Battle of Alberta Real Talk

[Inglewood Jack]

in the interests of preserving the integrity of the E=NG thread (that being the topic of how Edmonton Is No Good) I've been wanting a more honest conversation about the past, present, and future of ye olde Flames vs. Oilers rivalry. normally my favorite thing is reading through E=NG and HF boards whenever something disastrous occurs to the dumpster team up north, but for obvious reasons I'm not feeling that at the moment.

as we approach this year's 1st round, I've got 2006 and 2011 in my head as examples of how close our worst hockey nightmares have been to coming true, and that threat could be present again now. I'm long past the point of living or dying on the results of sports, but I am mentally preparing myself in case hell on earth occurs and we end up with photos everywhere of McHobo with the cup above his head. I will giddly cheer against them every step of the way because that's nearly as fun as cheering for the Flames, but there seems to be something different about them this year that almost resembles competency.

I know the Oilers are not nearly the team they could have been if they had better management in the McDavid era, but I'll admit that I'm a bit jealous that they've already been further than we have, and look like they'll at least continue to be a playoff team as long as there's someone there putting up 2 ppg...which hopefully ends in the most shameful way by 2026.

please feel free to share your perspectives and what sort of Copium (if any) you're taking right now.

[Hockey_Ninja]

The Oilers played the long-tank game, embraced being a laughing stock for years and now they have a dangerous team because of it. The Flames refuse to go that route and are still stuck in mediocrity. It sucks

[nik-]

They won't win a Cup, but they sure beat the #### out of us last year. Praying for them to go out quick this year bringing closer the inevitable McDavid departure. The Edmonton is no good thread/threads are honestly pretty cringey. A lot of real boomer humor and forced corny nicknames. If I was an Oilers fan seeing that I'd be laughing my ass off at how obsessive it is.

I honestly wished they didn't exist because too many people use them as a barometer for how well we do as opposed to using the league as a whole.

[Tkachukwagon]

The Oilers were an embarrassment to the NHL and professional sports for over a decade. There is nothing to be envious of with that team. In my opinion, they also have the worst fans in the league. I wish them nothing but failure.

[Yeah_Baby]

I very well could be stockholm'd by living here, but I really have a feeling Edmonton may win this year. Ekholm has really settled their back end and allows Nurse to slot better. Is Nurse hella overpaid? Yeah, but with Ekholm you can cover up some of that.

The big question is the goaltending. Skinner has a .914 and GAA just under 3. But I think he can likely be solid enough get them at least to the 3rd round again.


I'm also a little jealous of where they're at, but I'm not sure I would have traded the late 00s and 2010s they had to get here. Management has been...better...but they really Mr. Magoo's themselves into several top level talents, dumped them, and maggo'd themselves into more.

[CroFlames]

I was afraid that Ekholm would be that missing secret sauce. He's stabilized their entire lineup, much like Tanev did for us last season.

Their bottom six forwards are bad, but it really doesn't matter because of how the top six do all the heavy lifting.

I'm not saying we should follow the Oiler model (we shouldn't), but honestly a full tear down and rebuild is exciting. I wish we would do that.

I had more fun watching Bennet, Johnny & Mony grow together than I did watching tired old vets chase 8th.

[Great Save Tanev]

Originally Posted by Tkachukwagon

The Oilers were an embarrassment to the NHL and professional sports for over a decade. There is nothing to be envious of with that team. In my opinion, they also have the worst fans in the league. I wish them nothing but failure.

Exactly how I feel. Excited for their first round exit.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

The Oilers played the long-tank game, embraced being a laughing stock for years and now they have a dangerous team because of it. The Flames refuse to go that route and are still stuck in mediocrity. It sucks

Absolutely false, and revisionist history.

The Oilers did no such thing as play the long-tank game. They tried, and tried, and tried again to rebuild the 80s, and failed miserably, over and over.

Then the won the lottery AGAIN, when a generational talent came along.

That's it. That's all they have done. And they still haven't won a thing, despite having McDavid fall on their laps EIGHT years ago.

I'm all for a thread to have real discussions about the teams, but that doesn't mean making #### up to support a Flame-bashing narrative.

[Johnny Makarov]

We would have beat them in the playoffs last year if Sutter had the balls to put Vladar in the 2nd period of game 2 and not start Markstrom again.

They played the 2 worst teams in the playoffs last year. The Kings and us.

[boogerz]

E=NG, but the Oilers have a cohesively built team (relatively speaking) with a scary offense and a mobile defense that's good in transition.

It's also refreshing to see a coach that centers his game plan around the strengths of his team. McDavid makes that easy, but we should all be able to appreciate Woodcroft looking his gift horse in the face (i.e. McDrai) and leaning into it instead of rolling four lines and forcing a system on players.

It'll be fun to see Sutter be the smartest man in the room again by playing man-to-man D against McDrai next year

[SixtySix]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

The Oilers played the long-tank game, embraced being a laughing stock for years and now they have a dangerous team because of it. The Flames refuse to go that route and are still stuck in mediocrity. It sucks

I get your point, but the Oilers have a dangerous team because of a single lottery ball, not because of managerial competence or some sort of master plan that materialized.

[ComixZone]

The best way to look at the Oilers is that they were the worst managed organization in the league for a stretch of time. They tried to be good, but were so incompetent that they couldn't get out of the bottom of the standings.

The great thing (as Flames fans) is that they bottomed out in weak draft years for a number of years.

Eventually, their incompetence landed them McDavid and Draisaitl...and unfortunately things are becoming better there. When you have talent that level, even the craziest levels of incompetence will eventually get destroyed.

They were a terribly managed team, but are slowly becoming better. I think since the Bubble, they've been pretty well managed.

As smug as we may be, they destroyed us in the 2nd round last season and now we're missing the playoffs with an old, rubbish roster.

Lots of Flames fans seem to exclusively conflate the idea of "rebuilding" with what the Oilers (and the previous management team in Buffalo) did. I don't buy that line of thinking. I don't think we're incompetently managed, and our scouting staff is significantly better than Edmonton's. If the Flames were to rebuild, they wouldn't be wandering aimlessly like Edmonton and Buffalo did under their poor management structure.

As a Flames fan, I want elite players on this team. I'm tired of overpaying aged free agents. So when I talk about the Flames rebuilding, I'm not talking the trash the Oilers did from like 2009-2014. I'm talking about what New Jersey did from 2017-2022.

The Devils are now a supremely talented, young, fast team with a core they can keep together for a decade. I want that. It guarantees nothing, but it gives the team a chance and the fans got to watch that team grow and develop together. That's what I want.

E=NG.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by SixtySix

I get your point, but the Oilers have a dangerous team because of a single lottery ball, not because of managerial competence or some sort of master plan that materialized.

Oh I agree. Which is what makes it suck even more. Their incompetence landed them generational talent. I wish the Flames had that kind of luck

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Oh I agree. Which is what makes it suck even more. Their incompetence landed them generational talent. I wish the Flames had that kind of luck

So what was the "long game" talk? That's actually the opposite of what they've done. Every year they've tried to shortcut their way up the ladder.

[topfiverecords]

McDavid

McDavid is the Oilers

What else needs to be said.

[N-E-B]

The honest reality is that the Oilers got extremely lucky fluked into a generational talent and because of that they will likely be a good team for years to come.

Meanwhile, the Flames built an excellent team the hard way but got screwed over by their two best players and made the wrong decision in not embracing a rebuild.

There’s not much of a battle anymore. The Flames are now a few tiers below the Oilers and are not in a position to compete with them for a long time.

The reality is that to build a championship team you either need excellent management or sheer luck. The Oilers got lucky, the Flames had to be smart about the team they built. Neither way is wrong. Colorado built their team on luck too winning the MacKinnon draft.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

The honest reality is that the Oilers got extremely lucky fluked into a generational talent and because of that they will likely be a good team for years to come.

Meanwhile, the Flames built an excellent team the hard way but got screwed over by their two best players and made the wrong decision in not embracing a rebuild.

There’s not much of a battle anymore. The Flames are now a few tiers below the Oilers and are not in a position to compete with them for a long time.

The reality is that to build a championship team you either need excellent management or sheer luck. The Oilers got lucky, the Flames had to be smart about the team they built. Neither way is wrong. Colorado built their team on luck too winning the MacKinnon draft.

McDavid might walk. And let's get real that team would crumble without him. RNH, Hyman etc are due for regression soon as well.

McDavid is so good that he covers up many of the holes in forward ranks. To be fair, Holland has addressed the defense, and I think they got lucky with their goalie.

They will be good this year. Beyond? Anything can happen.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

McDavid might walk. And let's get real that team would crumble without him. RNH, Hyman etc are due for regression soon as well.

McDavid is so good that he covers up many of the holes in forward ranks. To be fair, Holland has addressed the defense, and I think they got lucky with their goalie.

They will be good this year. Beyond? Anything can happen.

He might walk but we also said he might demand a trade after his ELC.

Somehow, the Oilers have actually done a good job convincing their core group to stay.

[Yeah_Baby]

Not sure RNH duplicates the year hes having again, but what a treat for them he's been this year. Dude takes less to stay around, and then a few years later doubles his points total

[FlamesAddiction]

As much as I hate to say it, I think the Oilers have a real shot this year considering how the league has been officiating to promote McDavid and his team. It all depends whether or not it carries into the playoffs. If the refs put the whistles away as usual, then they are probably screwed. If they keep fabricating penalties every time an Oilers player dives, this could end up being the worst possible time line for Flames fans.