Why being an Oiler fan is so f@#$-ing frustrating?
Two years ago the City of Champions was living up to its name. The Edmonton Eskimos had won the Grey Cup (Canada’s version of the Super Bowl) We had just been granted a lacrosse team (Edmonton Rush) and oh yeah the Oilers were just preparing for their run at Stanley. Life was sweet in E-Town and No sports fan could be happier. One year later the Eskimo’s came dead last in the CFL, the Rush came in dead last in the NLL and the Oilers franchise began to unravel. After these forgettable moments they made the city look like THE CITY OF FAILURES.
After coming one game short of the ultimate prize and securing respect from around the league as a destined free agent spot light. Edmonton became a place for tier 2 free agents once again. The Summer began with the long afformentioned Pronger Trade and after this occured it made Edmonton look like a joke when he opted out of the remaining 4 years of his contract. Next a press release from The Hockey News declared Edmonton as the second least desired place amongst current NHL players. This was another gut shot received by Oiler fans. Knowing that their favorite team may have to overpay just in order to become an option for an NHL player was something that all Edmontonians took personally knowing that their city is not well liked amongst free agents. Next came the Ryan Smyth contract talks. The Oilers organization often gets blasted for not giving up the 5ook extra that Smyth wanted however, if Smyth really wanted to stay here he would have taken the 5ook hit and that stupid airport scene would never have taken place. Now with Smyth being traded Edmonton’s stock has gone way down for giving up on its premier players like Ryan and lately their captain Jason Smith. This also tells free agents that no ones job is ever secure during their stay in Edmonton no matter how much the fans love them. No matter which employee you talk to Job Security is the most desirable attribute to a contract which is why the NTC ( No Trade Clause ) has become so vital in contract negotiations. The latest Nylander fiasco just proves all of the previous points and has even made Oiler supporters like myself doubt the capability of Edmonton luring these BIG NAME FREE AGENTS. Only time will tell whether Edmonton will ever achieve the City of Champions label again. As of now I still doubt that Edmonton will have the type of Stanley cup run that they had last year.