Letter from Daryl Katz to Oilers Fans

[Vinny01]

The circus never ends. I remember when Katz took over the Oilers and the city rejoiced with their native billionaire son buying his fav team. He has turned the team into a joke a threatened to move te team if the city didn't cough up the coin to fund a new arena/casino

[Robbob]

I can't wait for Katz's son to finish school and get a job in hockey operations.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

The circus never ends. I remember when Katz took over the Oilers and the city rejoiced with their native billionaire son buying his fav team. He has turned the team into a joke a threatened to move te team if the city didn't cough up the coin to fund a new arena/casino

It was really clear (though glossed over by the gushing Oilers media, wondering where they were going to hold all the Stanley Cups that were going to follow being a cap team) from the introduction of Katz, when Katz said "I have to have partners to make this work long term, and we need a new building".

He made no bones about the fact that he needed a new building to make this work, and wasn't very subtle in saying that he was going to need the city and province to cough up.

So, when he started down that path a few years later, asking for public funds as a co-op for the new building, it was what he had 100% said from the outset. Selective hearing from the Oilers fans and press forgot all about that and then the outrage (that should've been directed inward) that followed was due to that lack of listening, as Katz didn't trick anyone.

As for the letter, it sounds like the PR firm has turned attention away from sabotaging message boards, and is recycling material, verbatum, as we heard last week regarding Lowe and being "chosen" for the Olympic team.

As has been mentioned, he then gets glossed over and MacT is accountable.

Let the good times continue.

[Ring of Fire]

Lowe is an important resource for Hockey Canada...he's guaranteed to be in his team's off-season when the World Championships come around every year. They let him sit in on Olympic meetings to feel like he's building something special.

[Vinny01]

Didn't the city agree to pay for the arena then Katz said he needed another $10M or something for operating costs?

Either way touring Seattle and cities alike was another slap in the face of the fans who are tired of their tankbuild model

[squiggs96]

If I was an Oilers fan I would be asking how has management made the team better now, than it was 4 (and realistically seven) years ago. Sure they have a couple nice pieces in Hall and RNH, but anyone would have picked those guys #1. They are further away from winning a Cup now than they were after the 2006-07 season. That's impressive.

Being that I'm a Flames fan I hope no one asks these questions, and the Oilers continue to flounder in the basement. In a couple of years the canucks can join them, and the Flames will be contending for a championship.

[CaptainCrunch]

Vinny Gambini -
Vinny Gambini: Look, maybe I could have stopped laughing at the Oilers okay? I admit it. But what's most important is taking a hard look at them. I could do it. I really could. Let me tell you how, okay? Kevin Lowe's got to build a team. Building a team is like building a house. Each player is just another building block. He wants to make a brick bunker of a team. He wants to use serious, solid-looking bricks, like, like these, right?
[puts his hand on the wall]
Bill: Right.
Vinny Gambini: Let me show you something.
[he holds up a playing card, with the face toward Billy]
Vinny Gambini: He's going to show you the bricks. He'll show you they got offensive talent. He'll show you how they toe drag like no one else. He'll show them to you that they are special, so that they appear to have everything a brick should have. But there's one thing he's not gonna show you.
[turns the card, so that its edge is toward Billy]
Vinny Gambini: When you look at the bricks from the right angle, they're as thin as this playing card. His whole rebuild is an illusion, a magic trick. It has to be an illusion, 'cause they suck. Nobody - I mean nobody - pulls the wool over the eyes of a Gambini, especially this one.

[Pizza]

Wonderful news!
I cant see how this would get any better for Flames Fans except for this...


Katz announces a live press conference with some urgent news for everyone in the NHL.
Kevin Lowe and McTavish are right behind him on the podium...

Katz: "My friends, I have some very important news. We have not been getting the results we wanted from our core of Hall, Eberle and RNH, so we have traded them for a 5th, 6th and respectively 7th round pick"
*whole room gasp in silence while Lowe and McTavish starts snickering*
Katz: ... lol.. i ... can't hold this... anymore... I know I grew up in Edmonton, but folks,.... after 50 years... I cant hide this no more...
*Lowe, McTavish and Katz simutaneously rip off their suits to reveal their Flames Jerseys*
Katz: That's right folks, I'm a Flames Fan. The past 5 years, I've been promising the glory years but really, we've just been sabotaging the team.
Reporter: but... why? why would you do this?
Katz: All... for... the... LOLz...
MacT: LOLz, ya dig it??
Katz: I mean, seriously, we're in year 4 of the rebuild and the Oilers are still in the toilet at 30th place. AND I kept my boys KLowe and MacT employed. That didnt tell you anything??
Lowe: I did a crappy job and promoted. TWICE!
McTavish: There's actually an easter egg in the DvD where you see a clip of us having a cigar with Jarome. Surprisingly no one has found it yet
Katz: So while you let that set in, I'm going to enjoy the train wreck from the comfort of my house in Calgary.
*McTavish grabs the mic and throws it at Eakins*
Katz: oh and one last thing... I'm moving the Oilers to Seattle at the end of the season... LOLz!!

[Shawnski]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I still fail to see how the Oilers' rebuild is anything less than 23 years long, so far.

After 23 years, it seems like they must be getting close to rock bottom, becasue it's hard to imagine going much lower.

Relegation to the AHL?

Actually, we COULD use a farm team closer than Abbotsford....

The Edmonton Jr Flames has a nice ring to it.

Then we could fire Lowe.

[N-E-B]

Edmonton really has drafted extremely poorly. Who have they drafted that has panned out other than their 1st overall picks that it's really impossible to go wrong on? Eberle? You could MAYBE argue Gagner, but he's pretty weak for how high he went. They're an absolute joke up there. I almost feel bad for their fans... ALMOST. But I don't.

[TheDebaser]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Edmonton really has drafted extremely poorly. Who have they drafted that has panned out other than their 1st overall picks that it's really impossible to go wrong on? Eberle? You could MAYBE argue Gagner, but he's pretty weak for how high he went. They're an absolute joke up there. I almost feel bad for their fans... ALMOST. But I don't.

That said, we have not even gotten close to drafting a guy like Eberle.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Edmonton really has drafted extremely poorly. Who have they drafted that has panned out other than their 1st overall picks that it's really impossible to go wrong on? Eberle? You could MAYBE argue Gagner, but he's pretty weak for how high he went. They're an absolute joke up there. I almost feel bad for their fans... ALMOST. But I don't.

It's a fantastic, and humorous question.

2005:
Andrew Cogliano - Gained value after a few years in Anaheim
Taylor Chorney - Nope
Danny Syvret - Should have been amazing
Robby Dee - Nope
Chris VandeVelde - Nope
Vyacheslav Trukhno - Nope
Fredrik Pettersson - Nope
Matthew Glasser - Nope

2006:
Jeff Petry - Ok...
Theo Peckham - Lol
Bryan Pitton - Nope
Cody Wild - Nope
Alexander Bumagin - Nope

2007:
Sam Gagner - We're getting somewhere
Alex Plante - Oop... nvm
Riley Nash - 5 whole goals!
Linus Omark - Super fancy
Milan Kytnar- Nope
William Quist - Nope

2008:
Jordan Eberle - Success!
Johan Motin - Or...
Philippe Cornet - Nope
Teemu Hartikainen - Nope
Jordan Bendfeld - Nope

2009
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - Don't even tempt me
Anton Lander - Nope
Troy Hesketh - Nope
Cameron Abney- Nope
Kyle Bigos - Nope
Toni Rajala - Nope
Olivier Roy - Nope

2010
Taylor Hall - Rebuild.... Go...?
Tyler Pitlick - Nope
Martin Marincin - Nope
Curtis Hamilton - Nope
Ryan Martindale - Nope
Jeremie Blain - Nope
Tyler Bun - Nope
Brandon Davidson - Nope
Drew Czerwonka - Nope
Kristians Pelss - Nope
Kellen Jones - Nope

2011
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Nope. I said it. Nope.
Oscar Klefbom - Nope... yet
David Musil - Nope
Samu Perhonen - Nope
Travis Ewanyk- Nope
Dillon Simpson - Nope
Tobias Rieder - Nope
Martin Gernat - Nope
Frans Tuohimaa - Nope

2012
Nail Yakupov - Nope

And I'll stop there, because anything drafted later IMO is too early to tell. 2011 and back, and we really should be seeing more of their prospects than we've seen so far.

But it's just unreal. They might as well have TSN call their first round for them and leave the rest on auto-draft as they don't have a clue. Maybe I'm overlooking someone here, but to not draft ONE decent player outside of the first round for this many years has got to be some kind of record. IMO, the most recent player the Oilers have drafted outside of the first round to have any significant impact on the NHL was Jared Stoll in 2002.

The Flames, ridiculed as poor-drafters have at least turned out Brandon Prust, Lance Bouma, T. J. Brodie, and John Gaudreau outside of the first round in that time. Not all-stars by any means, but all solid players with valuable NHL potential in their own rights.

Man would I ever be angry to be an Oiler fan. How can ownership not take a quick glance at the drafting record, the on-ice compete level, the professionalism, etc, etc and not be cleaning house?

[Red Slinger]

^ Sorry, but Gaudreau is a NHL player now?

The Oilers have sucked for a long time, they suck really badly now and will probably continue to suck for the foreseable future. But I don't think the Flames drafting is any measure for comparison.

[Textcritic]

An excellent response to the Katz letter posted at SBNation

[playmaker]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Edmonton really has drafted extremely poorly.

Not that I don't agree with you but ...
You wouldn't believe there is a team with the following history of 1st round picks:

1988 Jason Muzzatti
1990 Trevor Kidd
1991 Niklas Sundblad
1992 Cory Stillman
1993 Jesper Mattson
1994 Chris Dingman
1995 Denis Gauthier
1996 Derek Morris
1997 Daniel Tkaczuk
1998 Rico Fata
1999 Oleg Saprykin
2000 Brent Krahn
2001 Chuck Kobasew
2002 Eric Nystrom
2003 Dion Phaneuf
2004 Kris Chucko
2005 Matt Pelech
2006 Leland Irving
2007 Mikael Backlund
2008 Greg Nemisz
2009 Chris Erixon
2011 Sven Baertschi
2012 Mark Jankowski
2013 Sean Monahan,
Emile Poirier,
Morgan Klimchuk

[doctajones428]

Originally Posted by jschick88

Time for a CP Jihad..

How long will it take the Oilers to turn the corner

Hehehe

[vilzeh]

Originally Posted by playmaker

Not that I don't agree with you but ...
You wouldn't believe there is a team with the following history of 1st round picks:

1988 Jason Muzzatti
1990 Trevor Kidd
1991 Niklas Sundblad
1992 Cory Stillman
1993 Jesper Mattson
1994 Chris Dingman
1995 Denis Gauthier
1996 Derek Morris
1997 Daniel Tkaczuk
1998 Rico Fata
1999 Oleg Saprykin
2000 Brent Krahn
2001 Chuck Kobasew
2002 Eric Nystrom
2003 Dion Phaneuf
2004 Kris Chucko
2005 Matt Pelech
2006 Leland Irving
2007 Mikael Backlund
2008 Greg Nemisz
2009 Chris Erixon
2011 Sven Baertschi
2012 Mark Jankowski
2013 Sean Monahan,
Emile Poirier,
Morgan Klimchuk

Big difference, not even one top 5 pick. Whilst Oilers have like 90% top 5 picks on that list. ;D

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by playmaker

Not that I don't agree with you but ...
You wouldn't believe there is a team with the following history of 1st round picks...

Irrelevant. This thread is about Oilers ineptitude, which has virtually nothing to do with the Calgary Flames and their draft record.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Split98

It's a fantastic, and humorous question.

2005:
Andrew Cogliano - Gained value after a few years in Anaheim
Taylor Chorney - Nope
Danny Syvret - Should have been amazing
Robby Dee - Nope
Chris VandeVelde - Nope
Vyacheslav Trukhno - Nope
Fredrik Pettersson - Nope
Matthew Glasser - Nope

2006:
Jeff Petry - Ok...
Theo Peckham - Lol
Bryan Pitton - Nope
Cody Wild - Nope
Alexander Bumagin - Nope

2007:
Sam Gagner - We're getting somewhere
Alex Plante - Oop... nvm
Riley Nash - 5 whole goals!
Linus Omark - Super fancy
Milan Kytnar- Nope
William Quist - Nope

2008:
Jordan Eberle - Success!
Johan Motin - Or...
Philippe Cornet - Nope
Teemu Hartikainen - Nope
Jordan Bendfeld - Nope

2009
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - Don't even tempt me
Anton Lander - Nope
Troy Hesketh - Nope
Cameron Abney- Nope
Kyle Bigos - Nope
Toni Rajala - Nope
Olivier Roy - Nope

2010
Taylor Hall - Rebuild.... Go...?
Tyler Pitlick - Nope
Martin Marincin - Nope
Curtis Hamilton - Nope
Ryan Martindale - Nope
Jeremie Blain - Nope
Tyler Bun - Nope
Brandon Davidson - Nope
Drew Czerwonka - Nope
Kristians Pelss - Nope
Kellen Jones - Nope

2011
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Nope. I said it. Nope.
Oscar Klefbom - Nope... yet
David Musil - Nope
Samu Perhonen - Nope
Travis Ewanyk- Nope
Dillon Simpson - Nope
Tobias Rieder - Nope
Martin Gernat - Nope
Frans Tuohimaa - Nope

2012
Nail Yakupov - Nope

And I'll stop there, because anything drafted later IMO is too early to tell. 2011 and back, and we really should be seeing more of their prospects than we've seen so far.

But it's just unreal. They might as well have TSN call their first round for them and leave the rest on auto-draft as they don't have a clue. Maybe I'm overlooking someone here, but to not draft ONE decent player outside of the first round for this many years has got to be some kind of record. IMO, the most recent player the Oilers have drafted outside of the first round to have any significant impact on the NHL was Jared Stoll in 2002.

The Flames, ridiculed as poor-drafters have at least turned out Brandon Prust, Lance Bouma, T. J. Brodie, and John Gaudreau outside of the first round in that time. Not all-stars by any means, but all solid players with valuable NHL potential in their own rights.

Man would I ever be angry to be an Oiler fan. How can ownership not take a quick glance at the drafting record, the on-ice compete level, the professionalism, etc, etc and not be cleaning house?

that right there needs to be quoted to show how how poor their draft record is. Looking at that they accidentally landed eberle. No way they knew what they were doing heading to the podium that day. Probably only picked him because Lowe heard Calgary wanted him.

[icarus]