[browna]

It's always been Lowe.

He, through several high profile moves, thinking this is still the 80's and he could be Slats Jr and bully players into "his way or the highway" sunk that team's repuation around the league.

The team, since going to the Cup and Pronger wanting out after one of Lowe's said tricks, haven't had any sort of supporting cast.

Cole came and left after a year, they gave Khabibhulin a 5 year deal when no one else in the league was going to give him more then 2 with his bad back. Souray they accused of not being as hurt, and left him in a hospital bed. They tried to trade two injured players to the Kings, back to back. It goes on and on. And this was after hoodwinking Pronger and wanting money back from Comrie to trade him.

Its not about players not wanting to be part of a rebuild, its about the untrustworthyness of the President of the franchise who is still pulling strings through his GM buddy, and his owner, a fan of his in the 80's, doesn't care. Lowe will say whatever it takes to get you there, but get in the door and then the situation changes, all is not as appears, and ends up alienating players.

They then draft the best players available hoping to get something out of them. But no proper NHL veteran supporting cast up and down the lineup to help those players ease into roles...a supporting cast that can win games without the young guys needing to produce every night. Stability, in general, on the back end, and in net hasn't been there for 7 tears. Willingness to hold onto guys like Smyth and Never with 20 goals Hemsky.

If any one of those young guys like Hall or Eberle or RHN had a guy like Hudler (this year's Hudler) as Monohan does, they'd be better players instantly.

As we all know, guys like Heatly and Nylander are prime examples of those rejecting the Oilers. Players won't wave NMC's to go there, FA won't sign there, and the ones that do are marginal, and the Oilers have to overpay severely to get them (Whitney, the list can go on). Meanwhile guys like Glencross get tossed out with the garbage and made low priority. Lowe's so busy with trying to keep Ryan Smyth from going to the Isles that he leaves no time to get assets for the other UFA's he had up that year. Anything that Lowe tells players or tries to convince them with is dismissed as lies, and the Pronger/Comrie and likely numerous other tricks Lowe pulled are full knowledge by the players, by the PA, by agents, etc.

Bottom line, between 2002-2007, and even basically up to current day as this has snowballed, Lowe ran that team's reputation into the ground around the league even in GM circles (lets not forget the offer sheets for Vanek when Buffalo told him not to bother). As that has played itself out and snowballed, its resulted in getting no decent players, finishing at the bottom of the league 2 years in a row, amassing 3 #1 picks, as the only way to acquire useful assets. Those assets are only useful to the Oilers, because again, even if Hall or Eberle were on the block, it takes two to trade, and when another team asks their player if they will wave to be traded to EDM for Hall, they say no.

There is no coming back from the damage he's done, until he's gone. That means the product on the ice will not get much better long term and those young junior stars will each turn into Sam Gagner (at best) or Schremp or Robert Nilsson at worst as the losses pile up season after season.

Lowe's tirade this offseason goes to show the control he has over that whole operation. That's due to an owner that was a fan of his, and, an owner that himself may be too busy looking for an exit strategy after not getting what he asked for when he bought the team, to really care what's going on.