heh
Oilers are losing money again? Old new I know, but still... WOW! They really don't think much of us do they? Maybe the EIG will take them back. Katz would have to sell at a loss of course. Team being a money loser and all.
Anyways. So.
Comrie may be a value signing, Penner may be in shape, Motin may be a player*, Cor-NAY may be Pisani v1.2 in a coiple of years and Grebs may be about to hit another plane of being but, imo, what matters is this:
1. Can Khabibulin stay healthy and keep his save% over .910; and
2. Can Quinn and Renney make a difference with this roster
Either one of those go south and this team is no better than 4th in its division and out of the play-offs. New Year meet Old Year I guess.
To be honest I have written this team off for a long time now** but then I read/heard it.
Something promising. Something that makes sense. Something that agrees with what I already thought***.
(Oddly enough,) the most promising thing I have seen or heard out of this team all off-season actually came from outside the organization (pulling this from Copper & Blue who pulled it from TSN):
We had high expectations going into the year. For the most part of the year we were in a playoff position and we were in pretty good shape. At the end we really didn't fulfill those expectations and when that happens changes are made. I think the players lost their trust and faith in me and my ability to get the job done, and for a large part I think that was the same for me, that I lost faith in the players."
Craig MacTavish (TSN interview)
That quote pretty much echoes everything that I, and a few others, were saying last year. And it hurt because I (and 'we' in some cases) am a MacT fan. Guy is a great freakin' coach but he got thrown under the bus by this team's player procurement department too many times and finally lost it.
I can't dismiss the fact that MacT may have said all that so as to take a fall for the team. I can't. My third favorite Oiler ever, everything I have ever seen from the guy indicates that his first instinct is to take the hit to make a play.
So maybe he did.
But for now. Perhaps for me. I'll take him at his words.
If true it means that Quinn and Renney may be able to get a lot of mileage out of this roster and if so maybe they take 3rd in the division and if they can do that then maybe 7th or 8th is a possibility. 6th if another team completely falls off the map (it happens).
Look. I'm trying to be positive here okay?!?
------
In terms of long-term planning? Well, the ability to build tomorrow's team is hobbled by the weight of its yesterdays. Barring a whole bunch of surprises this team just doesn't/won't have a critical mass of talent all hitting its stride. Together.
So best case scenarios, for the future, from the right now, are these:
1. The team sucks total ass and it forces the rebuild.
2. Tambellini starts thinking future-now and slowly unwinds these legacy contracts.
If #2 is an option then maybe its time to get Lowe to call Sather and find out just how bad the Rangers need a steady ol'd-man to balance the boat. The Rangers being one of the few teams with both budget and Cap space (they can manipulate it if need be) to take on steady.
The third option is to hope that this year will be all full of sunshine and lollipops and rainbows and Stanley Cup play-off runs and the kids will learn so much that it was worth putting it all off until next year!
Or something like that.
After all. They really are, all of them, new years.
------
* Would make me very happy if true. Have always liked that pick. Go Kytnar!
** That whole 'could' post I wrote a few posts back.
*** That's how it works, right?
------
Have a great evening everyone.
Oilers are losing money again? Old new I know, but still... WOW! They really don't think much of us do they? Maybe the EIG will take them back. Katz would have to sell at a loss of course. Team being a money loser and all.
Anyways. So.
Comrie may be a value signing, Penner may be in shape, Motin may be a player*, Cor-NAY may be Pisani v1.2 in a coiple of years and Grebs may be about to hit another plane of being but, imo, what matters is this:
1. Can Khabibulin stay healthy and keep his save% over .910; and
2. Can Quinn and Renney make a difference with this roster
Either one of those go south and this team is no better than 4th in its division and out of the play-offs. New Year meet Old Year I guess.
To be honest I have written this team off for a long time now** but then I read/heard it.
Something promising. Something that makes sense. Something that agrees with what I already thought***.
(Oddly enough,) the most promising thing I have seen or heard out of this team all off-season actually came from outside the organization (pulling this from Copper & Blue who pulled it from TSN):
We had high expectations going into the year. For the most part of the year we were in a playoff position and we were in pretty good shape. At the end we really didn't fulfill those expectations and when that happens changes are made. I think the players lost their trust and faith in me and my ability to get the job done, and for a large part I think that was the same for me, that I lost faith in the players."
Craig MacTavish (TSN interview)
That quote pretty much echoes everything that I, and a few others, were saying last year. And it hurt because I (and 'we' in some cases) am a MacT fan. Guy is a great freakin' coach but he got thrown under the bus by this team's player procurement department too many times and finally lost it.
I can't dismiss the fact that MacT may have said all that so as to take a fall for the team. I can't. My third favorite Oiler ever, everything I have ever seen from the guy indicates that his first instinct is to take the hit to make a play.
So maybe he did.
But for now. Perhaps for me. I'll take him at his words.
If true it means that Quinn and Renney may be able to get a lot of mileage out of this roster and if so maybe they take 3rd in the division and if they can do that then maybe 7th or 8th is a possibility. 6th if another team completely falls off the map (it happens).
Look. I'm trying to be positive here okay?!?
------
In terms of long-term planning? Well, the ability to build tomorrow's team is hobbled by the weight of its yesterdays. Barring a whole bunch of surprises this team just doesn't/won't have a critical mass of talent all hitting its stride. Together.
So best case scenarios, for the future, from the right now, are these:
1. The team sucks total ass and it forces the rebuild.
2. Tambellini starts thinking future-now and slowly unwinds these legacy contracts.
If #2 is an option then maybe its time to get Lowe to call Sather and find out just how bad the Rangers need a steady ol'd-man to balance the boat. The Rangers being one of the few teams with both budget and Cap space (they can manipulate it if need be) to take on steady.
The third option is to hope that this year will be all full of sunshine and lollipops and rainbows and Stanley Cup play-off runs and the kids will learn so much that it was worth putting it all off until next year!
Or something like that.
After all. They really are, all of them, new years.
------
* Would make me very happy if true. Have always liked that pick. Go Kytnar!
** That whole 'could' post I wrote a few posts back.
*** That's how it works, right?
------
Have a great evening everyone.
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