I Find Your Lack Of Effort Disturbing

So I’ll admit, I’m a little geeky when it comes to my movie choices, I’m a huge Star Wars guy. Naturally, when I sat down to think about Edmonton’s lack of effort and urgency this season, one line came to my mind. I find the Edmonton Oilers’ lack of effort disturbing.

The Edmonton Oilers are 11-15-2 and tomorrow night open a back-to-back set that will see them play Montreal before heading to Toronto. On top of that, the Oilers will be in Columbus on Tuesday night to finish the trip. In all likelihood, the team will win at least one game on this trip, but 0-3-0 is not out of the realm of possibility.

Sure, the Oilers aren’t a good enough team this season and that falls on the GM. The coach gets some blame too, he’s done an awful job with this group, but the players don’t get off without any kind of blame in this situation. The team’s lack of effort, lack of urgency and desperation is, quite frankly, alarming.

Edmonton had a huge win on Saturday in Calgary, it looked like a game they could really build off of. The follow up? The Oilers simply didn’t show up against Philadelphia on Wednesday night. They slept through the first two periods and by the time they got going, they were down two goals late in the hockey game. Game over, another loss and we are right back to where we began.

This isn’t a new thing for Edmonton either. Beat Detroit 6-2? Lose 3-1 in Buffalo the next time out. Beat Boston 4-2? Beat Arizona 3-2 in overtime next time out but play TERRIBLE hockey for a good 50 minutes. Beat Calgary 7-5? Lose to Philly 4-2 next time out.

Is it a lack of consistency? Sure, that’s part of it, the Oilers can’t make plays on a consistent basis. Is it a lack of talent? To a degree yes it is, Edmonton simply doesn’t have enough NHL defenders or NHL wingers to compete on a nightly basis. Is it the team’s effort and urgency? Yes, that is absolutely a major part of it too.

It doesn’t take talent to show up to the rink every single night and to put forth a good effort. It doesn’t take talent to be ready for the opening puck drop and to not sleep walk through the first period every night. It doesn’t take talent to show up every game and not put in a stinker every third game like clock work.

See, a major problem with the Oilers is this team appears to think things will be handed to them. They think they have enough talent to show up, play one period and walk away with two points. That isn’t going to cut it in this league, especially when every team you play is determined not to let Connor McDavid embarrass them.

Effort is so important in today’s NHL. Take a look at the Vegas Golden Knights. That roster really isn’t very good and it is a team that should easily be in the bottom third of the NHL standings. Instead? Vegas is locked inside the top-three in the Pacific division and will be competing for a playoff spot for a lot longer than Edmonton will be. That’s a team that brings it every single night and works hard every night.

It’s ironic, really. Certain fans and media members will tell you that Edmonton’s effort problems were fixed the second Taylor Hall was shipped out. WRONG. This team is once again a mess when it comes to effort, and we’ve heard some rumblings that the locker room is a complete and utter mess right now as well. But that Taylor Hall, he’s a bad egg! Watch out for him!

Edmonton’s leadership group has failed in a big way this season. The team can’t compete on a nightly basis and they appear content to just show up more often than not. There is no urgency with this team, no desperation. Against the Flyers on Wednesday, the team honestly looked like they didn’t want to be there. It’s unacceptable.

Wanna know why the Oilers are where they are? The team’s fanbase has a bigger sense of urgency and more desperation than the players appear to. That’s a horrible sign, and it shows that this team is mentally weak and has a major leadership issue.

If you can’t get pumped up to play in the NHL every night, if you can’t look at the standings and get a sense of urgency right now, well I really don’t know what to tell you.

These players have failed the organization in a big way this season. Failing to show up for games is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the fans and to the logo on their chests. It’s sad, really. I thought we were well past these days.