we already forgetting that no team has ever been as bad as the oil for so long and were gifted so many high picks?

Just like the Pens getting malkin Crosby and MAF, noones going to remember in a couple years. It was a really horrible time. Hopefully it was worth the wait.

[AlbertaOiler72]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I've never wished the worst on a team or its fan.

But when the Oilers add 20+ million in payroll over the next year and have to trade their depth for nothing and the team collapses back to where it belongs. I will say that a large segment of the Oiler fans deserve nothing but absolute misery.

AO72 comes across as a completely unlikable braggart with very little to add to any hockey discussion, and my fervent wish is that the Oilers completely break him.

I would think that good Oiler fans, and there are some find him to be a complete embarrassment to their fanbase.

but I was told by you the Oilers were being carried by 4 players, so it shouldn't matter about organizational depth that much...

its funny, McDavid had a goal, Draisaitl had an assist...yet our so called "garbage depth" hung 6 goals on the Flames...not that hard considering that was the easiest 2 points we've had in months but we have depth in the organization, you choose not to see it

and I'm glad you're able to foresee the cap situation in a couple and how much it'll go up...your wishful thinking scenario's are hilarious
Chia is a great GM, I ain't worried

and I've been here since 2008, right in the middle of the Decade of Darkness...the Oilers will never break me

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72

but I was told by you the Oilers were being carried by 4 players, so it shouldn't matter about organizational depth that much...

its funny, McDavid had a goal, Draisaitl had an assist...yet our so called "garbage depth" hung 6 goals on the Flames...not that hard considering that was the easiest 2 points we've had in months but we have depth in the organization, you choose not to see it

and I'm glad you're able to foresee the cap situation in a couple and how much it'll go up...your wishful thinking scenario's are hilarious
Chia is a great GM, I ain't worried

and I've been here since 2008, right in the middle of the Decade of Darkness...the Oilers will never break me

Yeah, the idiot who traded Hall and Seguin for pennies on the dollar and left the Bruins in cap hell is a "great GM".

That Lucic contract is going to be a nightmare in 3 years. Clarkson/Brown-esque.

[Coach]

Are the people claiming that everyone will forget the Oilers terribleness just like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and LA forgetting a very important common denominator?



Multiples of them.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by Soulless Sisters

But Pittsburgh also got extremely lucky in that they were terrible in strong draft years- at least at the top end- and were essentially able to add a Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal) despite drafting 2nd overall, and not 1st like the Oilers.

The Islanders were a bottom-5 team every season from 2007-2012, and aside from an aberrant 2013 shortened season which saw them in the playoffs, finished bottom-5 yet again in 2014. Of course, their clown management were/are just as bad as MacT and Snow ended up trading down from pick 5 to 7 in 08 when they drafted Bailey. They saw tremendous growth between 2014 and 2015 because Snow finally addressed some needs on D and net (Leddy, Boychuk, Halak) just like Chiarelli did for Edmonton (Sekera, Larsson, Russell, Talbot)

Also, I don't see a major difference between 5 years of ineptitude vs 6 or 7. Just like Pens fans forgot all about it circa 2007, Oilers fans are forgetting in 2017.

PS: Not defending the Oilers organization. I just don't think they should be singled out. The Penguins and Islanders deserve just as much ire if we're being objective.

Ineptitude was reasonably close, but combined it with Blind Luck of the Oilers (and the bush league rules of the NHL) and it feels infinitely worse for Flames fans...

The topper, is the kind of arrogance their fans bring...yes, you have a good team now... winning multiple Welfare Lotteries tends to restock your cupboards regardless how crappy your scouting is...

Tanking feels like the better option than finishing in 9th place to be honest... better to roll the lottery dice imo than to struggle and miss and then get a marginal pick for all those efforts, when cratering might be a faster path to the SC...

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Are the people claiming that everyone will forget the Oilers terribleness just like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and LA forgetting a very important common denominator?



Multiples of them.

But people forgot the terribleness of those franchises as soon as 2007 came for the Penguins, 2009 for the Blackhawks, and 2010 for the Kings. You eclipse 100 points and make the playoffs, and the hockey world generally has amnesia.

Hell, people forgot all about the Islanders before Garth Snow's stupidity last summer crippled the on-ice product this year.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by stang

Just like the Pens getting malkin Crosby and MAF, noones going to remember in a couple years. It was a really horrible time. Hopefully it was worth the wait.

I think Flames fans have to have some humility in this thread after everything we've dished out. Personally, I think it's hilarious to see the tables flipped so quickly and ruthlessly on us in this thread.

But we will not stand by and accept that the bolded grouping of letters means something in English.

[AlbertaOiler72]

Originally Posted by Soulless Sisters

Yeah, the idiot who traded Hall and Seguin for pennies on the dollar and left the Bruins in cap hell is a "great GM".

That Lucic contract is going to be a nightmare in 3 years. Clarkson/Brown-esque.

he also brought in a legit #1 goaltender (something the Flames don't have)

a top pairing defenseman in Larsson (Hall can't stay healthy and isn't elite nor making the Devils better)

toughness on the wings (stole Maroon for cheap, Lucic ran the Preds and Flames show the past couple games, and Kassian has been great)

not to mention bringing in Benning, Caggulia...both great college FAs

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Soulless Sisters

But people forgot the terribleness of those franchises as soon as 2007 came for the Penguins, 2009 for the Blackhawks, and 2010 for the Kings. You eclipse 100 points and make the playoffs, and the hockey world generally has amnesia.

Hell, people forgot all about the Islanders before Garth Snow's stupidity last summer crippled the on-ice product this year.

Not if they hadn't kept progressing and won championships.

If they had a year or two of playoff appearances and then fell right back down, there would have been plenty of talk about how their rebuild was wrong.

That and, they were not the historic level of bad we've seen from the Oilers.

[Major Major]

Forget? Lol, they hold the record for sucking. No one in NHL history has sucked this bad for this long. If I take a look at the history books of teams that were terrible in pro sports, I won't find Pittsburgh or Chicago or LA, I'll see an oilers logo, probably a smarmy picture of Katz, maybe Kevin Lowe doing balloon animals. They'll be beside the browns and... I can't even think of another contemporary pro sports team who has been as laughable. Saying people will forget is like saying people will forget Gretzky or the 1970s Canadians or 4 in a row Islanders. They're written in the record books as being the greatest losers of all time.

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

Ineptitude was reasonably close, but combined it with Blind Luck of the Oilers (and the bush league rules of the NHL) and it feels infinitely worse for Flames fans...

The topper, is the kind of arrogance their fans bring...yes, you have a good team now... winning multiple Welfare Lotteries tends to restock your cupboards regardless how crappy your scouting is...

Tanking feels like the better option than finishing in 9th place to be honest... better to roll the lottery dice imo than to struggle and miss and then get a marginal pick for all those efforts, when cratering might be a faster path to the SC...

That's why I said be objective, which I know is tough as a sports fan.

What Flames fans are enduring is probably nothing compared to what Flyers fans endured in 2006-2008....to watch their cross-state rivals get handed the best player since Gretzky, another generational talent, an elite two-way C, a top-pairing defenseman, and a #1 goaltender all due to 4-5 seasons in the basement + a rigged draft lottery in 05.....all going to a failing hockey market with pathetic fan turnout to boot. Imagine how much it must've pained Flyers fans to know Bettman practically rigged everything in the Pens favor to avoid a relocation to Kansas City, and they became an elite team (let alone a Stanley Cup champion) as a result of it.

I'll take having to look at Edmonton and see McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Puljujarvi, Nurse, and Larsson over looking at Pittsburgh (as a Flyers fan) with Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Whitney, and Fleury *every* day of the week.

In saying all of that, I think I'm going to barf. Toodles.

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Not if they hadn't kept progressing and won championships.

If they had a year or two of playoff appearances and then fell right back down, there would have been plenty of talk about how their rebuild was wrong.

That and, they were not the historic level of bad we've seen from the Oilers.

The Washington Capitals have never advanced past the 2nd round and yet....does *anyone* really talk about how awful they were between 2003-2007? Again, as Flames fans we won't forget (just like Flyers fans didn't even after Crosby's 2nd cup win last Spring)....but the rest of the hockey world and Canadian sports media, probably will.

Also, I would wager Pittsburgh was just as bad and lucky. Chicago and L.A. were actually hybrid rebuilds which took smarts + scouting + competent management to turn around.

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72

he also brought in a legit #1 goaltender (something the Flames don't have)

a top pairing defenseman in Larsson (Hall can't stay healthy and isn't elite nor making the Devils better)

toughness on the wings (stole Maroon for cheap, Lucic ran the Preds and Flames show the past couple games, and Kassian has been great)

not to mention bringing in Benning, Caggulia...both great college FAs

Chiarelli's competence as a GM will stand to scrutiny come 2018. Right now, he's having it super watered-down because McDavid, Draisaitl and Nurse are on ELCs.

The guy looked practically invincible for a few years in Boston as well...when Seguin, Hamilton, etc. were on entry deals. He doesn't have a clue as to how to build a perennial winner after the cap crunch kicks in.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Soulless Sisters

The Washington Capitals have never advanced past the 2nd round and yet....does *anyone* really talk about how awful they were between 2003-2007? Again, as Flames fans we won't forget (just like Flyers fans didn't even after Crosby's 2nd cup win last Spring)....but the rest of the hockey world and Canadian sports media, probably will.

Also, I would wager Pittsburgh was just as bad and lucky. Chicago and L.A. were actually hybrid rebuilds which took smarts + scouting + competent management to turn around.

Every team will have periods of 4-5 years where they struggled. People forget Washington's struggles because they are part of the normal cycle of sports teams.

The Oilers have a decade of not only struggles, but historic ineptitude not just relative to hockey, but ALL SPORTS. Not only that, but a period of utterly comical management, overhyped prospects, and nothing but pure smugness about how great their team would/could/maybe be if they just kept losing - a mentality that flies in the face of the core point behind competitive sports: to win.

And now, because of all that smugness, it could only POTENTIALLY be forgotten with wins. Championship wins. And yes, specifically for Flames fans any championships the Oilers attain will always have an asterisk, but the whole hockey world has been laughing at the Oilers for years. Not just because they were bad, but comically bad.

Like Ben Affleck. After a period of pure laughable ineptitude, he bounces back. But The whole entertainment world still takes pot shots at him. Why? Because for a long time it was so bad, that he will forever be associated with that period.

[Soulless Sisters]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Every team will have periods of 4-5 years where they struggled. People forget Washington's struggles because they are part of the normal cycle of sports teams.

The Oilers have a decade of not only struggles, but historic ineptitude not just relative to hockey, but ALL SPORTS. Not only that, but a period of utterly comical management, overhyped prospects, and nothing but pure smugness about how great their team would/could/maybe be if they just kept losing - a mentality that flies in the face of the core point behind competitive sports: to win.

And now, because of all that smugness, it could only POTENTIALLY be forgotten with wins. Championship wins. And yes, specifically for Flames fans any championships the Oilers attain will always have an asterisk, but the whole hockey world has been laughing at the Oilers for years. Not just because they were bad, but comically bad.

Aside from duration, how are Washington's bottom-5 finishes between 2003-2007 any different than the Oilers between 2009-2016?

IIRC, the Oilers 10-year playoff drought is still eclipsed by droughts in other sport teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves or Buffalo Bills. If anything they're a lot like the Oakland Raiders in the sense that they spend a decade + outside the playoffs after going to the championship game (SCF Game 7, Superbowl). But then again, Derek Carr is a lot more likable than Connor McDavid.

Again, you're just being overly subjective and interpolating your Flames goggles. No one is going to care about the asterisk we have next to their (hypothetical) success if they ever have any. The hockey world forgot all about the comical ineptitude of the Penguins in the 2007 playoffs; the bankruptcy, the relocation woes, the half-decade of lottery finishes, the lack of fan support. They didn't consult with Flyers, Rangers, or Capitals fans as to what they thought about Sid and Co.