Oilers owner Katz asks for patience during rebuild

[yave1964]

  Katz’s line of the day: “I know it has been frustrating, but I want to assure everybody that we did not get in this to fail. We got into this to return the Oilers into what you call an elite status in the NHL and to give our fans the kinds of experiences they deserve. We are going to be absolutely relentless in pursuit of that goal and we’re going to work hard day in and day out to do something great for the city, for the capital region in the process. This year hasn’t been much fun for any of us. But I have to say looking at the future, it looks very bright.”

 

  Ahem.

 

  How on Earth the owner of a club that has had the number one pick in the draft every year since the Roosevelt administration (Teddy not Franklin) could possibly ask the fans for patience is beyond me.

 

  This club is stacked with top end talent (Hall, Gagner, Eberle and RNH) with up and comers in Schultz and Yakopov learning on the job. They hired the sexy young coach that everyone wanted they brought in veteran role players in Perron, Gordon and Ference and with all of that they are still putrid. They have to be the biggest disappointment in the league this year.

  This is not an injury related mess, they have been a little nicked up but they aren't like some clubs that have faced injuries and either fallen or stood up to the adversity, this is a club that much was expected from and little has been delivered.

  To ask the fans for patience is a joke.

 

  My personal opinion is they have talent but not a team and they have not jelled. You cannot blame the offseason acquisitions, all are doing what they always have, Hall, RNH and Eberle have been fine. Gagner was injured to start the season and has taken a while to get back to himself.

  Something has to give.

[jammer2]

  If this was an expansion team, I could see Katz asking for time and patience. These fans, well...the ones over 40 have experienced the joy of 4 straight cups. Once you get a sniff of that as a fan, get to stick your chest out to fans of other teams, this type of losing is not acceptable. Sure, they are bad, but they should not be *this* bad having the influx of #1 pick after #1 pick. Some observations....

 

 1) They need a legit #1 center...right now, not 2-3 years from now when RNH may or may not be ready. Try to secure Stasney from the Ave's, he would not cost their young studs, and would take the pressure off of RNH to contribute right away. The lack of center depth is horrid on this team, adding a true #1 ppg guy could make RNH a respectable #2 and Gagner a #3, where he should be slotted. Gagner does not score enough to be a #2 center. Just my opinion.

 

 2) Get Bryz the HELL OFF THIS TEAM!!  He is not a legit NHL goalie, his very presence makes a mockery of the Oilers ability to judge talent. Literally anyone would be better, any goalie in the A...take your pick.

 

3) Hall and Eberle are the only real respectable young players at this point. They bring grit, heart and scoring. RNH is being thrust into the spotlight much to soon. He is still not physically mature, to frail to be a star in the NHL.

 

4) Yakapov was a miss of monumental proportions. A pure out and out diva, who thinks the world should be handed to him on a silver platter. Trade this cancer now, while he is still worth something and just have the balls to admit you made a mistake.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Hah...I like @jammer2 's take on the Oil.

 

I will also add that Edmonton, while having lots of good hockey talent on the team, STILL needs to build themselves a real good 3rd or 4th line whose jobs are to make life miserable for opposing teams.

And not just saying, "Get a bunch of fighters and stick them on a line".

 

Yes, the Oil could use an enforcer or two, but they type they would probably need is a guy who is also useful in other areas such as penalty killing and shutting down top forwards of the other team (even if they don't score themselves).

 

Think players along the lines of a BJ Crombeen, Nate Thompson (TB), Steve Ott (Buf), Matt Cooke (Min), Dominic Moore (NYR)...those types of players.

Guys who can agitate a bit, check the hell out of the opposition, smart on the PK, and/or are very good on draws giving Edm more puck possession time in critical moments.

 

Top six defensemen, a good goaltender...those things are a given that the team needs. But then again, those things don't exactly come around very easily.

 

But being able to build very solid 3rd and 4th lines to supplement the scoring lines SHOULDN'T be that hard....the Oil just need to embrace the idea that not every game can be played run n gun, tic tac toe, and stick checking all night.

They have to embrace the idea, that on many nights, they WILL need to get down and dirty, win games 1-0 or 2-1, be willing to play shut down defense, and be willing to wear down the opposition early in a game, so that their highly skilled forwards have an easier time of it late in games once the other team is tired out from their 3rd and 4th lines pounding on them all game.

 

Once Edmonton really figures that out, along with the stuff jammer2 suggested, I think the sky is the limit for this team.

 

Patience? What......a decade plus isn't enough time!?  LOL..

Edited February 2, 2014 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[jammer2]

@TropicalFruitGirl26  Nice post, could not agree more. The Oilers don't seem to be able to clog the middle of the ice much, a lot of teams seem to score on those long stretch passes on them. They are horrible at cutting off passing lanes. Very weak on the puck also. Guys like Ott and Moore (Nashville seems to have a lot of these types, huh?) are BADLY needed.  Not that they have the personnel to pull it off, but a Devils type of game would keep them a lot more competitive than the run and gun they currently employ.

 

If the 59 save shut out was any kind of a preview, I think Scrivens is gonna have a respectable Oilers career. He is by far the best goalie they have had since the youth movement rolled in. Kinda nice he's a homegrown Edmonton boy also, he's going to keep them in games they have no right being in, and steal games they have no right winning. A bit of the missing ingredient they have been struggling to find in net.

[Chicago Hawkie]

This kind of reminds me of the Cubs ... except the Cubs are a much bigger market (but are somehow pretending not to be).

 

Given their history, it's sad that thw Oilers are struggling like this.  I do think they need to do something about their D.  In 2006 when they got to the Cup finals, although they were a flash in the pan, they got that far by playing a defensive system, because that was their best chance of beating teams like Detroit that year.  I was actually reading about the Oilers playing a  ... what's this?  TRAP?!  This was as I was reading the papers following each game.  The Oilers, during that playoff run, looked more like an Eastern Conference team, in my opinion.

 

Not exactly what comes to minds when we think of Oilers hockey ... but it worked then.