Bonsignore Citizens Brigade: Oilers @ Panthers

J'aime frapper des choses!

So let's just take a second and see where we are here. The Oilers are still without a handful of regulars, including their starting goalie and one of two legitimate top 6 forwards. Majority of the fans had come to the conclusion that this season is pretty much a lost cause and we should change our goal from making the playoffs, to landing a top 3 pick in the draft. And just as it looked like this plan would work out, and the Oilers would finally be able to draft a franchise player, they go out and win 2 games in a row, for the first time since 2006 or something. Fucking hell.

Now I'm not saying that our shot at Taylor or Tyler is completely lost, because believe me it's not. The Oilers are 2 points away from being the bottom of the totem pole in the West, 6 points out of 8th, and one point ahead of Philly for the final lottery slot. In simpler terms; They're still fucked. But isn't this what happens to us, every single year? We come into the season beaming with optimism and hope that this year will be the year that the team finally gets back on the rails and turns itself into a playoff team for years to come, the Oilers come out flying winning 4 or 5 of their first games, then proceed to shit the bed so badly around Christmas that the sale of nooses skyrockets 300% in the city of Edmonton. And then, to add insult to injury, they start playing awesome down the stretch, finishing somewhere between 9th-11th, and fuck themselves out of a high draft pick. FUCK PRIDE! Let's lose for the future!

I also love the paralyzingly fast pace in which sorrow turns to elation with one single win. Seriously, how fast did the Robert Nilsson bandwagon fill back up after the creamy goodness he doled out in Detroit? Have we not seen this song and dance before? Oiler fans are a lot like women living with domestic violence. Robert Nilsson has one good game, so immediately we go rushing back into his warm embrace, like nothing ever happened? Well I for one am not falling for it, and I'll keep my torch lit for when we all try and run him out of town again in a couple weeks. I understand how awesome it is for a sliver of light to shine through during craptacular times like this, but everyone needs to settle down and look at the bigger picture.



This team is not making the playoffs. Plain and simple. Hemsky, Khabibulin, Comrie, Grebeshkov, Pisani, Pouliot, etc are all still hurt. And while only a few of them are legitimate difference makers on any given night, that's still a huge fucking burden to over come, especially on an underskilled team like the Oilers.
And lets say, by some kind of insane miracle, the Oilers do manage to squeek into the playoffs by their short and curlies, can anyone anyone at all see them making it out of the first round? Anyone? Trying to get past the Blackhawks, Sharks or hell even the fucking Calgary Flames in the first round would be a ridiculous uphill battle. Watching your team in playoff hockey is fun as hell, but what's the point if you're just going to get beat out in four games? And then the Oilers end up with another 15-20 pick, who turns into yet another guy in a LONG list of 3rd and 4th line bubble players in the system. Fuck that.

So what do we do know? To tell you the truth I'm not 100 percent sure. I don't think they should just implode the entire team and start from scratch, since there is already a few nice building blocks to work with. But I also don't think they should just stand by and let the cards fall where they may. It needs to be some kind of combination of the two. I think it was Gregor that likened the Oilers situation to that of the Hurricanes a few years back. They got to the cup finals in 2002, then proceeded to immediately shit the bed. But in doing so they managed to draft their franchise player in Eric Staal. And they didn't have to completely blow their team up to do that. They kept old balls like Brind'Amour, Hedican, and Adams, brought in some guys starting to hit their prime with Cole, Williams and Commodore, and just built a solid line up all the way through. And we all know how well 2006 turned out for them, don't we. They didn't blow up their team, but they didn't sit idly by and let the team waste away while trying to plug a hole here or there. This is what the Oilers should be doing, and they should have started it at least 2 years ago.

I don't know, I sound like a broken record here. 4th losing season in a row, and outside of Eberle having an amazing season so far in the WHL and Gagner showing flashes of awesomeness there is nothing to show for it. If there was ever a time to throw a season away and pick up a stud draft pick, now would be the time. Trade away a few players that have some value (Gilbert, Nilsson, O'Sullivan) try and con someone into taking on Moreau's or Staio's contracts, and use these guys to stock up on picks or prospects. Anyone that thinks we're one or two trades away from being a playoff team is out of their fucking minds. If this remodeling is done properly, and we finally groom some of the talent we've drafted, this team could be back in the mix within 2 years or so.

In my perfect world the Oilers would play well like they did for the first two games of this road trip, but still find a way to lose by a goal. But for now I'll just be happy as long as we stay in the basement. Fuck pride. Go Taylor Hall!

The Oilers play the Panthers tonight, and, umm, do the Panthers still suck or what? Last time I saw them play they got into a shooting match against the Leafs. And they lost. So, I guess yeah, they are still shitty. Who knows. I guess we'll find out tonight.

jeanshorts prediction: Oilers 4 - Panthers 5

GOILERS!

IQWT

-jeanshorts