Edmonton is No Good VIII: There's Still Something in the Water!

[JurassicTunga12]

Saw this on HF, it's great(sorry if already posted).

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by thefoss1957

I understand some of the resentment towards an ex-Flame, like Smith, but, I will defend the guy. It was the Oil D that cost game 1, not Smith. Especially on the goal where Smith coughed up the puck, behind the net. Rink audio, clearly had the D-Man heading for Smith, and the puck, while calling "Hey-Hey!" At that point, Smith turned back towards the boards to play the puck, and failed to see that D-man peel across the slot instead of continuing to the corner, where Smith had committed to playing the puck. That mis-communication is on that D-Man (couldn't tell which one).

I think Smith's insistence on playing the puck more than necessary throws off the defense off. He makes things more complicated than they need to be. He has slowed down just enough that he just can't do it like he used to.

I also think the book on Smith is out. Opposing players expect him to try something cute a few times in game and are ready to pounce on him.

[Phaneufenstein]

Originally Posted by TheSquatch

Literally can't think of two bigger aholes to bring in. LOL

Makes sense that these two are friends off the ice too.

One is a "fiery competitor" (read #######).
The other "brings swagger" (read arrogance).

Pretty happy they're gone. Even happier both of them are in Edmonton

[ForeverFlameFan]

The Edmonton Oilers: Lottery Winning Dynasty

[Voodooman]

Originally Posted by schteve_d

Just back from a few days of camping. I managed to get all caught up on CP last night so this morning I cruised on over to HFOilers for a laugh. There's a 50 game PGT that I just can't put down. It's incredible. I might be there all day!


Edit: I just learned that Nurse's cap hit goes to $5.75M next year! Wow. Oil fans are not at all impressed with him, or Klefbom, or Tippet, and have they ever turned on their caveman Kassian! How quickly things change!

Wow, that is a lot of salt. Besides McDraivid, they are just negative about literally every single player on their team. Don't blame Darnell Nurse because you massively overpaid a young defencemen. He's 25, and don't most d-men take until their late 20's to really hit their stride? He's no Gio, Josi or whatever, but he can be solid. A change of scenery will likely do wonders. How can any player develop in that toxic cesspool?

Having said that, I'm 10 pages in and will relish the next 40. What a bunch of maroons.

[CSharp]

I can't believe the Oilers have another shot at the #1 pick overall again!

[sketchyt]

Originally Posted by LChoy

For those in the know, why do Oilers fans keep insisting that the Drai-RNH-Yam (DRY) line is the best line in hockey? There is a lot angst on the Oilers boards about Tippet's refusal to use that line.

LChoy

This is hilarious because aren't Oilers fans vehement that Draisaitl can carry the offense on his own?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CSharp

I can't believe the Oilers have another shot at the #1 pick overall again!

I hope they have another shot at the #1 pick every year for all eternity!

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Yeah, I don't even like it when Rittich glares daggers at his d-men after they mess up. They know they messed up, they don't need a reminder, be a good teammate and calm them down.

Can't remember Kipper doing it even once. Nor Vernon, though he was in a far lesser position to do it, behind the all star defence he had.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Firebot

There's a 5 vs 5 stat post flying around on the Oilers HFboards about shooting percentage quality and chances generated against the Hawks, to perpetuate the idea that the Hawks were very lucky to have even won against the Stanley Cup favourite juggernaut known as the Oilers and how the Oilers should have just gotten a bye to the playoffs.

Must be something in the water. That's the only way that the Oilers can lose to the 23rd ranked team in the NHL in 4 games. Not because Nurse was a pylon, not because Mike Smith scored in his own net, not because Draisatl is invisble in the defensive zone, not because Kassian was a 3.2 million white elephant, not because RNH had 8 points and still managed to be a -2, and MCDavid leads the playoffs and is a +1.

Also don't look at McDavid's 43.1% FO, Haas 41.7%, Ennis at 33.3%. Those are meaningless, faceoffs don't score goals or pad stats.

8 teams got a bye for the qualifiers. The Oilers were 12th overall in winning percentage.

What possible argument could be made that they should have got a bye?

[Manhattanboy]

Not sure whether this has been posted. This Deadspin article is pure gold:

https://deadspin.com/connor-mcdavid-...age-1844665253

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Not sure whether this has been posted. This Deadspin article is pure gold:

https://deadspin.com/connor-mcdavid-...age-1844665253

Wow. That guy had a couple of beers too many and then just poured his Oiler-loving heart out.

Is McDavid his cousin or something?

That was a sad, drunken, post-game CHED phone call in written form.

"Think about McDavid man!!!"

And finally I would refute the claim 'through no fault of his own.'

Sorry man, McDavid signed on the dotted line. Nobody had a gun to his head. He could have gotten the same money almost anywhere else in the League....he chose to stay in Edmonton.

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Inferno

This is absolutely ridiculous I just called him out on Twitter for it. What a stupid thing to say.

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Not sure whether this has been posted. This Deadspin article is pure gold:

https://deadspin.com/connor-mcdavid-...age-1844665253

"They lost to a team whose goalie had four practices before the series due to recovering from COVID-19."

[Manhattanboy]

Lol watching your career circling the drain that is Edmonton.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Not sure whether this has been posted. This Deadspin article is pure gold:

https://deadspin.com/connor-mcdavid-...age-1844665253

I still have no idea why the man signed such an extension. He chose this. Be miserable all you want; you signed for big money when you could have made yourself an RFA and forced a trade

[Locke]

But every so often, you’ll see it in his eyes, as you did during Game 4. You’ll see that he knows there is no escape, there is no hope. There can be no joy as he watches Kassian run face-first into the end-boards for the 734th time each season, or seeing Kris Russell defend at the blue line like Johnny Henshaw from Airplane! without any of the whimsy or comedy.

Okay, this was a great paragraph, I'll give the guy some credit for that.

[Enoch Root]

The article got everything else about the Oilers right - ineptitude up and down the lineup - but suggesting McDavid is above criticism misses the mark, IMO.

Yes, he is exciting, and easily the most gifted player in the league. And he gives it his all, no doubt. At least he does offensively. But I have not seen a commitment to winning from him. I see a guy who wants his team-mates to get him the puck, a guy who wants to play in one direction. And yet it is his team-mates who have to endure the brunt all of the criticism for failure. If I was a team-mate, I would struggle to not have a ####-you attitude towards him.

[schteve_d]

I didn't watch a lot of the Oiler games in this series so a lot of my "takes" are second hand information that I am reading from Oiler fans.

From their perspective, Neal played fairly well and likely deserved a promotion that Tippett never gave him. That sounds like a perfect recipe for the mopey Neal that we saw here. That would be lovely to watch and would add a little more value to that Lucic contract if Oil fans could flip their love of the guy for hate like they are doing with Nurse and especially Kassian.

[GioforPM]

Did "F off Kass" get any reaction on HF Oil?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The article got everything else about the Oilers right - ineptitude up and down the lineup - but suggesting McDavid is above criticism misses the mark, IMO.

Yes, he is exciting, and easily the most gifted player in the league. And he gives it his all, no doubt. At least he does offensively. But I have not seen a commitment to winning from him. I see a guy who wants his team-mates to get him the puck, a guy who wants to play in one direction. And yet it is his team-mates who have to endure the brunt all of the criticism for failure. If I was a team-mate, I would struggle to not have a ####-you attitude towards him.

The Oilers are bad. They are a bad hockey club. Top to bottom.

Now this isnt exclusively McDavid's fault, but I agree, he is part of the Badness. Maybe to a smaller degree because he makes them significantly less bad most of the time, but that doesnt absolve him of all blame.

Some might assume that if the Oilers werent a dumpster fire that McDavid would change his game and become der Uber-Kapitan but that is just an assumption because there is no evidence one way or another.

I mean...this is simple stuff. The Oilers are built to be saved by their big horses. Thats how they are, thats why Tippett is there....because he has experience with that.

Get your talented players on the ice to make a difference...in the meantime nobody can make any mistakes.

Thats where they're falling flat on their faces. The people you're entrusting with 'never making mistakes' really suck. They suck out loud.