The truth hurts
Lowetide has a sobering, depressing, but ultimately realistic take on the future of the Edmonton Oilers:
Before the season began, we worried about the lack of depth on the blueline and as it turned out that (along with a lack of MacT type players among the forward group) would cut a big hole in the heart of the season.
With the trade of Ryan Smyth, the Oilers under Lowe/MacT have stepped into an elevator shaft. Tough to endure for the Oiler fan, with only the possibility of a very high draft pick easing the pain.
[...]
This has been an incredible ride for the Oilers since the strike ended. Pronger trade, SCF, Pronger trade, elevator shaft.
I became a season ticket holder just before the 05/06 season, and never dreamed they would make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. It was like winning the lottery. Starting with the Pronger debacle, the team has experienced cascading failure to the point where, at this exact moment, the team is undoubtedly the worst in the league. Sure, a large number of regulars are out, and they won’t be as lousy next season as they have been for the last few months, but it’s hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. The draft isn’t very deep this year — certainly there’s no Crosby or Ovechkin to be had — so there are some hard days ahead.
They’re dim, but there are a handful of bright spots for next year:
- A healthy Ales Hemsky. He’s scored in each of his three games back from a shoulder injury, and in two of those games he managed to elevate the team to a win over Colorado and a near-miss against the division-leading Preds. With Ryan Smyth gone, it really may become Hemsky’s team. Handled well (*cough* not while MacT is in charge *cough*), it could be a hell of team.
- Some positives from the youngsters. There are no superstars in the crop, but Pouliot, Thoresen, and Gilbert look like players. Thoresen in particular always impresses me: there’s no quit in him, and he always seems to generate chances, draws penalties, and backchecks better than any of the Oiler forwards short of Pisani and Horcoff. He’s not going to win any scoring titles, but he can help you win.
- Roloson. I know he’s getting older, and the decline is pretty much inevitable, but the shoddy defense and anemic scoring this year have buried what was otherwise a respectable-bordering-on-fine season by the old crackpot. He’s had moments of inconsistency, but his save percentage is always around 910 and he’s still capable of stealing games. That he was somehow expected to steal every game this season is a failing of fans and management with unrealistic expectations, but put 06/07 Roli between the pipes in place of Conkannen in 05/06 and the Oilers would have had home ice advantage in a least one or more playoff series.
- Healthy Stoll, Moreau, and Staios. Well, fingers crossed on Stoll (he’s apparently having difficulty shaking the post-concussion symptoms, which is worrying), and the latter two are getting older, but there’s no question that the team is better with them than with a bunch of AHLers patrolling the ice.
That and a dollar’ll get you a cup of coffee. Maybe there’s something good under the rim? I can dream, can’t I?
Update: Black Dog Hates Skunks concisely articulates what I was trying to get at in the first bullet above:
Need: Scoring. With Smyth gone there has been a little bit of an issue with putting the puck in the net. One answer may lie within - your man Ales Hemsky.
This is his team now. And maybe, just maybe, what we have seen this past week might be a sign of things to come. With three goals in three games it looks like someone may have twigged to the fact that he is the man now and that its up to him to elevate his game.
I like Hemsky a lot and I think he understands what has to be done. If he can take that next step then suddenly the Oilers look a little better.
Earlier in the season, the local sports media hacks were shocked when Hemsky came out of the dressing room to talk to them. Previously he had been a reluctant interview, but he made a few remarks about how he realized that he was now considered a leader on the team and that he should start acting like one. His self-awareness is admirable and necessary. It’s his team, now.