5 games left: My pre-emptive look at a failed season.
Like Lowetide, I'm not putting all of the blame on MacT for what happened this season. Should he quit or be fired at the season's end? Yes. He made some dangerous gambles (from position shifting to the stick call) but had any of them worked out, we could still be talking about post season chances (which are now at 8% and require the Oil to pretty much win-out the season). I commend him for trying things that other coaches wouldn't have attempted, but maybe he shouldn't have been put in particular situations by management.
In the off-season, the Oilers lost Stoll in the Lubo trade (I <3 Lubo), and Reasoner (a million dollar man) for free. Both could win faceoffs and kill penalties. No one was brought in to replace either. PK has gone from 5th to 27th. Stoll (now at 57%!) and Reasoner (53%) continue to win faceoffs for their respective teams and instead we see Shawn Horcoff taking all faceoffs. Seriously. He's done an admirable job at 54%, taking more than anyone else in the LEAGUE. Hot Rodz also is above 50% but just barely. I think the heavy reliance on Horcoff has been another factor in the mediocrity of the team. Dude is tired.
Horcoff fills the role of the top line centre on the Oilers. Would he do that on other teams? Very few. He's what I would call a "very good roleplayer". Hardworking, able to do a lot of things right, but not going to many (if any) all-star games. And he has been worked this year - leading Oilers forwards with 21:31 in ATOI per game. Yet his production will be around 50 points on the season.
The Oilers have enough skill to roll four lines, the problem with the skill is that it comes in small packages. Don't get me wrong, from what I've seen of Patrick O'Sullivan, I really like. And Liam Reddox plays much bigger than his frame would indicate. But the JFJ/Stortini's of the Oilers feel pretty one-dimensional right now in that they are AHL players in big bodies. The guys who legitimately have NHL skills tend to be small. Sure, Dustin Penner was brought in for his size and the numbers guys tell me he's still excelling, but he's hard to watch. His shuffle through the lineup and into the pressbox gives me the indication MacT wants to use him, but the team makeup isn't right.
That's the biggest issue that I can gather... a disconnect from the top to the front line. I commend the moves made to get the defensive corps that we have and while I'd rather see Strudwick take a 7th man role and Staios be 4 years younger, those are small issues when the team is just not clicking.
I listen to a lot of games and only see a few, but even the play-by-play seems to indicate a disconnect. Are there issues in the room? Is it the right mix of personalities? Or is everyone just really frustrated? I know I am.
The nail in the coffin was the recent "cheer for us, fans" video. Outside of Strudwick who had a certain charm to him and Grebs who just seemed sincere, it was awful. Awkward and not heartfelt speeches from Horcoff, Gilbert and Gagner. If you're trying to make us care (and most of us wouldn't be watching stupid videos on the Oilers website if we didn't already) you're just making a fool of us. We want to cheer. That's what makes the video so sad. Give us a reason to support the team because we're not going to accept losing. For the amount of money we pay to the organization, for the amount of money the players are taking home, they should be grateful we're still here despite some pathetic efforts as of late - when it matters most.
How about instead of doing it for the fans, do it for Dwayne Roloson? The man has kept the Oilers in almost every game in the second half of the season. It's so frustrating to listen to games where he is averaging nearly 40 saves yet the Oilers can't even forecheck.
This isn't going to be just a failed season, but one of the most frustrating I've dealt with as a fan. And it's not just because I'm stuck in Vancouver watching a team win games based on effort, good goaltending and performances from unlikely sources. It actually reminds me of a certain Oilers team in 2006.
Le Sigh.
In the off-season, the Oilers lost Stoll in the Lubo trade (I <3 Lubo), and Reasoner (a million dollar man) for free. Both could win faceoffs and kill penalties. No one was brought in to replace either. PK has gone from 5th to 27th. Stoll (now at 57%!) and Reasoner (53%) continue to win faceoffs for their respective teams and instead we see Shawn Horcoff taking all faceoffs. Seriously. He's done an admirable job at 54%, taking more than anyone else in the LEAGUE. Hot Rodz also is above 50% but just barely. I think the heavy reliance on Horcoff has been another factor in the mediocrity of the team. Dude is tired.
Horcoff fills the role of the top line centre on the Oilers. Would he do that on other teams? Very few. He's what I would call a "very good roleplayer". Hardworking, able to do a lot of things right, but not going to many (if any) all-star games. And he has been worked this year - leading Oilers forwards with 21:31 in ATOI per game. Yet his production will be around 50 points on the season.
The Oilers have enough skill to roll four lines, the problem with the skill is that it comes in small packages. Don't get me wrong, from what I've seen of Patrick O'Sullivan, I really like. And Liam Reddox plays much bigger than his frame would indicate. But the JFJ/Stortini's of the Oilers feel pretty one-dimensional right now in that they are AHL players in big bodies. The guys who legitimately have NHL skills tend to be small. Sure, Dustin Penner was brought in for his size and the numbers guys tell me he's still excelling, but he's hard to watch. His shuffle through the lineup and into the pressbox gives me the indication MacT wants to use him, but the team makeup isn't right.
That's the biggest issue that I can gather... a disconnect from the top to the front line. I commend the moves made to get the defensive corps that we have and while I'd rather see Strudwick take a 7th man role and Staios be 4 years younger, those are small issues when the team is just not clicking.
I listen to a lot of games and only see a few, but even the play-by-play seems to indicate a disconnect. Are there issues in the room? Is it the right mix of personalities? Or is everyone just really frustrated? I know I am.
The nail in the coffin was the recent "cheer for us, fans" video. Outside of Strudwick who had a certain charm to him and Grebs who just seemed sincere, it was awful. Awkward and not heartfelt speeches from Horcoff, Gilbert and Gagner. If you're trying to make us care (and most of us wouldn't be watching stupid videos on the Oilers website if we didn't already) you're just making a fool of us. We want to cheer. That's what makes the video so sad. Give us a reason to support the team because we're not going to accept losing. For the amount of money we pay to the organization, for the amount of money the players are taking home, they should be grateful we're still here despite some pathetic efforts as of late - when it matters most.
How about instead of doing it for the fans, do it for Dwayne Roloson? The man has kept the Oilers in almost every game in the second half of the season. It's so frustrating to listen to games where he is averaging nearly 40 saves yet the Oilers can't even forecheck.
This isn't going to be just a failed season, but one of the most frustrating I've dealt with as a fan. And it's not just because I'm stuck in Vancouver watching a team win games based on effort, good goaltending and performances from unlikely sources. It actually reminds me of a certain Oilers team in 2006.
Le Sigh.
Comments
Liam Reddox has ginger power.
May the force be with you but mostly with me.
-bm
(Yes, I went there.)
Anonymous - http://oilers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=4&id=38157
I had been sort of monitoring the game on my phone at dinner, but I had to stop. I had a hockey game to play, and last time, let's see it was that piece of shit against Ana, well I had my phone on the bench, but I got so damn frustrated that I ended up throwing my equipment at my so-called defenders because they were standing around looking dumbfounded...not unlike the Oil.
Last night I stopped watching, and I was so much more pleasant, played better and didn't throw anything at anyone. Never mind that they are afraid to get in range now.
Yeah. I might have even gotten to whatever it's over can't care so much...wait haven't I been here before?????
I dispute that he can't be a first line centre, but I agree he's not an elite centre which is what most teams have.
I just think that if he is our first line centre, he can't be worked like he was this season - and that's for lack of having a 2C or 3C. 50 points does not make much of a 1C.
I'm not frustrated anymore, but I have this dull ache that still lingers. What does madden me some is watching Vancouver; I found myself thinking, hey, that's Oilers kind of hockey. I'm one of those that hope for Canadian teams to be in the mix, but not them.
Some of MacT's decisions this year left me flummoxed, but I still think he's a good coach. I think he's tired though and would't be surprised if he stepped down. It's a different kind of team and approach now and he's a smart guy so maybe he'll get that figured out this summer.
I haven't been able to read anything Oiler since the loss and these are my first comments. I will be watching the weekend games to see how they react, see how JDD does.
*sigh* feels like heartbreak.
RoliLover