Quote:
Originally Posted by browna
Comments from Ference a year or two after he left pretty much confirm that the Oilers expect vets to do a huge amount of baby sitting because the young guys have zero confidence and have a meddling executive in their ear regularly, or, doing zany things like undermining the coaches or using tactics Sather did int he 80s to motivate.
Lowe did a sales job that things are ok, and that vets are going to go in and be stars, pumped up like they will be able to do it all... And vet players go there with a big raise and the notion that the organizational problems they have heard about are overblown.
Until they get there and realize it's much worse then they heard about.
I have heard from a good source back when that even McLellan couldn't believe how dysfunctional the organization was and how much energy that zapped from players day to day and year to year. Talent is going to waste, and then with cap problems due to overpaying guys to go there, there is no easy fix, and, players aren't waiving to go to Edmonton either.
Last year, Lowe got to back into the good books and was able to once again dictate to Katz that the coach and GM should go, and again mobilized the media, all at the expense of players trying to play through a season for a lame duck coach (or coaches) and a GM who wasn't making decisions. And the vets have to try and keep it together for all the young guys and are scolded also for not scoring more and helping the young guys out.
This isn't just Lucic. Pronger, Erik Cole, Souray, Ference, even guys likely like Maroon would have had that pressure. Lowe figures that a vet or two is going to be the cure all for the young guys, and each vet that comes going to be some guy like an 80s Messier to singlehadled keep young guys in line, and score and do it all.
|
All true. But it was Sather (who is a knob) that was the one who kept the 80’s Oilers in line by instilling an identity and reciprocating respect and accountability between himself & the core players.
Lowe is a toxic joke in all aspects of relationships with players & personnel and has been since the Comrie debacle. He has a good story in the crony hockey world as he uses his 6 Cup charisma to pick pocket your reputation within the franchise when things go south. You leave & he stays.
Plus he’s not that bright. He told Dustin Penner they saw him as a young Bob Probert... huh?
Nicholson speaks glowingly of him, so thankfully he isn’t going anywhere. He might not have a “role” in hockey ops, but he still has an opinion and even Brian Burke said he would use him as a resource... but maybe that was a subtle troll.
Holland will also slowly be infected.
Sure he purged Lucic’s buyout proof contract, as Edmonton media celebrates until they see Neal’s pace of play.
But they have their own baggage? 4 years of Neal @ at $6.5 mill cap hit or 7 years with at least a ~ $2 million cap hit. Best case scenario they save a few million to overpay someone else, which Holland has proven to be savy at.
The only redeeming part of Lucic’s deal is that buyout or not, it’s done in 4 years except for ~$500,000, and they save that now, by punting Neal.