Jay Feaster with the zing!
After the Edmonton Oilers wasted a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes remaining in Wednesday’s game versus the Winnipeg Jets, then extended their losing skid to 11 just 16 seconds in overtime, Feaster fired off a pointed tweet from the comfort of Florida — to the tune of 600 retweets :
“If this is in fact the ‘real’ Jay Feaster, it’s f’ing outstanding,” replied one fan, @jambrownradio.
It is both the real Feaster and outstanding.
“I was just having fun,” Feaster told ESPN‘s Pierre LeBrun Thursday. “Obviously, people get very wound up and upset about things. But it wasn’t done in a hurtful or spiteful way. I’m just having some fun with it.”
The former general manager of the Calgary Flames was fired from the post a year ago this month and is now the Tampa Bay Lightning’s executive director of community.
But the spirit of the Battle of Alberta: Rebuild Edition is alive and well in Feaster, who sees his old club in the thick of the playoff picture (16-8-2) and his new one atop the NHL standings. The Oilers (6-15-5) sit in the Western Conference basement.
“I’m not a GM anymore. It’s my own personal views and personal Twitter account,” Feaster told LeBrun. “I tweet about all kinds of things, including the Christmas cookies that my daughter baked last night.”
Feaster first joined the Flames in 2010 as assistant GM to Darryl Sutter and worked his way up from acting GM to permanently taking the role in May of 2011. Though fired by the club a year ago, he still roots for the roster he helped put in place.
“I’m thrilled for the guys that we drafted that are having success, the guys we signed as free agents,” Feaster said. “[Coach] Bob Hartley is a good friend of mine as you know. I have nothing but positive feelings about that group of guys and that team. I’m happy for their success.”
