The pain of the Edmonton Oilers
At one time, the small city of Edmonton in the western corner of Canada was the epicenter of hockey. The Edmonton Oilers had put together a collection of talent which could only be dreamed of, yet somehow became reality. Wayne Gretzky was the crown jewel, with Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, Kevin Lowe and others surrounding him. Even more amazing, they were all in their primes.
In those glory days, Edmonton won five Stanley Cups between 1984-1990. It was a run of mythic proportions which ultimately saw its end because of the short arms and deep pockets of then-owner Peter Pocklington. The franchise went through 15 years of inconsistent play following the dynasty before making a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006 as an eighth seed, only to lose in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. Who could have guessed the Game 7 loss would be the last time the Oilers would make the postseason to date?
Despite earning the top pick in three consecutive drafts from 2010-12, Edmonton is still in contention for the National Hockey League’s worst record this season. The Oilers are 7-19-6 and sitting last in the Western Conference with 20 points, only one better than Carolina but with two more games played. Edmonton’s goal differential is a league-worst -40, with a staggering 106 goals allowed, also an NHL-worst.
To put the horrific play into proper context, the Oilers are a 500-1 bet to win the Stanley Cup, per Vegas Insider. The next highest odds belong to the Buffalo Sabres, Arizona Coyotes and Carolina Hurricanes, penciled in at 300-1
With the three aforementioned first-overall selections, Edmonton landed forwards Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov. The trio has produced somewhat, but not to expectations. Nugent-Hopkins is yet to crack the 20-goal barrier in a season and could fail to do so again with seven in 29 games this year. Yakupov is only 21 years old, but his play has been spotty. Yakupov is a -50 in 142 career games and has just eight points in 31 games this season. Hall has been the best of the bunch, notching over a point per game in each of the last two seasons. Hall, an Alberta native, is one bright spot for Edmonton to build around.
This week, the Oilers fired head coach Dallas Eakins. Eakins was in his second season and couldn’t get anything going with the group general manager Craig MacTavish provided him. MacTavish gave his reasoning for the firing, per the Associated Press.
“I had no real good reason to do this outside of performance,” MacTavish said of Eakins’ dismissal. “That’s the bottom line that we’re all judged by, the performance level of the hockey club and certainly the record.”
In the interim, Todd Nelson will be Edmonton’s head coach once he arrives from the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League. Nelson will also have a tough time winning, mostly because the roster is adorned with small forwards and poor defensemen. Until MacTavish, who has been general manager since 2013, brings in some talent, no coach has much hope.
The Oilers are a forgotten franchise these days. The banners of cups and numbers have gathered dust in the morgue that is Rexall Place. One day, the franchise will once again rise to prominence. Until then, the cloth draped from the rafters is the only image of glory for fans who deserve better.
