“Joke of a Franchise, That’s What They Are”

The national media pressure is starting to build on the Edmonton Oilers. Bruce Arthur of TSN and the Toronto Star had some harsh words about the franchise in regards to Connor McDavid on a radio hit on TSN 1050 Wednesday afternoon.

Here’s what Arthur had to say regarding McDavid playing for the Oil, who are looking more and more likely to be a non-playoff team for the third time in four seasons since selecting McDavid.

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McDavid, in my humble opinion, is the best player in the NHL right now. He is the most exciting player, without a shred of doubt, and is an absolute difference maker in this league.

I’m only 24, so really the only generational players I have seen are Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and McDavid. All three players are different in how they dominate the game, and I feel comfortable in saying that no one combines speed and skill like McDavid does. Crosby does it his way, Ovechkin does it his way, and McDavid does it his way. In their own rights, they are joys to watch.

I’ve never seen a player like McDavid when it comes to his skills, and I remember just how giddy I was that night junior year of college when the Oiler logo was shown with the gold background indicating that they won the right to draft this generational talent.

I can vividly remember thinking, in that moment, that there was no way the bad times could possibly continue. Winning was coming, and it likely was coming fast. There was absolutely, positively no way anyone could screw this up.

Arthur’s final few words pierce the heart, if we are being honest. It’s not because he’s thrashing the Oil, no, it’s because his words are true. His words hurt so badly because the Oilers’ management team has botched things so badly since that fateful day in South Florida when they called his name.

McDavid isn’t a quitter, hell he’s gonna go down with the ship if it comes to that, and everyone should be thankful for just that.

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I’m glad this is being said by someone outside of the Edmonton market. All we’ve heard since the day a certain trade happened was that if you question moves or are ‘negative’ that you “Aren’t a real fan and should go root for someone else.” Well, I now ask that faction of the fanbase if they still feel that way.

Peter Chiarelli’s ineptness is being seen in the 30 other NHL markets. He’s the butt of every hockey joke in the Boston market, and radio personalities in Boston are begging Don Sweeney to call Chiarelli so they can “Be on the other side of a deal with that clown for once.”

McDavid is the best player in the world, and when you have that player along with another top-15 scorer in the league (Leon Draisaitl) then your window for competing should be wide open. In Edmonton? Four years in and the window is sealed shut. Say what you will, but Peter Chiarelli is wasting some damn productive years from McDavid screwing around with trying to recreate the 2011 Boston Bruins in a league that has changed quite a bit since that June.

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This shouldn’t be seen as a shot at the city of Edmonton, although I’m sure it will be. Unless he’s going to Montreal or Toronto, McDavid in Canada is bad for the league in a business sense. Why is that? He’s playing far less games in the States and will be on national TV far less in America too. Of course, the Oilers have been featured more on NBC’s slate, but most games don’t start until 9:00 pm in the east. Kind of tough to market McDavid when that is the case.

That’s not an Oilers problem, however. What is an Oilers problem is that it’s kind of hard to showcase the team when they are struggling to reach 80 points in a given season. Forget making the playoffs, the Oil could be in tough to eclipse the 80 point mark for the third time in four seasons.

Of course, it is the last sentence that grabs the headline in this piece.

“And then it’s the fact that he’s in this joke of a franchise, and that’s what they are, they’re a joke” 

If that doesn’t piss you the hell off as a fan or anyone associated with the team, then I’m not sure what to say. Almost ten years ago Kevin Lowe looked into a camera on the first episode of “Oil Change” and said how much it sucks to be the butt of jokes and how it drives the team to improve. Nothing has changed.

Missing the playoffs this year would mean 12 non-playoff campaigns in 13 seasons, three seasons out of the playoffs and three out of four years with a losing record since drafting McDavid. It’s just unacceptable and it isn’t good enough.

The Oil are lucky they have such great fans, because quite honestly this team would have sunk and relocated years ago if not for the loyalty of this fanbase. I can’t think of another professional sports team in North America that is so bad so consistently yet fills the building every night and got a brand new arena.

The Oil are arguably the worst team in the salary cap era and have somehow found themselves stuck in the mud in the fourth season with a generational talent. It seemed impossible on that Saturday night in April back in 2015 to screw this up, yet the Oilers have done it beyond our wildest imagination. The other 30 markets aren’t just laughing at you anymore, Mr. Katz, they are all starting to get pissed off, just like a large portion of your fanbase is.

Be careful, because media on a local and national scale are no longer afraid to question this organization’s inept ways.