[kehatch]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

So, what did the Oilers do exactly to tear it down and rebuild? What was their brilliant strategy?

In the last few seasons the Oilers have signed or re-signed the following players: Khabibulin, Horcoff, Hemsky, Smyth, Eager, Whitney. That's not even mentioning the older players they went after but didn't end up signing.

In terms of purging higher priced players they:

-traded Dustin Penner for youth and picks
-traded Patrick O'Sullivan for Jim (Frickin) Vandermeer
-traded Tom Gilbert for Nick Shultz who was one year older
-signed Andy Sutton (37 years old)
-traded Cogliano for a 2nd
-signed Ben Eager, Eric Belanger, Cam Barker, Darcy Hordichuk, Martin Gerber, Jason Strudwick, Kurtis Foster
-traded Staios for a pick

So besides Penner, Cogliano and Staios where have the Oilers moved young players for the future? Where has been there concerted effort to tear it down and rebuild? Instead, the vast majority of their transactions of the last 3 seasons has been to try to bring in older players.

This is part of the myth that is building up around the Oilers: that they have taken the long view at the club and decided to rebuild. It's just not true. What has happened is that they've tried to compete every year but failed miserably. Then they pick first overall and try to convince everyone it was actually their plan all along to have the worst 3 seasons for one team in NHL history.

You'd think that after Lowe's sales job on Gagner, Cogliano, Hemsky, Nilson, O'Sullivan, etc. that some Oiler fans would smarten up and understand that the management of the team is awful. Fool me once shame on you, etc.

They're putting something special in the Kool-Aid up there.

Yup. Like I have said over and over again. Rebuilding isn't the path to being the Edmonton Oiler's. Doing what we are doing is. We are just 3-seasons behind (and right on track for our first top 5 pick).