The Edmonton Oilers Bottom Out

[Daniel]

the issue is that edmonton is not surrounding their high draft picks with quality talent and their coaching has clearly been suspect in that there is no discernible team strategy for a defensive game.

 

sure chicago drafted kane and toews and keith and seabrook. they also traded/acquired sharp, oduya, hossa, etc.

 

Yeah, but how good is Chicago if the stars don't allign correctly, and instead of Kane and Toews, they have RNH and Yakupov.  Or if Chicago has the number 1 pick in 2006, and goes with Erik Johnson, who was Central Scouting's BPA at the time.

 

I can't speak to Edmonton's coaching or global philosophy, but I don't see any shrewd moves that were plausible that would have made them much better than they are.   

[Triumph]

Who have they passed up in the draft that would have made the team much better than it is?  I mean, I'm sure there were those later round gems that they have never seemed to get.  But ultimately, they've done pretty well with their first round picks, with perhaps the exception of Yakupov, who was still widely considered the best player in that draft.  They also did pretty well by signing Schultz, and look to be addressing the defense finally with drafting Nurse, and probably taking Eklbad if he's available.

 

In the end, I think it just comes down to bad luck in not having those number 1 picks in years where there was a real stud talent.  I guess you can say Hall has come pretty close to living up to the billing as a number 1 pick, but he's been hurt a lot.   

 

That's of course, the problem with tearing it all down.  Even if you end up taking the best player that is in fact available in a particular draft year, it's only as good as the draft class, which seems to fluctuate remarkably at the edges.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  And most of the teams that successfully rebuild don't seem to do so based on any great scouting insight.  At best, it just seems that you can avoid doing something very silly with your pick, like drafting Rick Dipietro. 

 

Maybe Buffalo has it right in stock piling a ton of picks.  If they get two relative diamonds in the rough with the picks they've traded for, in addition to the strong players that they should be getting by virtue of their own suckness, they might be in very good shape. 

 

Buffalo runs the risk of not having any good players once those picks become NHLers.  They should be trading some of those picks for NHL players, otherwise they could end up just like Edmonton.  

[Triumph]

Yeah, but how good is Chicago if the stars don't allign correctly, and instead of Kane and Toews, they have RNH and Yakupov.  Or if Chicago has the number 1 pick in 2006, and goes with Erik Johnson, who was Central Scouting's BPA at the time.

 

I can't speak to Edmonton's coaching or global philosophy, but I don't see any shrewd moves that were plausible that would have made them much better than they are.   

 

They traded Lubomir Visnovsky for Ryan Whitney.  Whitney is a horrible defenseman, Visnovsky could've won a Norris Trophy in Anaheim.  Ryan Whitney left for nothing.

 

They traded Kyle Brodziak for a 5th round pick.  Kyle Brodziak was a 3rd line center in Minnesota.  Why is this player not useful to Edmonton?

 

The list of moves they've made while getting basically nothing back are staggering - players who can play NHL hockey get moved out, players who can't get brought in.  It's why they are still in a total mess.  It's not about the draft picks at all.  It's about managing your team, and Edmonton is a complete failure in this regard.  It's why when people want Lou to be canned, I think about how Edmonton is run and wonder about how the next guy is going to do things.  Lou may be a lot of things, but he is rarely swindled in trades.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Triumph

[Daniel]

Buffalo runs the risk of not having any good players once those picks become NHLers.  They should be trading some of those picks for NHL players, otherwise they could end up just like Edmonton.  

 

I get it.  And they didn't go completely with acquiring all draft picks.  Chris Stewart is pretty nice player.  And they might be pretty well served by re-signing someone like Tallinder.  Sometimes though, good NHL players just aren't available for the assets that you have.

[Daniel]

They traded Lubomir Visnovsky for Ryan Whitney.  Whitney is a horrible defenseman, Visnovsky could've won a Norris Trophy in Anaheim.  Ryan Whitney left for nothing.

 

They traded Kyle Brodziak for a 5th round pick.  Kyle Brodziak was a 3rd line center in Minnesota.  Why is this player not useful to Edmonton?

 

The list of moves they've made while getting basically nothing back are staggering - players who can play NHL hockey get moved out, players who can't get brought in.  It's why they are still in a total mess.  It's not about the draft picks at all.  It's about managing your team, and Edmonton is a complete failure in this regard.  It's why when people want Lou to be canned, I think about how Edmonton is run and wonder about how the next guy is going to do things.  Lou may be a lot of things, but he is rarely swindled in trades.

 

I'm not really saying that Edmonton has been that well managed.  In fact, I'm more or less agreeing with you that blowing it up, or in the Devils case, bringing in a new GM to fundamentally change things, is a risky strategy, even if it turns out we do relatively well with the draft picks and even if the GM isn't Mike Milbury bad. 

 

That said, some of the criticisms from the link are a little unfair.  Hemsky and Smyth were impending UFAs, so you can't really expect to get anything better than picks or prospects in return.  (Although you could call it bad asset management in letting them get that far).  A lot of those guys were traded again, and not for much of a return.

[Daniel]

In bolded:  for me, the rebuild alarm goes off when a team bottoms out, Devils 2010-11-style, over the course of at least one full season (I say 'at least' because some teams might think a singular disastrous season might be a fluke), and the GM decides that he is no longer spending more money to augment a bad core that is either aging or simply run its course. 

 

Clearly, the Devils are not in this kind of position (big difference between being 5 points out of a playoff spot, as opposed to 15+ and never being a factor), but you do wonder what this core is going to be going forward:

 

Schneider (if he re-signs, and we don't really know what kind of playoff goalie he is yet)

Zajac

Henrique

Clowe (due to contract)

Greene

Merrill

Gelinas

Larsson

 

A lot of guys who are here now won't be much longer (especially all of the 30-somethings), which is why I don't have them listed .  Zids and Jagr could be gone this offseason.  Elias has two years left after this one...maybe he re-signs after that...too soon to tell, impossible to predict the future of late 30-somethings.  Zubrus also has two years after this one and is almost certain not to get re-signed.  Won't surprise me if Lou tries to move him this offseason.   

 

The big question is does this list look like the beginnings of a "you can build around this" kind of core.  If all of the defenseman pan out (Greene has quietly become a nice reliable vet, which is why I have him on the core list...I get the feeling Lou will keep him here), then you can argue that it does.  But some of the current forwards clearly have to go. 

 

One thing to keep in mind:  a LOT of the current contracts on the books come off within two years.  This is good, in that it won't be as hard for Lou (or whomever) to change this team up as it sometimes feels: 

 

UFAs in 2014:  Jagr, Zids, Carter, Bernier, Gionta, Fayne, Brodeur   RFAs:  Josefson, Gelinas

UFAs in 2015:  Schneider, Ryder, Brunner, Sestito, Salvador, Greene, Harrold  

 

It's funny, if you look at the forwards that figure to be around for a while (most of whom you've listed, although I think Elias has a lot more left in the tank than people give him credit for, I'll also take Lou and Jagr at their word that he'll be back at least next year), it's not all that different from what the Rangers had at forward anyway in getting the ECF in 2012, and having a very good regular season to boot.  We're supposed to have a goalie that's pretty much as good as Lunqvist, and a defense corps that's as good top to bottom as what the Rangers had that year. 

 

I know we want all want to go back to the early 2000s where it was Cup or bust, but there has to be some degree of realism when it comes to saying whether the team has been successful. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

It's funny, if you look at the forwards that figure to be around for a while (most of whom you've listed, although I think Elias has a lot more left in the tank than people give him credit for, I'll also take Lou and Jagr at their word that he'll be back at least next year), it's not all that different from what the Rangers had at forward anyway in getting the ECF in 2012, and having a very good regular season to boot.  We're supposed to have a goalie that's pretty much as good as Lunqvist, and a defense corps that's as good top to bottom as what the Rangers had that year. 

 

I know we want all want to go back to the early 2000s where it was Cup or bust, but there has to be some degree of realism when it comes to saying whether the team has been successful. 

 

I'm sure the Devils will love it if Boucher soon becomes part of that core, to the tune of 25-30 goals by next season (would be awesome) or the season after (better chance of this).  I can't make him a part of anything until he sticks for a full season though and produces. 

 

Jagr went on record yesterday basically saying that if the Devils don't make the playoffs this year, he's probably not sticking around.  That of course can change if Lou can convince him that changes are coming, and that he's going to unload some of the deadwood.  The great news is that only Zajac, Henrique, and Clowe are signed long-term (beyond 2016).  There's some flexibility here.   

[Daniel]

I'm sure the Devils will love it if Boucher soon becomes part of that core, to the tune of 25-30 goals by next season (would be awesome) or the season after (better chance of this). I can't make him a part of anything until he sticks for a full season though and produces.

Jagr went on record yesterday basically saying that if the Devils don't make the playoffs this year, he's probably not sticking around. That of course can change if Lou can convince him that changes are coming, and that he's going to unload some of the deadwood. The great news is that only Zajac, Henrique, and Clowe are signed long-term (beyond 2016). There's some flexibility here.

Was not aware of Jagr's statements yesterday. Very scary if that's the way it turns out.

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[devilsrule33]

I'm sure the Devils will love it if Boucher soon becomes part of that core, to the tune of 25-30 goals by next season (would be awesome) or the season after (better chance of this).  I can't make him a part of anything until he sticks for a full season though and produces. 

 

Jagr went on record yesterday basically saying that if the Devils don't make the playoffs this year, he's probably not sticking around.  That of course can change if Lou can convince him that changes are coming, and that he's going to unload some of the deadwood.  The great news is that only Zajac, Henrique, and Clowe are signed long-term (beyond 2016).  There's some flexibility here.   

 

That's some impressive back-peddling. I warned people not to take what Jagr said earlier and run with it, or they'd only be disappointed with the result and probably end up booing him next year. Didn't help that the media took his wanting to come back line and ran wild with it.

 

Jagr will be 43 next season. He should chose wisely where he wants to play. If he wants to win, then he probably shouldn't be back with the Devils. The man should be a supporting piece right now and not a player the team heavily relies on every night to be their best offensive weapon.

[Neb00rs]

I'll expand on what I said about Jagr in the other thread by adding that people need to stop fawning over the players who know how to tell you what you want to hear and start respecting the players who are just honest. It's a lot harder to get hurt that way.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

That's some impressive back-peddling. I warned people not to take what Jagr said earlier and run with it, or they'd only be disappointed with the result and probably end up booing him next year. Didn't help that the media took his wanting to come back line and ran wild with it.

 

Jagr will be 43 next season. He should chose wisely where he wants to play. If he wants to win, then he probably shouldn't be back with the Devils. The man should be a supporting piece right now and not a player the team heavily relies on every night to be their best offensive weapon.

 

Agree, Jagr doesn't owe the Devils anything and if he doesn't think he can win here (and if things remain roughly status quo, I can understand where he's coming from), it's pretty hard to get on him, especially since it's not like he's on a two-year deal and saying, "They'd better trade me if we don't make the playoffs."  The ball is 100% in his court. 

[NJDevs26]

It's hilarious anyone believed Jagr in the first place since he's a career merc.  Although if he wanted to play on a winner so badly he shouldn't have made a public spectacle over not wanting to be traded when the Devils were a few points out of a spot.

[Neb00rs]

I mean I'm not really angry at Jagr. The secret for me was that I just never became to attached, he's only been here for a few months. The minute he started saying good things about NJ, I said to myself "okay, let's see what you have to say at game 75." I have no issue here. Jagr is being Jagr; he gave us more than we could ever ask for out of him. If he wants to move on, I will salute his performance here and let him slip my mind.

[DJ Eco]

+1

link to save others from googling

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24497448/video-oilers-fan-throws-jersey-on-ice-ben-scrivens-throws-it-back

 

WHOA, what a response haha... Good for him, and spoken like a true fan.

[CHIP72]

This thread is somewhat ironic considering the Devils franchise itself is an excellent example of both a rebuild (or more accurately, a build) not working and also rebuild done right.  Back in their nomadic days (i.e. the two years in Kansas City, the six years in Denver, and the first 2-3 years in north Jersey), the Scouts/Rockies/Devils franchise was perpetually looking to make a quick fix to acquire depth at the expense of keeping young, high end talent.  They'd trade quality for quantity, and also trade future draft choices (which usually ended up being very high picks) for solid but unspectacular current players.  Not coincidentally, during the franchise's first 10-11 years of existence, they usually had average-aged teams but were at best mediocre and often bad, never finishing the season with more than 59 points.  Then in about 1985 (a couple years before Lou Lamoriello joined the franchise), the Devils decided they were going to build with young players, focus more on scouting, and take some lumps but find out who could play, who couldn't play, and who could be useful trade assets.  That focus increased when Lamoriello came in.  They still weren't very good for a few more years, but they showed gradual improvement and finally had their first winning season in 1988 and after taking a step back in 1989, began their run of being consistently good to really good every year for two decades in 1990.  Three of those young 1980s players who suffered through the Devils' growing pains (Ken Daneyko, John MacLean, and Bruce Driver) were still there and contributed to the Stanley Cup win in 1995.

 

IMO, the big things the Devils need to do are 1) get younger in general and 2) make sure the older players on the team are character guys with at least moderate ability.  IMO, the Devils are doing #2 but aren't doing #1 enough.  A rebuild doesn't automatically mean you get rid of every veteran, but it does involve playing some younger guys and seeing what they can and cannot do.

[Triumph]

I'm not really saying that Edmonton has been that well managed.  In fact, I'm more or less agreeing with you that blowing it up, or in the Devils case, bringing in a new GM to fundamentally change things, is a risky strategy, even if it turns out we do relatively well with the draft picks and even if the GM isn't Mike Milbury bad. 

 

That said, some of the criticisms from the link are a little unfair.  Hemsky and Smyth were impending UFAs, so you can't really expect to get anything better than picks or prospects in return.  (Although you could call it bad asset management in letting them get that far).  A lot of those guys were traded again, and not for much of a return.

 

Smyth was coming off back to back 30 goal seasons and he was traded for 2 prospects and a 1st round pick in a draft considered weak - Ryan O'Marra, who had pedestrian OHL numbers, and Robert Nilsson, a guy who was in his 4th year after having been drafted and doing okay.  That's simply a trade you can't make - you have to get something better back for a player like that.  Rumor around the league was that most teams had no idea Smyth was available.

[HellOnICE]

I just want to know if there's a way Lou can take advantage of their situation for a guy like Eberle.

[Devilsfan118]

I just want to know if there's a way Lou can take advantage of their situation for a guy like Eberle.

It'd almost certainly cost Larsson. Worth it?

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[Colorado Rockies 1976]

CHIP72, one thing you're leaving out is that the Scouts/Rockies not only kept changing hands (John McMullen became Owner #5 of this franchise...the Rockies were sold twice while still in Denver), but the economy in both Kansas City AND Denver was not good at the time the Scouts and Rockies were playing there.  The unsettled ownerships led to the "gameplan" (or what passed for one) changing constantly.  It's sad in ways, because the Rockies did have some good players, many of whom actually loved playing in Colorado and really wanted to improve the team's fortunes, but the front office made some absolutely awful moves.  The worst was trading their 1983 first-round pick to the Islanders in 1981 for Dave Cameron and Bob Lorimer, neither of whom merited that kind of return.  That first-rounder became Pat LaFontaine. 

 

Anyway, with the ownership situation in constant flux until the franchise became the Devils, the team never really stood a chance.  I've mentioned before how cheap the Rockies' different owners often were:  uniforms with screen-printed logos and names/numbers, rented school buses occasionally used for transportation, a gutted trailer used for a locker and equipment room. 

 

The focus actually changed right when the Devils arrived, in that they decided they were going to build through the draft and bring in warm bodies for the NHL team that would slowly be replaced as young kids were ready to step in.  Everyone associated with the Devils at that time knew it was going to be ugly for a while (Hector Marini, one of those "warm bodies", basically said something along the lines of "They were looking at everyone's 24th and 25th players.  You'd think a team full of guys like that wouldn't be very good.  Well, we weren't."). 

 

The one guy who really suffered through it all, through no fault of his own, was Chico Resch.  He had been a good to very good goalie for the Isles, but had become expendable when Billy Smith, who he had split time with during the regular season for several seasons, became the man during the 1979-80 Stanley Cup run.  He was pulled off the Islander team bus with rookie Steve Tambellini in 1981, just minutes before the trade deadline, and informed that he had been dealt to the Rockies (young Tambellini immediately burst into tears upon hearing the news).  Chico played eight games with the Rockies as they finished out their season, but only needed a couple to learn what everyone else knew:  the team stunk something fierce.  He was then fed a load of crap about how the franchise was both committed to improving the on-ice product AND keeping the team in Colorado, which led him to sign a multi-year deal...less than a year later, the team was not only in a different state, but was clearly going to take slow and steady baby steps toward on-ice improvement...not exactly a welcome approach to a 34-year-old goaltender's eyes.  After his first season in NJ, he thought about demanding a trade, but to his credit (and this is why I'll always have tremendous respect for him), he decided to stick it out and be a mentor to the kids that were slowly coming up through the system...playing behind some truly god-awful teams destroyed his career numbers (he might have come close to 300 career wins if he wasn't stuck on the Devils).  That guy knew every season he was with the Devils, his team had NO chance to get to the playoffs, but he never bitched about it or complained, and tried to be as positive of an influence as possible.  He played a very important role in the Rockies'/Devils' transition from yearly train wreck to team worthy of respect.

[NJDEVS1730]

It'd almost certainly cost Larsson. Worth it?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

You mean the Larsson that our dumb-@ss coach hasn't played since the beginning of the season? Fine with me....people are starting to forget we have him anyways...

[Devilsfan118]

The one guy who really suffered through it all, through no fault of his own, was Chico Resch.  He had been a good to very good goalie for the Isles, but had become expendable when Billy Smith, who he had split time with during the regular season for several seasons, became the man during the 1979-80 Stanley Cup run.  He was pulled off the Islander team bus with rookie Steve Tambellini in 1981, just minutes before the trade deadline, and informed that he had been dealt to the Rockies (young Tambellini immediately burst into tears upon hearing the news).  Chico played eight games with the Rockies as they finished out their season, but only needed a couple to learn what everyone else knew:  the team stunk something fierce.  He was then fed a load of crap about how the franchise was both committed to improving the on-ice product AND keeping the team in Colorado, which led him to sign a multi-year deal...less than a year later, the team was not only in a different state, but was clearly going to take slow and steady baby steps toward on-ice improvement...not exactly a welcome approach to a 34-year-old goaltender's eyes.  After his first season in NJ, he thought about demanding a trade, but to his credit (and this is why I'll always have tremendous respect for him), he decided to stick it out and be a mentor to the kids that were slowly coming up through the system...playing behind some truly god-awful teams destroyed his career numbers (he might have come close to 300 career wins if he wasn't stuck on the Devils).  That guy knew every season he was with the Devils, his team had NO chance to get to the playoffs, but he never bitched about it or complained, and tried to be as positive of an influence as possible.  He played a very important role in the Rockies'/Devils' transition from yearly train wreck to team worthy of respect.

 

I love posts like these about the Devils' history..it's admittedly before my time, and I really don't know much Devils history pre-Marty except for a few given moments.

 

Respect for Chico just grew, glad the Devils have taken care of him since his retirement.  It sounds like he's deserved at least what he's gotten.

[AEWHistory]

A very big +1

For years Resch was my favorite player and, in many ways, still is. It is easy to love uber talented players on winning teams and so on. But Resch was a good goalie working hard for a down franchise and displayed all the heart in the world. He genuinely inspired me as a kid. At the time I was playing baseball on a team even worse than the Devils ever were. We went 7-71 in three seasons. No, that's not a typo. Some of the other kids quit, asked to go to other teams, whatever. People like Chico made me stick it out and I'm glad I did, but that was a rough three years for a little kid.

As an aside, not long after the Devils got to Jersey the NHL held the all star game here in NJ, I suppose to help give the franchise a boost. Anyway, I remember thinking that we hardly had anyone who could make the "all star" team but we ended up with Resch and, I think, Cirella on the team that year. So I recorded the All Star game that year. I watched it a bunch of times I was so happy to see my team's players being represented alongside the NHL's best in our arena! I was just a proud little kid. My mom thought I was crazy tho. She kept saying, "Why are you watching this again, you've already seen the game?" I'd just roll my eyes, she didn't understand. Somewhere I might still have that tape. I gotta go find it....

CHIP72, one thing you're leaving out is that the Scouts/Rockies not only kept changing hands (John McMullen became Owner #5 of this franchise...the Rockies were sold twice while still in Denver), but the economy in both Kansas City AND Denver was not good at the time the Scouts and Rockies were playing there. The unsettled ownerships led to the "gameplan" (or what passed for one) changing constantly. It's sad in ways, because the Rockies did have some good players, many of whom actually loved playing in Colorado and really wanted to improve the team's fortunes, but the front office made some absolutely awful moves. The worst was trading their 1983 first-round pick to the Islanders in 1981 for Dave Cameron and Bob Lorimer, neither of whom merited that kind of return. That first-rounder became Pat LaFontaine.

Anyway, with the ownership situation in constant flux until the franchise became the Devils, the team never really stood a chance. I've mentioned before how cheap the Rockies' different owners often were: uniforms with screen-printed logos and names/numbers, rented school buses occasionally used for transportation, a gutted trailer used for a locker and equipment room.

The focus actually changed right when the Devils arrived, in that they decided they were going to build through the draft and bring in warm bodies for the NHL team that would slowly be replaced as young kids were ready to step in. Everyone associated with the Devils at that time knew it was going to be ugly for a while (Hector Marini, one of those "warm bodies", basically said something along the lines of "They were looking at everyone's 24th and 25th players. You'd think a team full of guys like that wouldn't be very good. Well, we weren't.").

The one guy who really suffered through it all, through no fault of his own, was Chico Resch. He had been a good to very good goalie for the Isles, but had become expendable when Billy Smith, who he had split time with during the regular season for several seasons, became the man during the 1979-80 Stanley Cup run. He was pulled off the Islander team bus with rookie Steve Tambellini in 1981, just minutes before the trade deadline, and informed that he had been dealt to the Rockies (young Tambellini immediately burst into tears upon hearing the news). Chico played eight games with the Rockies as they finished out their season, but only needed a couple to learn what everyone else knew: the team stunk something fierce. He was then fed a load of crap about how the franchise was both committed to improving the on-ice product AND keeping the team in Colorado, which led him to sign a multi-year deal...less than a year later, the team was not only in a different state, but was clearly going to take slow and steady baby steps toward on-ice improvement...not exactly a welcome approach to a 34-year-old goaltender's eyes. After his first season in NJ, he thought about demanding a trade, but to his credit (and this is why I'll always have tremendous respect for him), he decided to stick it out and be a mentor to the kids that were slowly coming up through the system...playing behind some truly god-awful teams destroyed his career numbers (he might have come close to 300 career wins if he wasn't stuck on the Devils). That guy knew every season he was with the Devils, his team had NO chance to get to the playoffs, but he never bitched about it or complained, and tried to be as positive of an influence as possible. He played a very important role in the Rockies'/Devils' transition from yearly train wreck to team worthy of respect.

Edited March 25, 2014 by AEWHistory

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

A very big +1

For years Resch was my favorite player and, in many ways, still is. It is easy to love uber talented players on winning teams and so on. But Resch was a good goalie working hard for a down franchise and displayed all the heart in the world. He genuinely inspired me as a kid. At the time I was playing baseball on a team even worse than the Devils ever were. We went 7-71 in three seasons. No, that's not a typo. Some of the other kids quit, asked to go to other teams, whatever. People like Chico made me stick it out and I'm glad I did, but that was a rough three years for a little kid.

As an aside, not long after the Devils got to Jersey the NHL held the all star game here in NJ, I suppose to help give the franchise a boost. Anyway, I remember thinking that we hardly had anyone who could make the "all star" team but we ended up with Resch and, I think, Cirella on the team that year. So I recorded the All Star game that year. I watched it a bunch of times I was so happy to see my team's players being represented alongside the NHL's best in our arena! I was just a proud little kid. My mom thought I was crazy tho. She kept saying, "Why are you watching this again, you've already seen the game?" I'd just roll my eyes, she didn't understand. Somewhere I might still have that tape. I gotta go find it....

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2014/01/16/devils/16442/

 

It was good to see Devils broadcaster Glenn “Chico” Resch at the Avalanche morning skate today, prepping for tonight’s Avalanche-Devils game. And when he was talking with Patrick Roy, it struck me that I was looking at the top goalies in each of Denver’s two stints in the NHL.

Resch was more than a goalie, too, in his little over a year of minding the net for the Colorado Rockies. He was a tremendous ambassador for the beleaguered team and the game, essentially acting as their public face and player spokesman during the bizarre final season the team was here before it was moved to New Jersey in 1982 and became the Devils.

 

I have a DVD of a Rockies-Blues game from January 1982 (Rockies actually won 7-1 in Denver).  Chico came on during the second intermission, though his interview had clearly been taped before the game.  He couldn't have been more of a stand-up guy, trying to sound positive and upbeat, saying that for the team to have a chance to win, it would all have to start with him, even though he knew Ken Dryden couldn't have done much with the team Chico was playing behind.  He also said that there was nothing they could do about the constant rumors involving the franchise moving (it was becoming more and more clear that the franchise was done in Colorado...the move to NJ was less than five months away, though throughout the broadcast, NJ was never mentioned by name), and that to feel sorry for themselves (especially when they were all making pretty decent money) was pointless.  But not once in that interview did he criticize any of his teammates or the team's play, his coach, the ownership, or throw anyone under the bus.   

[SterioDesign]

The Oilers and Devils are so different, they have the assets and got the shot at players that could make a difference but they have such a bad system and are so badly balanced that they are not doing any better.

 

The Oilers are simply badly managed, can't even remember how they got so bad but their rebuild was also bad. You don't go after a guy like Perron when you already have like 5 players like that.

 

For us, what killed us is our drafting in the last 10 years + losing so much top talent for nothing. We have a system and everything down but we're lacking skills and assets to make anything happen at this point.

 

It's like having Michael Schumacher racing with a golf cart VS a 6 years old driving a Ferrari... 

[Marshall]

The Oilers and Devils are so different, they have the assets and got the shot at players that could make a difference but they have such a bad system and are so badly balanced that they are not doing any better.

 

The Oilers are simply badly managed, can't even remember how they got so bad but their rebuild was also bad. You don't go after a guy like Perron when you already have like 5 players like that.

 

For us, what killed us is our drafting in the last 10 years + losing so much top talent for nothing. We have a system and everything down but we're lacking skills and assets to make anything happen at this point.

 

It's like having Michael Schumacher racing with a golf cart VS a 6 years old driving a Ferrari... 

 

Getting Perron is still a win for them, they gave up very little and he's made one of their more coveted players expendable.