Former Edmonton Oilers centre Eric Belanger had some words for his former team, after he first tweeted about his praise and happiness for former Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz, who is now playing in the Stanley Cup Finals with his new team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I don’t think Justin Schultz is missing The Oilers right now,” Belanger tweeted. “Playing for the Stanley Cup. Good luck great kid.”
Less than 140 characters would lead to an uprise, one where Oilers fans from all around fired back at Belanger, criticizing him for his comments. Some decided to question him for his backlash, considering the Oilers paid him over $5 million over three years.
However, he said it wasn’t about the money, and then provided another reason why he has so much anger built up toward his former NHL squad.
“Don’t worry about the checks, but look at the rest of my career,” Belanger replied to another tweet. “It’s graveyard for players. I didn’t wanna believe it.”
What can be considered is the fact that the Oilers did not have the best management or coaching during Belanger’s time with the Oilers. They were constantly changing head coaches, and Craig MacTavish was making too many signings and putting high expectations on players he would overpay and in the end put too much pressure on.
However, that being said, Belanger’s comments are not extremely appropriate. They do fire against an entire team and insult an organization that has a lot of greatness and history behind it, and is obviously trying to rebuild and turn around with a new era that starts with new General Manager Peter Chiarelli and Head Coach Todd McLellan.
Belanger wouldn’t go far into tweeting about and discussing other players on the roster, but he did imply that his time in Edmonton was one that ultimately ended his career at 820 NHL games played.
In his tweets, Belanger also commented about how the veterans were treated poorly, and how they didn’t exactly build a role model relationship with the Oilers’ youth.
Next: Fans Should Support, Not Hate, Justin Schultz
“I tried and all the veterans . But the kids did everything they want. I guess it worked out.” Belanger wrote.