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

[TheScorpion]

I have not.

[wired]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Well the alternative would be living in Edmonton for two decades.

I get the "but the river valley!" argument, but I'd choose to live in Vegas or Raleigh or even Newark every time over Edmonton

Get over it fella.....having lived in both places for a long period of time.....Calgary is closer to the mountains and has chinooks. The roads just plain suck in Calgary. Edmonton's road system is far better.
I can take either place, or leave it. The constant bashing of Edmonton is tiring.
Oh ya, Edmonton has jobs.....something that Calgary is lacking in spades.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72

big difference being this young core proved it can make the playoffs and succeed in the playoffs

Chiarelli added the goaltending and some great pieces around that core that finished 8th overall in the league and just 2 goals away from a final 4 appearance

Alright, I went and got some pliers to get the hook out of my mouth so this is it between us.

[Robbob]

The Talbot contract was a jackpot signing. 4M AAV for the next three years will be a bargain. The problem will be when McDavid contract kicks in after next season. Between Draisaitl, McDavid and the 666 line you will have 5 players that will be taking up 50% of the cap. Granted they have a year to try and get rid of Eberle and RNH, but do you really think the player that replaces them will have a lower cap hit (see UFA signing Lucic).

I know they have Puljujvari coming up (who didn't look close to ready and they still managed to burn a year of his ELC) , but do they have any other capable player that will be able to play so they can take advantage of that low ELC cap hit? If the Oilers have to pay UFAs to fill out their roster they will be in cap hell quicker than McDavid can skate.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Edmonton is the worst city in the NHL. It would rank as a bottom-five AHL city.

Okay Scorp time to step away from this argument. As much as I hate the oilers, Edmonton isn't no where near as bad as you're making it out to be.

[wired]

Locke made a very good point.... cap space will be a killer for the Oilers in the near future. Leon D will be fetching a pretty contract this summer. And that anchor that Lucic is signed to is going to hurt for a bit.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by wired

Get over it fella.....having lived in both places for a long period of time.....Calgary is closer to the mountains and has chinooks. The roads just plain suck in Calgary. Edmonton's road system is far better.
I can take either place, or leave it. The constant bashing of Edmonton is tiring.
Oh ya, Edmonton has jobs.....something that Calgary is lacking in spades.

Calgary is a nicer city - but the bashing on places like this makes me think that many posters have rose coloured glasses on regarding the actual quality of Calgary as a city. The differences between Calgary and Edmonton are marginal, even the downtown core as Edmonton is now starting to build up after getting rid of the airport. There are more overt problems in Edmonton (homelessness and drug addiction, which considering it funnels a lot of the Northern Alberta communities and reserves into the city, isn't a shock, but they are making strides, slowly).

The cities themselves are equitable, the proximity to the mountains is nice in Calgary but the vast majority of people don't use that on any real basis and it just serves as a more appealing backdrop on postcards.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Okay Scorp time to step away from this argument. As much as I hate the oilers, Edmonton isn't no where near as bad as you're making it out to be.

I disagree.

IMO: The only ones you could make somewhat of a case for are Buffalo, Raleigh, Saint Paul, Newark, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

I hate everything about Edmonton.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I will quote this post to remind why the city feels it needs it's "City of Champions" slogan. The city and it's people really need constant assurance that Edmonton is special. Winnipeg is no prize but you don't see that city resort to patting themselves on their backs to feel better about where they live. Just bizarre.

[2macinnis2]

I never was focusing on bashing Edmonton as a city. I was simply making the point I think McDavid never really had any interest in playing there. I can't imagine that has changed.

Also, don't think for one second it isn't lost on the league that they have their potentially crown jewel playing at 1030 pm EST in a small market. For a sport that is in a constant state of urgency to grow in North America, getting McDavid into a better market with good EST game times would be a boon.

McDavid won't spend his career in Edmonton. I'd put the chances of him playing for another team by age 28 at like 75%.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I disagree.

IMO: The only ones you could make somewhat of a case for are Buffalo, Raleigh, Saint Paul, Newark, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

I hate everything about Edmonton.

And you're basing these off experience of living in each city or just google imaging the cities and making a decision that Edmonton is far worse?

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I disagree.

IMO: The only ones you could make somewhat of a case for are Buffalo, Raleigh, Saint Paul, Newark, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

I hate everything about Edmonton.

Aren't you 15 years old, I am glad that you have such a knowledgeable repertoire of the benefits of living in 31 NHL cities as a young millionaire.

[CliffFletcher]

Okay, old-guy question here.

Does anyone recall there being this many Oilers supporters in the city when the Battle of Alberta was still a thing in the 80s and 90s?

Because some of my co-workers went out to watch the game last night, and apparently only one cheered against the Oilers. The others were either Oilers fans, or they just went along with it. Apparently the entire bar was full of Oilers supporters.

Same with my kids' school. Half their classmates cheer for the Oilers.

In 1990, you would never see a full bar of people in Calgary cheering for the Oilers. In fact, it was almost unheard for anyone to openly cheer for the Oilers in this city at all, unless they were prepared for relentless chirping from every other bystander.

I don't even recall there being many transplanted Edmontonians in this city in the 80s and 90s. Was there a massive influx in the 2000s or something?

What the f*** happened to this city? How can Oilers fans openly cheer for their team in bars here?

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

And you're basing these off experience of living in each city or just google imaging the cities and making a decision that Edmonton is far worse?

I've spent time in nineteen of the thirty NHL cities, including every city I mentioned in the post you quoted except for Raleigh.

Edmonton is bland and dull, and the City of Champions thing made it worse (and will again if they bring it back)

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

Aren't you 15 years old

Ha, no.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Okay, old-guy question here.

Does anyone recall there being this many Oilers supporters in the city when the Battle of Alberta was still a thing in the 80s and 90s?

Because some of my co-workers went out to watch the game, and only one cheered against the Oilers. The others were either Oilers fans, or they just went along with it. Apparently the entire bar was full of Oilers supporters.

Same with my kids' school. Half their classmates cheer for the Oilers.

In 1990, you would never see a full bar of people in Calgary cheering for the Oilers. In fact, it was almost unheard for anyone to openly cheer for the Oilers in this city at all, unless they were prepared for relentless chirping from every other bystander.

In fact, I don't even recall there being many transplanted Edmontonians in this city in the 80s and 90s. Was there a massive influx in the 2000s or something?

What the f*** happened to this city? How can Oilers fans openly cheer for their team in bars here?

Maybe more transplants now? Probably doesn't help that both teams weren't very good for the better part of two decades, so you basically had an entire generation of kids who grew up without really understanding the hate.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72

whats wrong with that?

plus, he's playing in the best arena in the league...it's no Saddledome nor "close to the Rockies" though

I know this goes with your little narrative, but believe it or not the arena that they play in doesn't mean a whole lot to the players. It doesn't fill them with civic pride and make them drop their shorts in negotiations.

Players have left teams with very nice rinks without even missing it before you know.

[Azhouse]

My nine year old boy had a tough time being a Flames fan at school. Most of his little buddies who were supposed Flames fans switched jerseys to the dreaded orange after the Flames got bounced. I live in Red Deer and it was thick up here. He struck true to wearing his Flames t-shirts at least weekly and took the brunt and the crap talking that 9 year old boys go on with (lots of McDavid droids out there). I was proud of him carrying the torch. I worked late last night and went to go talk to him in bed. He was watching the Jays game. I said "why aren't you watching the hockey game?". He said with disgust "I would rather watch baseball". I could see he was stressed that the Oilers might move on. I phoned him this morning and without any prompting the first thing he said was "I am glad it's over and I can't wait to get to school!!" He was jubilant.

A small tear formed in my eye...GFG!

[N-E-B]

Edmonton's a dump as far as Canadian cities go, but even the worst Canadian cities don't really compare to a lot of the bigger US cities. Of course that's just my opinion.

[calgaryred]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Okay, old-guy question here.

Does anyone recall there being this many Oilers supporters in the city when the Battle of Alberta was still a thing in the 80s and 90s?

Because some of my co-workers went out to watch the game last night, and apparently only one cheered against the Oilers. The others were either Oilers fans, or they just went along with it. Apparently the entire bar was full of Oilers supporters.

Same with my kids' school. Half their classmates cheer for the Oilers.

In 1990, you would never see a full bar of people in Calgary cheering for the Oilers. In fact, it was almost unheard for anyone to openly cheer for the Oilers in this city at all, unless they were prepared for relentless chirping from every other bystander.

I don't even recall there being many transplanted Edmontonians in this city in the 80s and 90s. Was there a massive influx in the 2000s or something?

What the f*** happened to this city? How can Oilers fans openly cheer for their team in bars here?

I lived in Calgary during the 80s and early 90s years, there were plenty of Edmonton transplants. I wouldn't say half the class, but there were always people walking around with Oiler jerseys. I had a girlfriend that cheered for that team. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more transplants now. I'm sure many of those oiler fans stayed in Calgary raising kids to cheer on Edmonton. Plus with the new mentality cheer on any Canadian team to the Stanley Cup with many NHL fans or semi fans. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing in Edmonton.

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[Azhouse]

My dear old Dad was an Oilers fan in Calgary. I'm a Flames fan.