He didn't say what year though, did he? I think they are well on the way to reaching the TBL 1993-94 heights...
For the record: Lawton was the General Manager of the TB Lightning from 2008–10—a storied chapter from their illustrious history in which they finished out of the playoffs and drafted #1, #2, and #6. He was replaced by Steve Yzerman. This is clearly a guy who knows a thing or two about winning.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I had definitely partaken in some jazz cabbage that night, but do I remember Hitchcock saying on After Hours that he wants to stay with Edmonton beyond this year? I mean, you can't fire someone that quits.
Propaganda Minister Bob Stauffer now has Brian Lawton on to convince the masses that McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent Hopkins on the roster makes the open Oilers GM position highly coveted.
Lawton: "There is no reason why [the Oilers] can't be the next Tampa Bay Lightining."
Yeah.... no reason. Except for logic and an endless supply of facts.
But other than that.... nothing.
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the thing about the Oilers is that even if you are foolish enough to think they have great talent throughout their lineup, its not like this is a team that sets the bar for hard work and effort. really no shock that they are NG
the thing about the Oilers is that even if you are foolish enough to think they have great talent throughout their lineup, its not like this is a team that sets the bar for hard work and effort. really no shock that they are NG
I love when they include Nuge as part of these core players. Shows why they are bad, he’s the definition of easy to play against.
The trouble with the Oilers is that they have to decide on a strategy going forward.
I get that there's panic over box sales and ticket sales at the end of the year. But if they let Gretzky the lesser try to get the team into the playoffs, it really weakens a already weak teams future.
I also get that they're terrified of a rebuild because the fans will lose their shyte.
But honestly the smart move would be for Gretzky and the OBC to do as little as possible until they can find a GM that will not only have a strategy in mind, but will take the job based on his vision.
Looking at that mess, every GM wannabe that interviews is going to look at that club and say rebuild from the ground up.
Me personally, I look at that core as a quiting core, they quit on T-Mac and now they've quitting on Hitch, and that's on the leadership core in that room.
Honestly my first move in a logical world would be to try to move Draisaitl and McDavid for as much future/young assets as possible and cap relief. I think its the only way. And if that happens, Katz is going to have to be willing to stand up in front of the media and say that he gets that its going to hurt renewals and sales, but it has to be done.
As a GM coming in I would also demand not only the active support of the owner, but the removal of the OBC from any hockey department decisions. If you want to keep them around to sell tickets and gladhand, great, but they have no involvement in the rebuild.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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The Oilers are Sunny D personified. Kids love it because the TV keeps telling them it's the best, but it's overhyped, loaded with artificial crap, and just plain bad for you.
I honestly think the best move for the Oilers right now is no move at all. Their fans won't like it but this team they have is NOT a playoff calibre team and it's not close. The addition of a winger or a D man isn't going to change that. They are so far away from competing for a meaningful playoff position but of course the reality-phobic Mark Spectors of the world are still trotting out the usual 'wonderfully gifted nucleus' of 97, Draisaitl, RNH narrative. I can name about 25 other teams with a nucleus that is more gifted than that. Chiarelli has set the team back a lot of years with the Hall, Reinhart and Eberle deals with almost nothing in the pipeline. I am reminded of when Nick Saban went with Dante Culpepper instead of Drew Brees and the Miami Dolphins have basically been completely effed ever since. That's the level of screwed Chiarelli has left the Oilers, even with the supposed best player in the world.
They need to sell at the deadline, accrue draft picks, and draft and develop a core like every other god damn team that has seen any success ever. Stop acting like the philosophies of other successful franchises don't apply to Edmonton and treating your hockey team like a special outlier.
Rid themselves of the toxic OBC nepotism that is festering within every orifice of that dreadful organization and bring in a fresh perspective that has no allegiance to the 80s dynasty or any other former player of the Oilers.
But of course the Oilers operate by working against their own best interest and the marching orders from Katz and co are to make the playoffs, so they are just going to hurt themselves even more by mortgaging future assets (draft picks and prospects from an already barren pool) for a short term gain that is not going to help them one iota. The fact that Koskinen had the stamp of approval from the dumb dumbs in charge shows again that this team is hopelessly screwed. Shame for Connor.
Last edited by flames_fan_down_under; 01-23-2019 at 04:04 PM.
I came back just to read the Edmonton is no good thread... They look like the NY Islanders from 20 years ago ... All they had to do to win , was just draft the next available guy on the hockey news fantasy draft list and be patient.
Instead they signed Lucic until he is 51 years old and made no good, horrible, very bad trades until they are in cap jail and 5 points from dead last. It is wonderful.
Also I have scientifically tested this. I enjoy the Oilers losing almost exactly as much as I enjoy the Flames winning.
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The amazing part of this year is the incredible separation between the top 5 in the West and the rest. Normally, the Oilers sitting at 49pts, and 13pts back from 3rd in the division would have them sitting firmly at the bottom of the West. And they are, but they somehow also find themselves 3pts out of a Wild Card spot...
The problem is that there is no way that this broken team has another gear here, and the West is packed full of underperforming good teams. Hell, they're only 2 points up on St. Louis who has played 2 less games. St. Louis is a tire-fire this year, but has far more talent than Edmonton. They have a better chance at taking that WC spot from Minnesota, Dallas, Colorado (one of those 3 will be in for their division), Vancouver or Anaheim than the Oilers do.
But somehow, they think this is a playoff team... and they're on the outside looking in on a weak year for Western teams. This makes for an incredible year as Flames fans, as there's no way the Oilers can sell this as a playoff team without the misery that's swept through the West. What a perfect storm for Flames fans for the first half of the season.
No GM is going to want to take over that team unless that GM is planning for it to be their last stop, or if that GM knows that they will never get another chance anyway.
Any potential GM with long term NHL aspirations isn't going to want to take that team over. Nor will that person want to be the name associated with having to trade McDavid.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Also thanks Bob for ruining my connotation that 'something in the water' meant there were a lot of cute girls around. You can put that one on the shelf
For the record: Lawton was the General Manager of the TB Lightning from 2008–10—a storied chapter from their illustrious history in which they finished out of the playoffs and drafted #1, #2, and #6. He was replaced by Steve Yzerman. This is clearly a guy who knows a thing or two about winning.
<--- no good!
