Edmonton Oilers make History

Oct 9, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers great Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier watch the action against the Calgary Flames in the first period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Chris LaFrance-USA TODAY Sports

Well, that happened. With tonight’s 0-2 loss against Vancouver at Rexall Place the 2014-2015 version of the Edmonton Oilers is now the proud owner of the worst season start in franchise history going 0-4-1, good for 1 point out of a possible 10. Scrivens played much better, but still had some ill-advised excursions where he got lucky the puck didn’t end up on the back of his net. The team started aggressive but as the night wore on the Canucks established their fore check and made the Oilers turn the puck over with increased frequency.

Tonight the fans are up in arms. And that is good for the Oilers. For being angry means you care enough to invest yourself emotionally. I wonder how long before that anger turns into deafening silence. How long before the phone lines at sports radio talk shows go from saturated to clear. How long before people stop reading these blogs because they are tired of the same analysis, the same words. Maybe when the tumbleweeds roll through the Rexall concourse ownership will finally change course with the organization. For as long as the cash register keeps going cha ching!, there is ZERO incentive to make any changes. Fans can complain all they want about the sorry state of the Oilers, but son, business is a boomin’. Town’s about to get a shiny new arena for yer folks to grab some cold ones and give yer bucks to the copper and blue!.

I heard tonight  a certain radio host on 630 CHED  saying something along these lines  on his post game show : ” If you fired Kevin Lowe prior to this game, and the Oilers still lost 2-0 tonight, would that make you feel any better”. I just facepalmed. By that logic Kevin Lowe, or anyone for that matter, would never be fired, because their dismissal would most likely not change the outcome of the next game, or the next 5, 10 games. But the change has to happen at some point. The expectation is not for things to magically turn around in one afternoon, but to try something else after 8 years of doing the same thing and failing. When changes have been made everywhere else, one looks for the common denominators. Kevin Lowe in upper management and Freddy Chabot as well as most of the pro scouting department are those common denominators. Scott Howsend and Craig MacTavish are not far off, having been recycled recently.

That a rookie GM decided to hire a rookie coach speaks of either incompetence or arrogance. I think the biggest problem with the Oilers management group is that after all the success they had as players, they are unwilling to recognize their failures as executives. They seem convinced that success in one area brings success on anything else they do by default, no matter how many times they get it wrong, success will come. The difference between being stubborn and being resilient is that the latter entails learning from past failures and applying it, whereas the former means doing the same thing over and over and believe you are right and everyone else is wrong.

In no way do I think the players are a bunch of stupid men incapable of learning how to hockey properly. All of them have already beat out thousands others in getting to the best league on the planet. These men know their craft. This team boasts 10 first round picks. Everyone on today’s lineup is a legit NHL player imo (except for Draisaitl, but only because he lacks the seasoning right now). These guys have been trying hard. Except for Justin Schultz, on all of the games this season I have yet to see a player look disinterested on the ice. Their management is failing this group. Brad Hunt is MacTavish’ man. That is the only reason the guy stayed ahead of Marincin and Klefbom. Yes he had a good training camp, and at first I thought he deserved the spot, but only as the seventh d man, not getting more minutes than Mark Fayne. Will Acton staying instead of Pitlick or Pinizzotto was a blunt act of cronyism.

Their coaching staff is failing this group. From the first media availability and doughnut gate, Dallas Eakins presented himself as a confrontational man with a my way or the highway attitude. He then went on to install an overly complicated defensive system, the infamous swarm that crashed and burned any playoff hopes as soon as halloween. Then the Yakupov soap opera in December and Igor Larionov’s visit. The strange benching of players, with the latest victim being Jeff Petry 2 games ago. There was the removal of Oilers memorabilia from the locker room. As if this city and these fans would ever forget or let anyone else forget about the glory days. Players and coaches need to know the legacy they are becoming a part of. They need to know the history so they can both get inspired by glories past and be cautious of previous failures. Eakins seems to demand respect instead of earning it. How is that working so far?

The players will keep trying, because they have pride and they are grateful to be where they are. The fans will keep following the team and getting angry, because Gretzky, Messier and co. won the hearts and minds of this city for eternity. But they will all keep spinning their tires, because right now everyone is caught on the ice with no rope in sight.

The Oilers made history tonight, but there was no deafening silence. And that is a good thing. And that is a bad thing.

Edit: fun fact. In one capacity or another, Kevin Lowe has now been in the Oilers organization continuously through 3 different owners. That has to be some kind of record.