Gene Principe

Well regardless of not making the playoff there have been a lot of successes this season. This was a team at the start of the seasom many were saying they weren't going to be much better then how they finished the previous season with going something like 2-18. They were suppose to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but they put an impressive season together with finishing with 40 win and above 500.

Here's an interesting "what if" question. Would the teams ahead of Edmonton still have a playoff spot if the NHL didn't award a single point for losing in extra time? Basically when you look at it Edmonton has the same amount of wins as Nashville and Calgary but there ahead in the standings because they lost more in the extra session? How does that work? Oh well, it's part of the rules I guess but the future looks good for the Oilers. I just hope for a healthy season next year.

"What if Kevin Lowe had caved to Ryan Smyth's demands and Robert Nilsson wasn't an Oiler?"

I'll tell you what if. If Ryan Smyth was still an Oiler, Edmonton wouldn't have had the most pathetic and thin depth chart on the left wing in the entire NHL. Also, the Oil would have a player who knows how to score more than 10 or 20 goals a season. So, more importantly, what if Kevin Lowe would have made some transactions that would have made it so that the team didn't have seven or eight NHL calibre centres with only four spots to fill?

Being an Oiler fan means "no excuses" 86 points with a game left is pretty impressive. The youth on the team look great and with 1 owner who will spend to the cap next year, the sky is the limit...excuses are for Leafs, Habs and Flames fans!!!!

How about

What if.... we thank the boys for not laying down and playing dead when have of their payroll went for surgery. No what ifs, just a thanks for the run at the end boys.... Have a good offseason get those injuries fixed and we will see ya next year.....

There is always going to be a bunch of what ifs, but one thing that I would like to mention is that I believe that if Pisani, Moreau, Torres, Horcoff and Souray were not injured then we possibly would not be basking in the fact that we "just about" overcame all odds.

The youth had a chance to shine and the young players are the reason why we had such an amazing run. The city has a team of energietic and exciting players to cheer for. We are all proud of this group who came together as a team and turned a lot of heads with their run. Be assured that next season we will be chased, not chasing.

Now let's finish the season on a high and hand the Nucks a loss.

What if Gretzky and the old guard were still playing? Can't be playing the "what if" game. Most teams could apply for the rights to that game. The Canucks could say what if they had some scoring or the Pens saying what if Sid didn't get hurt or The Leafs, well let's just leave that one lay.

I have a hard time beleiving Torres injury had any impact on the Oilers missing the playoffs. The guy had 5 goals and 11pts in 32. His injury opened the door for the young guys who did produce. This marks the 2nd straight year that Torres has been dead weight....I can't see him wearing an Oilers jersey at the start of next season.

Every team goes through injuries. The good ones make it through.

Coilers are going to be asking 'what if' they didn't waste 20% of their cap space on Souray and Penner in a couple of years.

There's no what-if, Gener. The boys put together an amazing run for the stretch and fell just short. Good for them. This was the best thing that could have happened to the Oilers this year, this and the Horcoff injury. I love Horc, but let's face it, if he hadn't gone down, we wouldn't have seen the kids develop like they have. With him back and that line together next season, things are looking good. And to play that hard and just miss should help drive them even harder from the start of next season. Can't we just skip the playoffs and start right into next season? There's no team of significance in the playoffs now, so why bother? Who are we gonna cheer for, the Flames? First round collapse as always? Anyways, With the Oil gone, I don't really care who wins, just as long as there's some good hockey. There's only one team that matters...

As for Ryan Smyth, gimme a break. He was heart and soul, and I loved the guy (still do), but he reached his peak. He's injury prone, and his salary would have cost us a lot of youth. I'd rather see the moves we've been making than hold on to players strictly for loyalty reasons...he was with us a good long time, sometimes you need to say goodbye. Holding on to the same star quality players year after year is what Calgary does, and we've all seen how far it's gotten them. Good luck in Colorado, Smytty, I hope you do well there, maybe win a cup, and I'm happy you're gone.

PS. TheOilFan...um, pathetic and thin? Penner had 45 points, Nilsson had 41, Glencross on the 4th line had 25...Ryan Smyth has 37 points...why? Because he's injury prone. But I'd say our left side was looking pretty good by the end of the year.

MrLunt: Excuses have been for the Oiler fans, too, and will be so next year when they blame injuries, youth MacT, and KLOWN for their troubles. Then they will say that the future is bright, and "next year." Quit pretending that the Oil and their fans somehow occupy some higher plane of existence and understanding.

The NHL does not award a point for losing a game in OT. They award a point for being tied at the end of regulation. What you wanted to ask is this:

What if... the NHL did away with the "bonus" point for winning a game through a gimmicky shoot out? season?

What if the Oilers come out next October and spit the bit again because they have pressure on them to win?

I'm not trying to provoke anything here, but let's face facts. Anytime the Oil got close to a playoff spot, they choked under the pressure. A few years ago the Penguins were eliminated and they won something like 10-12 in a row to end the seaosn and everyone was talking about how great they would be the next year. Well they came back in October and wilted under the pressure and Eddie O was fired within a month of the season opener.

I wish them the best next season, but if they find themselves struggling next season, I for one won't be surprised.

I agree with Shantheman. While I cannot deny the Oilers have some good young players who will be great players in a couple years, I would be surprised if they could keep up the effort they did towards the end for an entire season. They did not start winning until there was no pressure and teams had written them off. Teams will not underestimate them next year and there will be a lot of pressure to play as well as they did at the end of this season.

Not only will many NHL teams (and their uneducated homer fans) underestimate the Oilers, so will every eastern NHL commentator! Many, if not all, pegged the Oil to be last in the West so start eating the crow boys. Fact is the Oil have more depth for scoring and now depth in trading potential for a big scoring talent, because of what the young guys have shown this season. Teams like the Shames, Avs, and Nucks are built for winning the Cup this season and forgot about depth. Sad thing is, well not so sad IMO, is that none of those teams will win the Cup this season. The only team, of those three, close to the Oilers depth are the Avs. Look for the Avs and Oil to be battling for the NW division lead next season leaving the rest of those teams in the dark.

The reason Pittsbug struggled out of the gate that year wasn't because they wilted under the pressure, it was because their coach was Eddie O.

Enough said.

Sailor, every fan of every team has excuses. Vancouver fans have one and it is called the shootout. Apparently they are so bad in a shootout, they just can't win (at least against the Oilers I know they can't)and might miss the playoffs because of it. So they blame a "gimmick" for losing. lol So lets get this straight, they can't win in regulation, OT or shootout, yet they think they deserve a point AND they think those who do win don't deserve the bonus point! lmao Typical loser mentality, blame everyone else except yourselves for losing.

Perception people. Winners get the points, losers get NOTHING! Name another sports league where a losing team gets points! I know what the rule book says: you get a point for finishing regulation in a tie. lol So lets get this str8, The game isn't over, no one has won anything, a winner WILL be eventually determined, but lets hand out points to both teams anyway. lol

JOKE!!!

Get rid of the "loser point". EDM (40 wins) would be AHEAD of Vancouver (39 wins) right now, where they belong.

What if EDM traded Horcoff, Moreau, Torres and Souray? Don't need em.

The Torres injury HELPED the Oilers!!! look when they acutally starting to play better, when Stoll started playing better, it was when that cancer Torres got hurt!

"And what if Craig MacTavish hadn't done the best coaching job of his regular season life?"

and they still didn't make the playoffs!!! how does this moron have a job still?!?!?! Look at washington a coaching change to a real coach and THEY ARE IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT from one of the worset teams in the leauge.

fact is the Oilers are dead next year with out a coaching change Mac T will give his buddy torres all the ice time well earned by glenncross, Stortini(who totaly changed my mind about him, good work out ther) and Brodziak this year! Dump Marty Reasnor(WHY THE HELL WAS HE OUT IN THE LAST MINUTE AGAINST CALGARY AND GLENNCROSS WAS ON THE BENCH AFTER SCORING THE OILERS 2 GOALS IN THAT GAME AND WAS BY FAR THE BEST OILER ALL NIGHT?????? Any one please answer that for me)

the Oilers need to make some big moves this offseason, dumping torres, reasnor, Roli, would be a start. sighing Garon long term. Gilbert, Pitkinen, Stoll under contract, or trade them(except Gilbert) put Penner on a training program so he shows up in shape next year!

"Penner had 45 points, Nilsson had 41, Glencross on the 4th line had 25...Ryan Smyth has 37 points...why? Because he's injury prone." -JephC

Injury prone? This is his first season since he cracked the NHL lineup that he will have played less than 60 games. And you call him past his peak? He just came off 2 30+ goal seasons!

So our top winger who doesn't go by the name Hemsky, has 46 points on the first line and you're bragging about those stats? Are you kidding me? And to pay Penner 4 million a season to put those numbers up?

Not to make this argument too personal, but you sound like the type of Edmonton fan who has come to be satisfied with mediocrity. To dismiss Ryan Smyth so easily, and to assert something else absolutely absurd like it was necessary for Horcoff to be injured, it seems your understanding of what the team needs is seriously flawed. Horcoff, who might as well be called 'injury prone' just as well, put up more points than any other Oiler this season except for Hemsky, with about 30 less games than the average player.

It's one thing to let the rookies flourish and develop their game, but Edmonton's veterans need to stop being dismissed so quickly in the name of youth. The top teams in the league (with the exception of the Penguins, who have gotten outstanding picks throughout the entire last decade) are all winning on the backs of true first line talent, veteran players. It's time for an attitude change in Edmonton.

raySUCKS has some great insight on the Oilers roster. The emergence of the fourth line has knocked Torres out of the lineup (unless Raffi is ready to drop the gloves and take Stortini's spot). The years of waiting for Raffi to grow into a dominant power forward are gone.

I disagree with your bashing of Reasnor. Marty is a savvy defensive forward, his faceoffs improved down the stretch and was the right person to have out there in the final few minutes.

Roli's days are numbered. He is a great goalie who never really got his chance. It's not right that we let him go, b/c he has done alot for us, but business is business. I really do sympathize with the way his career has turned out.

Pitkanen has been a pleasure to watch, but with both Souray and Pitkanen in our lineup, our defense will be ravaged with turnovers. One of them has to go.

Penner has got to stop the with the late night Chicken Delight runs.

Hemsky.. I'm still not sure. Consistency would be nice.

RyeRocks99 news flash the nhl has always been passing out points at the end of regulation for a tie where have you and everyone else been, remember the shootout is the new thing not the single point at the end of regulation for a tie. The thing that makes this rule look so stupid now is the introduction of the shootout. "Get rid of the "loser point". EDM (40 wins) would be AHEAD of Vancouver (39 wins) right now, where they belong" and as for this statement lets get rid of the shootout and do up edmontons and vancouvers record, I won't do the math for you but you know the result.

Hey TheOilFan

Excellent post I could'nt have said it better myself, and I think alot of people would agree.

OilFan, I think it's perfectly reasonable to call Smyth "injury prone". In the 6 seasons since 2000-01, Smyth has played one full season (82 games). In two others he played over 70. There are 3 seasons where he played at most 66 games. This is mostly due to where he plays the game (corners and the front of the net), but numbers don't lie. By comparison, Horcoff has played at least 78 games in every season with the Oilers except this one. And as for Penner, the $4 million dollars wasn't for this year, it was for the next years. To sign RFA's, you have to overpay in the present. And in an off year (no one can argue Penner was at his best this year), Penner scored 23 goals. In a crappy year. Smyth was an important part of the team, but I think that the Oilers are alright without him. Keep in mind the Oilers missed the playoffs a few times with Smyth.

TheOilFan: No, I'm just not the whiny baby type fan that you are. I'm a fan that realizes we have a good thing going here. The money we saved from Ryan Smyth ends up essentially paying for Penner, who got 47 points by only playing really for half the year, Nilsson, who's showing flashes of brilliance with a 41 point campaign, and another great player in the works in O'Marra. To have resigned Smyth would have, in your words, been a reason for staying in mediocrity. At 6-6.5 million a year on one player, how much do you think we would have left to sign others? A 6 million dollar contract for a player who has also not played a full season of hockey in how many years now?

As for Horcoff..read between the lines before you mouth off. I love Horc, and can't wait for him to be back. But unlike the "gimme now" people, as you clearly are, I'm willing to pay the price for a year of allowing these kids to develop at a quicker rate, so that next season we have an even better shot. Climb down off your little pedestal and quit your bellyaching. Times change, so have the Oilers, and its been for the better. Your way of thinking would only keep us at a level of mediocrity.

PS. Speaking of the so-called veterans...where have they gotten us in recent years? Besides Horcoff and Hemsky, can you name me a veteran on this team who's put up consistent numbers? It's sure not from lack of ice-time; most had a lot of minutes to work with during the first half, which, you may remember, had the Oil sitting a few games below .500. The kids come in, and we finish the second half with a record of 24-15-1, or something close to that, on the backs of the kids. Put that record into a full season, and we're around a 100 point team. But you wouldn't want to take that into account, now would you? Personally, I'm willing to suffer through a year or two of hard lessons and build on the potential we have rather than look for the quick fix. Look at a team like Pittsburgh; one of the worst hockey markets for how many years? Now, thanx in large part to an influx of youth, they're suddenly a viable market, able to bring in a player like Marian Hossa...why? Because they're an exciting team to watch with a huge amount of growing potential. But apparently none of that matters to you...of course, it's pretty clear that you've got your nose so high in the air that you've actually missed everything that's gone on here.

RaySUCKS: here you go again, whining and moping and not looking at the bigger picture. Buddy, relax. We just played a season with the youngest roster, and 12 players in their first or second year. Success doesn't come all at once iwth that lineup. As for MacT, maybe in the first half he wasn't making the greatest choices. But look at their run in the second; the coach deserves to be credited with some success for that. Fans like you and TheOilFan are all alike...you're so busy pointing fingers and laying blame that you're not actually looking at the big picture. We've got a group of young, potential stars who just finished the year playing their asses off for MacT. And if you watched carefully, during that stretch, he was much more consistent with the lines than earlier in the year. Yes, we missed the playoffs, but not by much, and that's without playing our bonafide number one center and D-man for nearly half the season. How about this; you go out, put on some skates, and try and coach at that level. See if you have what it takes. He's the first coach since Slats to get us to the finals, and now we have a group of young players who, while not quite the Oilers of the 80's, have a shot at being one of the most skilled teams we've had in years, and you wanna break up that chemistry already? Please, crawl back under the bandwagon and come out again when you actually have something smart to say. Until then, leave us true fans to watch the potential blossom in peace.

What are guys whining about? Man this is the most excited I've been for a Oilers team in years. With the exception of Montreal, Oiler fans should be the happiest fans in Canada. Even without making the play-offs. I mean Calgary is going to get bounced first round for sure. Next year they already have 40 mill locked up in salary cap for a bunch of overated, past their prime playrs..so they're not getting any better. Leafs are a mess top to bottom, and are locked into a bunch of stupid contracts. Sens are a mess ran by a very overated Glen Murray...and Luango is starting to finally show some fatigue from holding a team on his back for three years..

Just look at how much depth we will have next year...

And this year everybody gets a pass. 300 + man games to injury including our captain, powerplay specialist, leading scorer and grit 2nd line winger who is capable of pocketing 30 goals. Hemsky didn't know if he was comming or going, who he was playing with..Penner was getting shuffled like a deck a cards trying to find a solid line mate combo...This team is going to be great. I dont care about Ryan Smith, All I care is that in the last two months we looked like the most entertaining team in the NHL and for the first time I can truthfully say this and meen it! "Wait until next season Flames!"

"RyeRocks99 news flash the nhl has always been passing out points at the end of regulation for a tie where have you and everyone else been"

Leafsbum this statement isn't true. You are probably ten so I'll give you a break but do a little research before you post.

JephC: no one cares what you have to say!

AND yeah I could coach the Oilers not into the playoffs just like Mac T did!!!

I am not a bandwagon fan, I cheer for the team, I spend my money on them when they aren't winning, hell I even hang out with a couple of the players.

Mac T has now missed the playoffs 6 out of 8 years. in any other sport he would have been fired. And the team that went to the finals in 06 BARLEY MADE the playoffs. It was due to them winning and another team loosing that they got in. so it was pure luck! AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN!!! PRONGER IS THE REASON THEY WENT TO THE CUP FINALS!!!

Proof: Mac T coached the Oilers 8 years now missed the playoffs 6 times(including the last 2 years since the run in 06). Pronger here one year they go to the cup finals, he leaves Oilers loose, drop to the 6th worset team in the leauge Pronger wins cup. this year, Oilers one of the bottum 50% teams, Pronger on a cup favorite.

Mac T has had enough trys to take this team, which has really great potential, to the promised land, and he can't deleiver. The team doesn't even show up in 75% of their games before March! I am sick and tired of the "oh well win next year and accept more mediocracy" attitude THAT LEAF FANS HAVE!!! which is exactly what the majority of people on here sound like. especialy you JephC!

I love the Oilers. I think Gagner, Penner, Gilbert, Brodziak, and Smid give the Oilers one of the best cores of young taltented players around. I just hate the coach and am sick of watching my favorite team not win!

WestAllstar: Who on the Flames is overrated, past their prime and wasting significant cap space? Iginla who just came off a 49 goal season, or Phaneuf who is only 22 years old? Regehr is looking as solid as always and is not yet 28. Kipper has bounced back from a poor start and still has several good years in him at 31 years old. Outside of that, the only guy who is paid above $2 million that is not off the books within 2 years is Sarich. He is a bit overpaid, but he is solid. I think the Flames have done an excellent job of managing their cap. The only guys taking up huge chunks of cap space are guys who are worth it, and, by most accounts, could have got more on the open market.

RaySUCKS: Apparently you do care, or you wouldn't be responding. And coming from the guy who earlier threatened to start cheering for another team, you have a long ways to go before proving you're not a bandwagon fan. Sure, he missed the playoffs. Look at the players he had. The one year he had quality players, whether they barely made it in or not, they made the final. Our top centre missed half the season. Our top defenseman missed over half the season. Our captain missed most the year. At one point we were without three of our top five defensemen. The team is made up of nearly 70% rookies and second year players. What more do you want from MacT? It's hard to coach a lineup when you don't have a lineup worth coaching. And trust me, I don't accept mediocrity, but as I said in a previous post, I'll take a rough year if it means speeding up the development of the potential stars we have right now. What would you rather have, a rebuilding year like this one in order to obtain quicker success, or a quick fix solution like the Rangers have been so fond of trying to produce before finally realizing it doesn't work?

As for the team, name another NHL team that had 12 players with over 10 goals. Did we have an 80 point player? Not this year (though Horc and Hemmer likely would have been had Horc not been injured), but we ended up with 6 40+ point producers. As for Garon, should he have been played earlier? Sure, easy enough to say now, but keep in mind that he also lost the starting goaltender job on TWO teams before coming to Edmonton.

My favourite is fans like you who cry and moan and scream when things don't go right immediately, not realizing that the more you cry, moan and scream, the less players want to play here. I can think of 26 other teams that would have loved to have made the finals in the past three seasons. But I will never associate myself with people who think they know how hard and stressful a job is by watching it from their couch. You want to point fingers, do it at the people responsible for bringing players in, not the coach who has to deal with what little he has had to work with the past 8 years. Grow up, lose the "me, me, me" attitude (which, funny enough, is a very LEAF ATTITUDE as well) and appreciate what we're about to be witness to in Edmonton over the next few seasons, which is going to be very special. If all you wanna do is whine, you have no place in Oil Nation. The kids did us proud this year, and with the kids, some credit has to go to the coach.

As for Pronger; you're right. It had nothing to do with Spacek, Samsonov, Roloson (touted as the MVP before the injury) Peca, Smyth, Pisani...it was a TEAM effort that year, not one player. Yes, Anaheim did win a cup with Pronger...and Selanne, and Niedermayer, and Getzlaf, and Penner, and Giguere. To say it's all because of Pronger is giving him way too much credit..he was an important piece, but only a piece. And like I said before, I've never threatened to cheer for another team, how about you? So, let's talk about attitude, shall we?

One last thing...to answer your question about why Reasoner was out and not Glencross...ummm...maybe due to the fact that Reasoner is a center and Glencross is a winger? hmm...maybe something to think about. Imagine having a hard time signing players to come to Edmonton when ridiculous fans berate every little thing they do? Yeesh...yup, negativity from couch warmers solves all problems...call them up, it's clear you know hockey better than them. I'm sure they need a good laugh as well.

I care what JephC says and I bet a lot of other posters do too. Nothing wrong with being rational and level-headed. People like RaySUCKS and "TheOilFan" (yah, right) make me embarrassed to be an Oilers fan. Ryan Smyth's contract is one of the worst in the league last year, the last thing this team needed going forward was that albatross of a deal. Keep up the writing JephC, educated Oilers fans appreciate it.

laffbums: sure, let's do that? By the way, you realize that Vancouver had only 2 or 3 less shootouts then Edmonton this year, right? So the record would still be relatively even. And by the way, you're right, the NHL has given out tie points forever, but not the single point for losing in overtime. You used to actually have to get the tie to earn a point, not lose, as Vancouver and Calgary have done. Anyways, it's a redundant argument...the shootout is here, it's in the rules, and not going anywhere. Deal with it.

As for the comments about veterans, in particular with Detroit, let's not forget how horrible the Wings were back in the early 90's. In fact, very similar to the direction the Oilers are heading in now. The Wings were playoff pretenders, but they started using their draft prospects to create a long standing winner. Yzerman, Fedorov, Osgood, Draper, Konstantinov, to name a few. They didn't go out spending big money on free agents to fix their team, not until they had already built up a successful team from the ground floor, much like Edmonton is doing now. They relied on their prospects coming into their own and then added pieces around them as needed. Will I accept a couple speedbumps this year? Sure. It worked for Detroit, afterall, now didn't it?

Newsflash Leafsbum, there is no such thing as a tie in todays game! Hasn't been for several years now. have you been living under a rock? Why are we handing out points for something that doesn't exist??? Why are we handing out points just because the game is tied after regulation??? The game isn't over, a winner will be determined, what's the point of handing out points before the game is over?? There isn't one!!!

Joke!!!

Get with the 21st century people, this isn't the 80's anymore.

As for the shootout being a gimmick...guess what - we need it. I don't care how you change the OT format (extending it by 5 minutes or adding a 5 min period of 3 on 3), as we have seen in the playoffs many many times, games can go all night. Players aren't prepared to do it during the regular season and there will be many instances the game will still end in a tie no matter what. If there has to be a winner, and the teams aren't going to play all night to determine that, you need the shootout.

Besides, shootouts have forever been used in the Olympics and in the rest of the other professional Hockey leagues in Europe, so it's not a gimmick. The worlds most popular game - soccer - uses shootouts as well, but nobody calls that a gimmick. Penalty shots in a hockey game can determine the outcome, and that is the same thing as a shootout, but no one calls that a gimmick.

Breakaways are a common occurance, and they are the same type of hockey play as a shootout, but no one calls that a gimmick. Shootouts aren't gimmicks, they are a common hockey play that you see every night in every game. And they are the only way to determine a winner between two teams that can't play all night to determine one.

RAYSUCKS:

you are wondering why reasoner was on ice at end of game, and not glencross, perhaps it has something to do with reasoner being a center (and a good faceoff man)while glencross is a winger, and obviously not as practiced a faceoff man! But i guess since you're the better hockey mind, i (as well as MacT) am probably wrong about that! Hell, with your logic, maybe gilbert or grebeshkov should have taken the draw!!

RyeRocks99 that was not the point I was trying to get across, if it came across that way sorry. I was just trying to say that it does not matter how much whining you or anyone else does about one point being awarded for reaching the end of regulation and then loosing it's not going to change so stop beating it to death already. I dont agree with it my self but I still dont spend all my time crying about it hoping if it got changed that my team would be better off. As for the shootout I believe it should be used in the playoffs as well, if a team can be eliminated from playoff contention by way of shootout why not the playoffs, I think its stupid for the league to introduce a new system and throw it out for the playoffs. If anything it makes people who already disagree with the shootout dislike it even more. Something for you to think about Commissioner Bettman.

Hey RyeRocks99 no where in my post did I call the shootout a gimmick or do you just make up what you want. I said to get rid of the shootout and then calculate edm and van point totals, I know it's not a huge difference but Van is still ahead,that's the point I was trying to make. I like the shootout and think it should be used in the playoffs.

This one is for you JephC. I'll say this again and again until people start to listen. The single point handed out for an ot/ shootout loss is not going to change so stop whining because the oilers might of made the playoffs had this been so. And yes JephC before you post back and start to bash the laffs I already know that the shootout or overtime loss points never had alot to do with the leafs this season. I'm just hoping the leafs managment get some brains and do something with the team this summer and in years to come to improve the team but I'd say I got a better chance of winning the lottery and I don't even buy tickets.

diobrain: Now, I'm not going to come out and be so blind as to say Iginla, Kiprusoff and Phaneuf are overrated, because, as single players, any team would likely take any of those three if given a chance, even the Oil. My question, which has yet to ever be answered, still remains the same. When you have a former (49 isn't the same as 50..lol) 50 goal scorer, a former Vezina trophy winner, a young stud on D, a two time cup winner (Tanguay), etc., why exactly can that team do no better than backing into the playoffs before getting handled in the first round? Whether anybody thinks they're worth the money or not, come playoffs, they just don't get the job done. Star-quality players do not make a star-quality team; just ask the Rangers of the late 90's and early 00's. With Edmonton, we can at least say you never know what would have happened the year after our run, because most of the players were gone. With Calgary, they've kept the same core players, yet can't even go into the playoffs with any momentum, let alone get past the first round. And when a team has three coaches in three years, it has to start making you question the management and the dedication of the players. Say what you will about regular season performance, that group of players you keep resigning isn't getting the job done past game 82. Don't get me wrong, I want the Flames to keep signing them, because it's clearly not working for the Flames, and due to the mid to high regular season finishes, the Flames have a very weak prospect system in place right now that is going to severely hamper them down the line, but when are Flames management and fans going to realize that what they're trying to do in Calgary just isn't working?

PS. Let me correct myself on one point...MacT isn't the first coach since Slats..duh, mind freeze on my part because Muckler, of course, coached the cup team in 1990. And thanks, oilerz94...appreciate the support!

JephC.

we will have to agree to disagree on the Mactavish issue.

I will not start immatrue name calling or put you down in a personal attack. I said my piece I vented my frustrations. and am now moving on.

Just for the record. I DO think the Oilers will get better, and will develope their young talent into good players. I just don't think Mac T is the guy.

As for Roli, yes he did a lot in that run in 06, but he isn't a guy who can play 60+ games a year.

Now Garron has been treated very unfairly in his career. I don't care what you say, Louongo would have crumbled in Montreal as well, very lucky for him he went to florida where he could just play and develope his game. Like LA for Garron, the only reason Garron lost the job there was because Crawford(the offical worset coach in the NHL) has always had a crush on Cloutire for some reason.

Now the shoot outs, Teams have to start running more drills, because like it or not, it is here to stay.

55555cups!!!:

They had Stoll on for the draw! Pisani, Penner, and the extra guy was reasnor from the bench when they pulled Roli!!! why would you sit a guy who was your best forward all night who had 2 goals, persnoaly I think he should be on the ice, and if you want 2 centers, then take off pisani or penner, because they didn't play as well as Glenncross that game! there is no reason for him to be on the bench when you are down a goal and his line did nothing but make great plays all night(and I used to think Stortini was the biggest waste of an Oilers jersey, other then Raffi! but can admit I was wrong on that). I just don't understand him sitting on the bench at crunch time, to me that is a bad move!

Sorry Leafsbum, you are right you said nothing about the shootout being a gimmick, but I have heard it a million times on other threads and chose this one to rant because of where I assumed you were going with your comments. My bad.

Nonetheless, it's a point of view some people don't get. And I do hope against hope Bettman gets it and removes the loser point. We'll all hold our breath....

I finally logged on today, and at first glance, you'd think I'm the most hated poster on all of the internet. Then, a second look will tell you that it's just the brilliant JephC flapping his gums, and posting multiple thousand word entries because he's not articulate enough to unify his senseless thoughts.

Before I drive a bus through Jeph's horribly thickheaded arguments, I would just like to point out that he was right, and that I am a

"bandwagon" fan. I mean, I jumped on the bandwagon years more than a decade ago (when the Oilers were at their worst), and I've ridden it ever since. Even this year, with a tight university student budget, I managed to buy tickets to eleven home games. I mean, really, it could have been all forty two (like JephC, I'm sure), but I'm just an ignorant fringe fan, right? Now Jephy boy, since you wanted to make the attacks personal and direct, you should have thought before you decided to talk with the adults. So this will mostly be directed your way. Since the majority of the board is filled with your incoherent rambling, I can only pick a few of your quotes as an example, but here's a few of my favourites:

"The money we saved from Ryan Smyth ends up essentially paying for Penner, who got 47 points by only playing really for half the year, [and] Nilsson, who's showing flashes of brilliance with a 41 point campaign"

Excellent logic with the Penner comment, my friend. Why don't we judge every player not by season-long stats, but the stats they put up in their hottest streak of the season? In actuality, Penner played all 82 games this season, and should be judged as so, just like every other player in the NHL. As for Nilsson, the guy is 23 years old and finally cracked an NHL lineup. "Flashes of brilliance" on offence are not enough to cut it. Not to mention that he is awful in the defensive end. Don't forget that it was Lowe himself that admitted it was a mistake to not resign Smyth this year.

"Speaking of the so-called veterans...where have they gotten us in recent years? Besides Horcoff and Hemsky, can you name me a veteran on this team who's put up consistent numbers?"

Erm, okay, if you haven't been listening, I didn't support the Smyth trade. He was a veteran who put up consistent numbers. And why can't I list Horcoff and Hemsky? It would be like saying, "Alright, OTHER than Spezza, Heatley, and Alfredsson, who on the Senators puts up consistent numbers?" I'll tell you where veterans have gotten us in recent years. Smyth, Roloson, and Pronger, all VETERANS, got us to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Oiler rookies were riding the pine during that run.

"we finish the second half with a record of 24-15-1, or something close to that, on the backs of the kids. Put that record into a full season, and we're around a 100 point team"

It seems you enjoy this way of thinking. Indeed, let's apply this to all NHL teams. Instead of judging all 82 games, let's judge the hot streak of a team and analyze their overall level of performance by a good run they had. Get real. With the rookies leading the team season round, you're claiming the Oilers would have been a second or third place team in the conference?? This amazes me.

"Look at a team like Pittsburgh; one of the worst hockey markets for how many years? Now, thanx in large part to an influx of youth, they're suddenly a viable market"

Finally, if you'll refer back to my previous argument, I said Pittsburgh was an exception to rookies trumping vets. When you draft first or second overall for years, and are able to draft the greatest NHL talent in years, it's not hard to eventually win. Edmonton doesn't have that kind of talent to deal with. By looking at your comments, it is not I that is "arrogant" or someone who needs "to get off my pedestal", but you. And the saddest part is, you've got a few silly cheerleaders like oilerz94 who dares to call a bonehead like you "rational". Unbelievable.

Hey jephc, Iginla is a current 50 goal scorer, and no, 50 is not the same as 49.