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CaptainCrunch · 01-23-2014, 11:54 AM

I remember reading a few years ago when the Flames were as a team not going to make the playoffs but really fighting hard, I think it was in the young guns era.

At the tradeline the players had some hope that the management was going to at least get them some help so they could keep trying to get to the playoffs.

While at the deadline the Flames made some moves but they moved more talent out and didn't bring in any help and the Flames players left in the dressing room instantly lost their will be win and went down the tubes.

This has become such an epidemic in the Oilers locker room that they have embraced the owners philosophy that playing crappy is somehow helping this team.

There is also the point where a lot of the players are looking at how bad the Oilers are drafting and maybe how Nail isn't helping out and Nurse is pretty far away and even this years pick might be years away from helping and they've accepted that help isn't coming and this team is bound and determined in its strategy that if they come out of the gate at the start of the year and struggle that losing is ok.

The team really more then player changes needs a cultural shift to at least start this team on the way to respectability.

What the Oilers really need to do is make that bold move that Mac-T isn't going to do. They need to trade that first round draft choice for immediate established help. Not a prospect or a player with potential for down the road, but immediate help. I don't know what that deal is, but it has to be there.

The Oilers have to trade either Hall or RNH, first of all to try to rebalance the lineup, but second of all those two are the key members of the Oiler's locker room leadership and frankly Hopkins is brutal on the back check, and Hall looks like he's ready to give up and he's lazy in every aspect of his game but in the offensive zone.

You could trade Nail, but more then half of the players probably dislike him because of how he plays so it would be rewarding players for losing.

You could trade Eberle but it really wouldn't bring back as much as the other guys in terms of impact health.

The other thing that the Oilers really should do is take Schultz and take Nail and send them to OKC to work on their game and get them away from that environment, and also to show that the team is dedicated to improving their game and won't tolerate terrible play with no attention to detail.

I was at a coaches meeting last night and we were talking about a locker room split on our team and I proposed some pretty harsh measures to bring the team together or make them make a decision on whether this sport is for certain players or not.

One of the coaches looked at me funny and I gave him the analogy.

In the 80's when that baby fell down the well they spent days ##### footing around and digging up huge tracks of land. At some point you just have to throw a grenade down the well to see if the baby will fly out.

For the Oilers if the managers and owners and coaches were serious about fixing one of the biggest clusterflops that I've ever seen then its time to throw a grenade down the well that is the Oilers locker room and see if they can blow them into a new direction.

01-23-2014, 11:54 AM	#61
CaptainCrunch Norm! Join Date: Jun 2002 Exp:	I remember reading a few years ago when the Flames were as a team not going to make the playoffs but really fighting hard, I think it was in the young guns era. At the tradeline the players had some hope that the management was going to at least get them some help so they could keep trying to get to the playoffs. While at the deadline the Flames made some moves but they moved more talent out and didn't bring in any help and the Flames players left in the dressing room instantly lost their will be win and went down the tubes. This has become such an epidemic in the Oilers locker room that they have embraced the owners philosophy that playing crappy is somehow helping this team. There is also the point where a lot of the players are looking at how bad the Oilers are drafting and maybe how Nail isn't helping out and Nurse is pretty far away and even this years pick might be years away from helping and they've accepted that help isn't coming and this team is bound and determined in its strategy that if they come out of the gate at the start of the year and struggle that losing is ok. The team really more then player changes needs a cultural shift to at least start this team on the way to respectability. What the Oilers really need to do is make that bold move that Mac-T isn't going to do. They need to trade that first round draft choice for immediate established help. Not a prospect or a player with potential for down the road, but immediate help. I don't know what that deal is, but it has to be there. The Oilers have to trade either Hall or RNH, first of all to try to rebalance the lineup, but second of all those two are the key members of the Oiler's locker room leadership and frankly Hopkins is brutal on the back check, and Hall looks like he's ready to give up and he's lazy in every aspect of his game but in the offensive zone. You could trade Nail, but more then half of the players probably dislike him because of how he plays so it would be rewarding players for losing. You could trade Eberle but it really wouldn't bring back as much as the other guys in terms of impact health. The other thing that the Oilers really should do is take Schultz and take Nail and send them to OKC to work on their game and get them away from that environment, and also to show that the team is dedicated to improving their game and won't tolerate terrible play with no attention to detail. I was at a coaches meeting last night and we were talking about a locker room split on our team and I proposed some pretty harsh measures to bring the team together or make them make a decision on whether this sport is for certain players or not. One of the coaches looked at me funny and I gave him the analogy. In the 80's when that baby fell down the well they spent days ##### footing around and digging up huge tracks of land. At some point you just have to throw a grenade down the well to see if the baby will fly out. For the Oilers if the managers and owners and coaches were serious about fixing one of the biggest clusterflops that I've ever seen then its time to throw a grenade down the well that is the Oilers locker room and see if they can blow them into a new direction.