From the Armchair

Lowe the Angry, and MacT the GM

There are two types of fans, those who are angry at what Lowe said about how the “paying customers” and those who “watch the games”, and those who see the truth behind the words. The ones I am sure he was referring to are the ones who are upset and against anything and everything the team does. The ones who believe they could always run things better. The guy showed more emotion and passion for the team as a whole than all the players not named Taylor Hall this season. People often forget history as it actually happened so let me remind you.

Lowe the GM 2000-2009

Team Record under his management:

301-252-47-43, 3 playoff appearances, 1 Stanley Cup Final appearance.

Timeline of moves as a GM:

1. Traded Roman Hamrlik for Eric Brewer
2. Signed Mike Comrie
3. Trades Bill Guerin for Anson Carter, and draft picks
4. Trades Doug Weight for Marty Reasoner and Jochen Hecht
5. Acquires Mike York for Tom Poti, Rem Murray, and Sean Brown
6. Signed Adam Oates
7. Acquired Petr Nedved and Jussi Markkanen
8. Traded Mike Comrie for Woywitka and 1st and 3rd round picks (could have had Corey Perry, but that’s a different rant)
9. Trades Brewer, Woywitka, and Doug Lynch for Chris Pronger, and then signed Pronger to a 5 year, $30 million extention
10. Trades Mike York for Michael Peca
11. On trade deadline day 2006, acquires Sergei Samsonov, Dwayne Roloson, Dick Tarnstrom, and Jaroslav Spacek (parting ways with Marty Reasoner, and various draft picks)

So in essence, Hamrlik, and Comrie got us Chris Pronger (and a period away from a 6th Stanley Cup), and Mike York got us Michael Peca. Nedved and Oates both contributed to one of the most exciting, failed, playoff runs the Oilers made, and Reasoner bled Copper and Blue during his entire stay in Edmonton. Of the people who didn’t get to make the run in 2006, I have always felt that he should have been a part of that run, because he was a true Oiler.

Under Lowe, the Oilers were always competitive, and they were not tentative in making a deal if there was one to be made. To question his ability to see talent is a fools errand. He was a good GM, and the evidence is there to support it. He never had the funds to build what we are building now during his time in the drivers seat, but he built probably the strongest Top 6 of defenders the Oilers have seen since the 80s in 2006. 

To question the man in the drivers seat is also foolish.

MacT the Coach

Record as Coach:

301-252-47-43, 3 playoff appearances, 1 Stanley Cup Final appearance.

Pre-lockout:

He never had the horses to truly run with the big teams, thanks to the cash strapped nature of the EIG. He always had the scrap heap of players the big teams didn’t have use for. But one thing that could describe every one of his teams was that they competed and overachieved. His knack for getting everything from his players was often overlooked because it was expected, as well as his hockey intelligence, and was always good for an entertaining media scrum. Despite the lack of star power in the lineup, the team was always in the mix at the end of the season.

Post-lockout:

This is the first season he ever had a bonafide star in the lineup, Chris Pronger. The team was in the playoff bubble come deadline, but thanks to a rotating goalie crease, the team largely underachieved for most of the season, which was solved when Kevin Lowe acquired Dwayne Roloson from the Minnesota Wild on trade deadline day. The defence was also bolstered that day with the acquiring of Jaroslav Spacek and Dick Tarnstrom, and he was also given the slick Sergei Samsonov in exchange for Marty Reasoner. His lineup heading into the playoffs as the 8th seed (deceptive standings, they should have been better but goaltending was lacking) were as follows:

Forwards

Smyth - Horcoff - Hemsky

Samsonov - Stoll - Pisani

Torres - Peca - Dvorak

Harvey/Winchester - Rem Murray - Ethan Moreau

Defense

Bergeron - Pronger

Tarnstrom/Greene - Spacek

Jason Smith - Steve Staios

Not a great forward collection, but they got by in terms of hardworking, team mentality, and some strong performances in terms of depth scoring. And any defence that features the “human rake” is going to be better than most. 

The point with this is, once MacT was given the horses, he ran them all the way to 20 minutes from a Stanley Cup. He knows what a good team looks like, and how to run a good team. He will be having conversations daily with Ralph Krueger, and that will only be a good thing. He has the horses to run, he just needs the depth players to support them. MacT the GM will bring good things to Oil country. Don’t count him out because he has no prior experience as a GM, he is a smart hockey man, and he will get the job done.

This is the same group now that was successful in the past with less. Let’s see what they can do with more. 

Boston

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

- Mr. Rogers

As you read and see more about the Boston bombings, look for the helpers and see the good in humanity as the days go by. Focus on the helpers, not on the evil people who created this tragedy, don’t pay them any attention.

The Stanley Cup

Alright, so the sounds coming off twitter right now is that the players are debating the NHL’s latest proposal. That is a very good sign. It means a significant portion of the players like the deal enough to play. Do I think it will be the deal that wins it? No. But I do think that the players proposal should be reasonable and we may have a deal within the week. But that’s not what I am going to talk about today.

This is a what if scenario, what if the talks do break down and the season is completely lost? What happens to the Stanley Cup?

I’m not going to deride American fans, and I have no data to back this up, but I am going to assume most American fans do not know that the Stanley Cup actually belongs to the government of Canada. More on this later.

The Cup was given to Canada by Lord Stanley, who was the Governor General of Canada. In 1893 it was donated by the Earl of Derby, then the Governor General, to be awarded as a challenge cup to the best team in Canada.

The government of Canada has loaned the trophy to the NHL, and the NHL just operates the it. The NHL trustees, this is where I am upset with, are acting like Gollum, it is there precious. They will not award it to any other team other than the NHL. That is not in the spirit of the trophy. It is to promote sportsmanship.

Here is what I suggest, the government of Canada just recalls the trophy. If the NHL loses a second season in 8 years, I don’t think it should be counted on to steward it. Canada could make it an amateur tournament annually. Canadians would watch it. Americans I doubt would, and the stature of the trophy would be reduced, but it would be a Canadian treasure, and integrated into our history. Will this happen? Probably not.

Today, all I have to say is: the NHL should make it’s own damn trophy.

THE NHL PROPOSES A NEW DEAL!

Finally, the NHL has proposed a legitimate deal. One that should be accepted. Why? Because not only is it fair to the owners with a 50/50 split of HRR, but the players also do not have to stomach salary roll backs. Isn’t that what the players have said they wanted? Well, maybe not the 7% revenue cut, but they avoided a wage cut.

Dare I say Mission Accomplished?

I hope so, but this could just be rejected. It is just as likely that the players send back a “counter-proposal” that puts us back at square zero. The NHL cannot lose another season though, despite Bettman’s thoughts that “[they] have the best fans in the world].” Fans will not return the same way last time. Sure the hardcores will, but the fringe, Sun State fans won’t. Any league that loses a season every 8 years isn’t worth watching for the most part. 

Ugh, this whole thing really makes me angry. I don’t like either side. I just want hockey. Both the players and owners are too busy playing PR battleship that they are forgetting all about their amazing fans. The fans that just want to be entertained, and fill both of the owners, and players wallets.

The highest level of hockey in North America right now is the AHL, and unfortunately it is not even available to watch for the average joe. You have to subscribe and pay cash to watch a still below NHL standards league. Hockey is not meant to create animosity, but the opposite. It is supposed to instill camaraderie and sportsmanship between people. It brings people, and nations together in one spirit. Sure, not everyone likes hockey, but the values it has as a game at the core, are values within everybody. 

This sucks, I just want to watch the Oilers lose. How sad is that? 

The Death of Logic and Compromise

The NHL is on it’s way to it’s second lockout in 8 years, and fourth work stoppage in the last 20 years. Three lockouts in the Bettman era. This my friends has been a ‘failure to communicate’ and both sides are wrong.

Why are they wrong? I’ll tell you why, they make millions of dollars in each system. All you hear from the players standpoint is that it’s anywhere from 17.5-24% wage cut. That’s still more money than I will ever earn with 6 years of Education becoming a teacher who has double majored. These are all people who get paid to play a game, just a game. Most of who are uneducated past high school. But the worst player in the NHL will earn 6x as much as my ceiling for salary.

But would you like a 17.5% pay cut? You might ask. No, but it is totally different here. For me, that sort of pay cut equals ramen noodles and no Internet or entertainment for the duration. For a regular NHLer, that’s the choice between an Escalade, or a fully loaded Tahoe. Not exactly comparable is it?

Logic has gone by the wayside, as has compromise. We will never see NHL players go to pre-1990 levels where only Gretzky was earning over $1 million. But neither the owners, or players want to leave anything on the table. Players, you do realize it’s the owners that give you a job right? And owners, you do realize that it’s the players that make you earn money right? And how is 50/50 unfair? Every other professional sports league is around that mark, why can’t the NHL? Also, how do players not understand 57% of revenue is a self-destructing system that will hurt them in the long run too?

Who is being hurt the most here? Fans. It’s them who make the salaries possible (HHR!) Every player was once a fan dreaming of game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Both sides need to think of what the reason is they play, and realize what they do is a privilege and nobody forced them into the profession.

These days make me lose hope in our society. That a hockey player is more valued than a doctor, police officer, soldier, teacher, and paramedic combined many times over.