Now you know why fans don’t run the team
By Phil Gretzky
"“Long term plan would not be crumbling had we not lost both Larsson and Klefbom, which would have allowed the current defence time to develop….panic will not solve the problem but perhaps matching the defence pairings with experience and inexperience a little more might help a little!” — Rick Powell"
Long-term plan crumbling? Really? The unfinished season after the Edmonton Oilers go to the conference finals the “long term plan is crumbling?”
What an idiotic take.
It’s also pure ignorance to declare that we intentionally “lost” Larsson and Klefbom. Klefbom was taken down by an aggregate series of career-ending injuries, but I suppose Rick here is going to find a way to blame Woodcroft and Holland for that……
He’s also practising a bit of revisionist history with Larsson. Larsson’s father died while visiting him in Edmonton, which understandably impacted him negatively in an emotional well-being sense. Seattle signed him as a free agent which essentially was the Oiler’s pick in the expansion draft. We were always going to lose somebody, and although Holland tried to sign him Larsson wanted out of Edmonton for personal reasons.
Holland doesn’t control what happens in the players’ personal lives. We didn’t lose Larsson, he chose to sign with another team for personal reasons.
Both players have since been replaced by Ceci and Barrie, guys who are just as good if not better than the players who aren’t playing here anymore.
The sky is not falling and the long-term plan is not crumbling. Stop being such a drama queen.