Quote:
Originally Posted by GoJetsGo
Obviously, no one can prove a team tanked. That being said, whether you like it or not, with all the evidence pointing to it there is no one out of line here suggesting that's exactly what Colorado did last year. It's a completely valid take, and there is a very strong case for it, unlike a lot of other superfluous accusations that do get thrown around.
Those comments by JSG were made in early April, and were obviously about attitudes that had been prevailing up to that point. It's not like it just happened that afternoon. The O'Riley situation only came to a head because of the Flames, otherwise that's a key piece they elected to have miss the entire shortened season. When you take all of those things into account, it's a very strong case despite your outright dismissal of anyone being justified in feeling that way.
As for the Oilers this year, the fact they traded away their best defensive defenseman early in the season (when it was painfully obvious they can't play defense) and had their GM talking about Eckblad in the new year, it's pretty obvious they wrote off this season as well. That is another case of the the term tanking being justified for discussion sake.
Despite your quickness for whining and casting stones about people with the audacity to call "tank"... it does happen. And Colorado last year and Edmonton this year are very strong suspects in that regard.
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There's no way that Edmonton tanked. The amount of pressure that their fans have begun to pour on them (not to mention, select media) has made it pretty uncomfortable for them, so there's just no way that I can imagine them wanting this season to end the way it did. Lowe even said during his infamous press conference last year that the "losing portion" of their rebuild was over. Despite the fact that he is a complete blow-hard, there's no chance that he would intentionally stick his foot in his mouth that far.
The Smid trade was pretty awful, but to suggest that trading Smid is akin to tanking is laughable. Smid is a bottom pairing defenseman that does little, if anything, to improve a team that is as terrible defensively as Edmonton. Suggesting that he was their best defensive player is the pinnacle of non-statements. The reality is, Smid was traded to free up cap room so they could sign Brygalov, which was a move that they obviously hoped would make them better. We saw MacTavish make more moves than any other GM in the league, all with the obvious intention of getting his team to win more games. He is just inept at his job, hence their 28th finish in the league.