Pride and Patience Needed to Fix Oil Spill
After watching the Edmonton Oilers struggle the last few weeks I have come to realize a few things. One, never before have I seen a club more reliant on their first and second year players to carry the load. Two, there is a glaring need to add a couple premier defenseman. And three, it seems like a deflated and frustrated group all the way from the top down.
It’s a club that has lost it’s confidence. It’s swagger that was there when they went an impressive 8-4 to start the season is all but a distant memory. And, while that start was maybe a glimpse into a sign of things to come for the young Oilers, in no way does it reflect how the fans should have expected their season to play out.
I mean let’s face it, a big reason for the great start was the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin, who was rock solid through the month of October. In a perfect world, this mix of youth and veterans would have come together like the Ottawa Senators, and played above and beyond all expectations. But, in reality, this is just a season and a half into a massive rebuild in Edmonton that we all knew was going to take some time to construct. And yes, it hasn’t helped this team has once again been bitten by the injury bug. A problem that has plagued them for the last three years.
That all being said, at some point the veterans on this team have to step up and play with a sense of pride. Otherwise, it’s like paying to watch a Pearl Jam concert, having Eddie Vedder pull a fan out of the audience, and asking them to sing instead. It’s way too easy for fragile young players to accept losing when they see a 10-year pro brush it off with little remorse. The coaching staff can do only so much, the accountability factor has to kick in at some point, and the players need to buy into the system.
The fans frustration has been overwhelming of late in the City of Champions, and it is not because of the losing, as the intelligent fan base in Edmonton knew this was going to be a painstaking process with some ups and downs along the way. Instead, their frustration has been due to the lack of effort put forth by those cagey vets, while the kids have been quite alright. The old saying, “you have to crawl before you walk” hasn’t applied here, as the babies are running, while the older brothers are falling behind.
Guys have to compete. This is their job, and what they are paid to do, which should be all but motivating enough. And, while it is easy to start pointing fingers at the coach, there may be no better man for this upstart squad than the always well-spoken Tom Renney, who is as good of a teacher as there is in the game right now. Aside from his hockey knowledge, Renney always conducts himself with class, and in a positive, professional manor that very few coaches display nowadays. Which, in the long term, is exactly what these young players need. Those great Oilers teams of the past all point to Glen Sather as the father figure and mentor that helped them grow and develop into not only tremendous players, but also well-rounded individuals.
Although the wheels may have fallen off over the past few months, this team is still heading in the right direction, but patience is key. In fact, I guarantee this club is pushing for a playoff spot next season. Even the Gretzky and Messier led Oilers teams struggled their first two years in the league, finishing with 69 and 74 points respectively. A statistic that many don’t even remember, simply because they had so many great years afterwards.
On a positive note, the 2012 NHL Draft is loaded with high-end talent on the blueline, and the Oilers scouting staff has hit it out of the park the last few years. So, there should be little doubt this organization is going to get even deeper with prospects. And, as a Flames fan, I envy the wealth of young studs this Edmonton club is stockpiling.
So take a deep breath Oiler fans, cheer loud and proud, and hopefully set a fire under the arses of some of those underachieving vets. Soon it will be your turn to be a City of Champions once again, and these long winters will all but be forgotten.
