A Decade of Monumental Debacles -- A look back at E=NG in the 2010s
As Calgarians and Flames fans, we have known that Edmonton is No Good for a long time, but it wasn't until this decade that the rest of the hockey world (and indeed the world as a whole) really started to understand.
As we approach the end of 2019 and the end of the 2010s, I thought it would be fun to look back at all of the incredible events we have been able to witness from our blue and orange "friends" to the north.
Please share your favourite memories and moments for the last decade of Oilers hockey. Photos, videos, stories, stats ... whatever you have, share it with the world.
If we're doing top 10 lists, we're going to need multiple categories to get as many things as possible:
8-1 Flames win March 2014. Stajan and his goal after the loss of his son. As an other poster pointed out, game where Hall sprays Eakins. Rare Kevin Westgarth goal too!
Cinco de Choke-o, May 5th,losing vs the Ducks in Game 5 with a monumental collapse
McDavid formally welcomed to the Oilers.
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Hard to top the 8-1 game. Not only did the Flames lay the boots to that team up north, the game also featured former Oiler Glencross with the Hat Trick, Hall throwing the water bottle, splashing Eakins in the process, all topped off by being booed by their own fans and a jersey toss. Highlight of the decade for sure.
Last edited by jkflames; 12-29-2019 at 12:07 AM.
Reason: Removed signature
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After firing Eakins in 2014, Lowe reluctantly, and against all his "smartest man in hockey" instincts in hiring headline grabbing coaches, brings up a no name coach from the AHL to finish off the season (it was only December!).
More than that, he has the audacity to force MacTavish to baby sit Todd Nelson on the bench for the first 10 games.
How much do you think the players trusted a coach and management, when the new coach had to be accompanied by senior management to watch over? Just one in the long line of stunts that gave the Oilers the reputation as a terrible place for players to play.
Here is MacT Oilersplaining things to Nelson.
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The thought I had while watching the NHL Awards in 2015...
Quote:
Originally Posted by getbak
Something just occurred to me: The Masterton Trophy usually goes to a guy who fought back from a career-threatening injury, a major disease, or some personal tragedy.
Moore won it last year for returning to the game after taking time off to care for his dying wife.
Harding won it two years ago for returning after being diagnosed with MS.
Numerous guys have won it after fighting cancer (Kessel and Lemieux to name two).
Devan Dubnyk essentially won the Masterton this year for surviving being an Edmonton Oiler.
He beat Letang, who returned after having a stroke. The League has basically said that being an Edmonton Oiler is a bigger obstacle to overcome than a stroke.
Hell, Olli Maatta actually had cancer surgery this season, and Letang was still the Penguins' nominee. So, a stroke is worse than cancer, but still not as bad as being an Oiler.
__________________
Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
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Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
To Oilers fans everywhere:
We all knew that this was going to be another terrible year for us. Another year where we didn’t turn the corner. Obviously, that happened again, and everyone saw it coming except for us, and that is what hurts the most. For all of the fans that have yet to discover any good hockey teams worth cheering for, for the players that are forced to go to work everyday in the basement and for the Edmonton community, who everyone secretly laughs at for formerly being known as the city of champions, we all share a common bond centered around this swamp donkey.
This will most definitely be the eighth season in which we do not make the playoffs, which is a really disgusting – yet not surprising – fact. The reality is that we are multiple years into a rebuild and we have seen absolutely no progress since we drafted Taylor Hall. The good news, if you can call it that, is that other teams have gone through rebuilds and found success – but they did it in much less time than we have. That doesn’t make it fun for anyone; it just means we are truly terrible.
Yes, everyone knew we wouldn’t be any better at all this year – there’s no question about that. Some say that we have been active in rebuilding our team, including hiring a new GM who was previously arrested for DUI causing death, signing free agents that no one has heard of and shipping off our only decent goalie for a 4-point-per-season player. And we’re not done. It’s clear that we have already sacrificed our future by making these mistakes in the short-term. If we are going to rebuild, we should have started the process roughly five years ago. But, here we are.
A lot of people question the accountability of this team, and let’s be clear. We are all accountable for this dismal excuse for a team. Many people have targeted personal attacks at Kevin Lowe, and rightfully so. After all, he is the president of this sinking club. But, when it comes down to it, this is McTavish’s team. He is the one that everyone should be chasing with pitchforks. He is responsible for creating a team that can compete for a Stanley Cup – which is why he has already been fired from this team once.
That’s our vision, and we are sticking to it – though it will throw us horribly off track.
Our fans are so stupid not to have left this team a long time ago. At the same time, we are asking you to hang in there, as Sam Reinhart and Conner McDavid are supposed to be really good.
I’ll tell you this, despite being in second-last place in the entire league, people surprisingly still wear their Oilers colours, even though we will never be back on top.
We value our idiotic fans, we know how awful you think we are, and we appreciate that you still allow us all to be filthy rich despite always being at the bottom of the standings.
Having watched Connor McDavid closely for a year now, and also having gone over video of Oilers prospects like fourth overall pick Puljujarvi, second round pick Tyler Benson and free agent signing Drake Caggiula, while also keeping in mind talented players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Leon Draisaitl, it’s evident that when the story is written of this Edmonton team, it might not be known one day so much as a big, fast and tough team, but as a squad whose top lines passed around and shot the puck at a blistering pace, one not seen before at the National Hockey League level.
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A Decade of Monumental Debacles -- A look back at E=NG in the 2010s
Quote:
Originally Posted by getbak
The thought I had while watching the NHL Awards in 2015...
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: your analysis there was one of my all-time favourite CP posts. (I’ve got it screenshotted and saved.)
I also have saved this screenshot (below) because it represents the constant dumping-on of their own fans that the Coiler media do, for some bewildering reason.
And thank you, GetBak, for making this necessary thread a reality!
Last edited by drewtastic; 12-29-2019 at 12:40 AM.
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After firing Eakins in 2014, Lowe reluctantly, and against all his "smartest man in hockey" instincts in hiring headline grabbing coaches, brings up a no name coach from the AHL to finish off the season (it was only December!).
More than that, he has the audacity to force MacTavish to baby sit Todd Nelson on the bench for the first 10 games.
How much do you think the players trusted a coach and management, when the new coach had to be accompanied by senior management to watch over? Just one in the long line of stunts that gave the Oilers the reputation as a terrible place for players to play.
Here is MacT Oilersplaining things to Nelson.
You’re forgetting the best part in all of this. “MacT” was literally fired as the Oilers head coach 5 years ago.
Only in the Oilers organization where you’d find a guy who had been fired as HC, only to be rehired in a few years as the HC’s boss, fired the then current HC and then worked as a onsite consultant for the interim HC
I tried explaining this series of events to non hockey fans at the office and they couldn’t believe the logic behind this, let alone a multi million dollar company doing this
Add Ralph Krueger to the list of people surprised by Craig MacTavish’s decision to fire his head coach on Saturday.
Krueger told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector on Sunday that he was “blindsided by the firing” when told via Skype he was being relieved of his duties as Oilers head coach.
__________________
Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
The trouble with this look back in the past decade of Oiler gaffs is that we’re leaving out so much prior to the decade too.
Stuff like:
- The Pronger curse
- Sheldon Souray willing to dispel the free agent anti Oiler stigma by signing with them, only to demand a trade a few years in
- Burke’s famous words that Lowe sewered the Oilers
- Dany Heatly vetos his trade to Edmonton
Crazy how not even a decade can contain so much Oiler no goodness
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A Decade of Monumental Debacles -- A look back at E=NG in the 2010s
