And now, a word from Mr. Adams

One of the best phrases in the Galaxy

I feel rather uncomfortable posting this, because I have my own doubts.  Yet I feel compelled to because I'm partly a contrarian out of nature, partly because I see merit in these points.

The 2000-2001 Penguins, with Jaromir Jagr, Alex Kovalev, Martin Straka, Robert Lang made it into the Eastern Conference Finals after a 96-point campaign.  Also chipping in for a stunning 76 points in 43 games was the Magnificent One, who hadn't played pro hockey in 3 and a half years.  I may be the only Edmontonian who believes Mario was better than Wayne, but that, like my appreciation for Brian Burke, is for another day.

The following season, they lost some key players - notably Jagr and Straka - and bombed to 69 points.  The year after was worse, with 65, despite a longer season from Mario (67 games, up from 24 in '01-'02.)  In 2003-2004 the Penguins were an unmitigated disaster, managing only 58 points - and remember, this entire discussion is the overtime loss era (though not yet shootout.)

With 2004-2005 a write-off due to the lockout, the Penguins got to draft Sidney Crosby.

In 2005-2006, Crosby's rookie campaign, he managed 39 goals and 63 assists.  Also on his team were Sergei Gonchar (58 points), and some of the last truly productive years for Mark Recchi (57 points in just 64 games) and John LeClair (51), along with an in-his-prime Ryan Malone and a great rookie campaign from Colby Armstrong.

The Pens were weak between the pipes, with rookie Marc-Andre Fleury shouldering the burden for 50 games and being the best option with a .898 save percentage and 3.25GAA.  Bad as those numbers were, they were by far the best on the Pens.  Somehow, he isn't ruined by that experience.

So this team, with some good offensive output, decent defenders, and shaky goaltending... repeated its 2003-2004 record, with just 58 points again.

The Pens, over four years, drafted first overall twice (Crosby and Fleury) and second overall twice (Malkin and Staal.)  Crosby is a generational talent.  We may not see another like him.  Malkin is "just" a superstar.  Fleury is good, he might even become great, but his name doesn't ring out with Roy, Brodeur, and Hasek - and probably never will.  Jordan Staal is Jordan Staal, sort of a unique entity at this point with no parallels I can come up with.  Is he overpaid?  Under-appreciated?    Limited by his role?

To get all that, the Pens went through 4 miserable years, seeing one superstar, one star, and one legend leave the team or even the game.

Should we, as Oilers fans, be in a panic over our scenario?  What were Pittsburgh fans thinking in January of 2006?

Old Age and Treachery

There are two threads to last night's loss to the Red Wings.

The first is best explained by the above.

The Red Wings got away with murder on the ice.  When you're a ref in the corner, looking down behind the net, and right in front of you is 6'4, 220lb Jonathan Ericsson, getting up off Hall after "falling" on him after a check, and that same Ericsson has an arm draped around Hall's neck and his hand is on his face and he is very reluctant to let go despite the puck being 20 feet from Hall... If you're the referee in that situation, I hope to God that you have some sort of explanation when Steve Tambellini calls the league office and shows them the video of that.

The Red Wings set pick plays and they mugged the Oilers.  I don't believe in conspiracy theories or anything like that, though I do believe in human nature.  It could be that the refs made mistakes.  Consistently.  In favor of the Wings.  Given our 5-on-3, I don't quite believe that.  More than likely, the Wings are just a sneaky, treacherous, old team that knows all the tricks in the book and exactly what they can get away with.

The other thread of discussion is the Oilers' seventh consecutive loss.  Yes, it was ugly.  So were, in fact, more than a few losses in this stretch.

But I don't despair.  I'd love to see Tambellini trade the first overall pick for a proven elite defenceman.  I make no secret of that.  I also know, however, how good Stu MacGregor is at his job and that while we have a ton of prospects in the system, few are centres, non project as first line centres, and after Marincin and Petry the defensive pipeline is thin.

In the meantime, despite being down 3-1 at the start of the third, the Oilers fought back yet again.  If not for a flukey goal, this could have gone into overtime, or it could have been 4-3 on the Helm insurance marker (which may or may not have happened if not for the bounce off Smid's skate.)

Bad teams, they don't fight back.  Last year, we had a really bad team.  We've had bad teams since 2006-2007, so we should be familiar with them and see the difference.  The Oilers were soundly thrashed in the first period, as usual, and had a strong third - almost as usual.

They have fight, they have talent, and they're explosive.  You can never count this team out.  All this tells us that they have potential and the times when they do get it all together - rare as those have been lately - this can be a good team.  It would be better with some obvious upgrades (puck-mover for the third pairing, a couple of centres), but even with this roster, if they manage to finish on a good note this season, I'd expect a run at a playoff spot next year.

Patience, grasshopper.

Eberle's Ankle

The new Captain Canada, a worthy successor to Smytty

Jordan Eberle is one of the three (four? let's ask Omark) star rookies on the team and one of the better two-way players we have.  After the injuries to Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Whitney, the loss of Eberle was terribly demoralizing to myself as a fan.  Fortunately, there may be good news.  Dan Tencer is tweeting that Jordan is out of the boot cast and that "the ankle feels great".

I don't see anyone from the AHL being able to replace Eberle.  Omark may have the offensive talents - indeed more than Eberle - but nobody plays that kind of two-way game.  Jordan is an uncanny player.

I remember watching him at the World Juniors of course, but in particular he stood out at rookie camp this year. He had this knack of being in the right place at the right time.  There were many moments where the play would come to Jordan Eberle, rather than the opposite.  I called it Gretzky-lite and I stand by it.

What I didn't see at the Juniors or at training camp was Eberle's speed.  He was clearly faster at camp than he was in the WHL, but he is now a quick player by NHL standards and capable of keeping up with Taylor Hall and Magnus Pajaarvi.

Update:

There's been some delay in arranging the MRI.

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Ales Hemsky breaking away from the pack

I have man-love for Ales Hemsky.  He plays well whether he's got good teammates or bad, whether the score is 5-0 against the Oilers or they're down 3-2 with minutes to play.  He has been criminally under-rated by the NHL community and Oiler fans alike for years.  Far too many Oiler fans have suggested "trade Hemsky", even this year or last, hoping for another top pick.  Really?  How many even top 5 overall picks turn out as good as him?

I also have man-love for this Oilers squad.  I was wrong.  The loss of Whitney, while a stinging hit and one that we will feel for as long as he's out, didn't demoralize the squad.

This keeps coming as a surprise to me.  Maybe I have a pessimistic outlook in general, or maybe past Oilers teams have taught me not to expect much.  Certainly after last year, it was clear that outside of Penner and Gagner, the marquee names didn't have fight in them when the chips were down.

This year, it's different.  With Ryan Whitney out, the forwards stepped up their game.  They managed a very good cycle several times - something they hadn't even hinted at in previous games.  They kept the puck in the offensive zone and scored from puck possession alone.  This took the pressure off the defenders, though they too did step up their game.  Despite his late penalty, Ladislav Smid played a very impressive game.  He showed more offensive flair last night vs Colorado than he had all of 2009-2010.  He pinched in at the right times, he went deep with the puck (a la Hemmer), skating around the back of the net and though nothing showed up on the scoreboard, he contributed.

Andrew Cogliano played a very solid defensive game and finally had his efforts rewarded with nice boxcar numbers.  Sam Gagner fought hard along the boards as did, in fact, all of our forwards - I just mention him as a rebuttal to his critics.

They lost, but they fought tooth and nail.  They came back from a horrible third period.  I am as proud of this team as any Oilers squad ever, and I'm sorry for doubting them.

The most beautiful woman in the world; Audrey reborn

In the time it took to Bob McKenzie to type out a twitter indicating that Ryan Whitney's ankle injury may be measured in months rather than weeks, the Oilers went from being a beautiful girl in full bloom of a fresh, young romance, to suddenly crying and dumped.  Still beautiful, still young, but now damaged and will need time to heal. 

In terms of individuals, they'll all say the right things - from Tambo on down to Ryan O'Marra.  Expect quotes like: "We're still looking to win, we may be young and have a few injured players but that doesn't excuse us from effort", and "This may be a learning season for our many young players, but the best way to learn is by winning".

There is, of course, no other possible response - in public or in private - for members of the organization.  Only at the very highest levels will Steve Tambellini and Tom Renney discuss how much darker our immediate future has become.  Where my concern as a fan comes in is if they realize the long-term danger.

There seem to be two kinds of teams that draft high: those that visit the basement and use their picks to get right out of it, and the perpetual basement dwellers.  Pittsburgh, Washington, and Philadelphia are all teams that hit the bottom and bounced back.  The Penguins spent the longest time there due to their financial and arena situation.  The Capitals were losing for quite a while despite ownership's best efforts (Ted Leonsis may be the best owner in sports.)  Philadelphia went from playoff contender to bottom-feeder, and right back to playoff contender.  They had one lottery pick, James van Riemsdyk, and he's not the reason for their turn-around or Stanley Cup run last year.

The other kinds of teams that draft high are best exemplified by the New York Islanders, Atlanta Thrashers, and Florida Panthers.  All three have consistently had high lottery picks, even #1 overall picks in the case of the Islanders, and their forays into the playoffs have been almost as brief as they are rare.  Atlanta is doing much better this season and the resolved ownership issues should help them out, but it remains to be seen if they can truly dig themselves out of their hole.  Other teams that could be used as examples until recently are the Phoenix Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks and Thrashers are the best examples of where the Oilers could go.  Under Dollar Bill Wirtz, the Blackhawks refused to spend in free agency, and if they did, it would be a one-off contract like the one that brought Khabibulin to the Windy City.  They'd fail to follow it up and build a team around their new player.  They didn't get support for Martin Havlat, either.  As much as Chicago's success is due to Toews and Kane breaking out, Chicago was already in the midst of improving their supporting cast in the rookie season for the dynamic duo.  The Oilers are apparently intent on tanking further.

This is demoralizing.  It's demoralizing for players like Ales Hemsky and Ryan Whitney, who are in their primes and want to get back into the playoffs, to compete and win.  It's demoralizing to older players like Shawn Horcoff and younger ones like Sam Gagner, who's been on losing teams his whole NHL career.  Franchises and fans can wait and hope the tank job accomplishes something.  Players have short careers, shorter peaks of their careers, and in a 30-team league, there's a two-thirds chance that an average player with a 10-year career will not win the Cup.  It's a 50% chance for those whose skills stand the test of time, who manage 15 years in the league.  Patience is a virtue, but the lack of it in players is understandable.

How the Oilers weren't involved in talks for James Wisniewski is beyond me.  We needed help on the back end before Whitney went down.  We need more than Jeff Petry and Martin Marincin, who might be impact players 5 years from now.  We need veterans.

Or we might end up like that other team, the other path the Oilers could go down on - the Atlanta Thrashers.  A couple of skilled wingers, a few holes in the middle, and a yawning chasm on the back end.  Tell me if this doesn't sound familiar: a team with a very complete scoring right winger and a dynamic goal-scoring left winger, with middling centres and no defence, picks in the lottery again and again.  That's the Thrashers as they were for years - Hossa and Kovalchuk.  It could also be the Oilers unless management gets serious. 

It's not that Pajaarvi, Omark, Hall and Eberle lack the will to win.  It's that they can't do it, not even the four of them if they develop into superstars.  They need support.  As star junior players realize they can't do it alone like they did when they were 18, so they realize that the franchise has to support them, or they go looking for other venues.  Losing is a disease.  Cure it or it becomes a chronic condition for the franchise.

Ryan Whitney's Ankle: The Oilers Achilles' Heel

Ryan Whitney's look of relief after scoring his first goal in the 2010-2011 season

Ryan Whitney has been the key cog for the Oilers this season.  It's not because he's the best player on the team, though he may be (it's a toss-up between him and Hemsky).  When Ales went down with the groin muscle tear, the next-best option, Jordan Eberle, is a fair substitution.  Eberle still has some way to go before he can fill the top line right wing role, but he's a very complete player.

The drop-off from Ryan Whitney to the #2 defenceman is daunting.  That's assuming the Oilers can legitimately be said to have a #2 defenceman.

Whitney hits, he's got very good positioning, he obviously knows how to pass and he's got a good shot.  Not a Chris Pronger or Sheldon Souray bomb, but it's good enough.  Ryan also provides the Oilers with something they really haven't had since Chris Pronger - an elite break-out pass.  This is absolutely vital to the Oilers offense, which is really successful only in two situations: catching turn-overs and in transition.

In short, he's the complete defenceman.

Nobody else on the team comes close.  Tom Gilbert's offensive flair comes and goes.  He can be a stand-out or simply fade into the background.  He can make great stretch passes, but he's not as reliable as Whitney in that regard.  More importantly, Tom Gilbert's actual defensive ability is suspect more often than anyone would like.  He is capable of being good defensively but this is far less consistent than even his flighty offensive efforts.  Tom seems like the guy who might lead the second pairing or be the second defenceman on the first or second, not the man you trust to lead the charge.

After Tom Gilbert, the Oilers defensive corps runs dry on offensive talent.  Ladislav Smid and Theo Peckham play similar games.  Smid is more about bruising, simple plays and some behind-the-refs'-backs punishment, while Peckham is generally better on the open ice and can line up the big hits reliably.  Smid is great on his third pairing, it's not too much responsibility for him and he provides a chippy edge to our defence.  Peckham could play on the first with Whitney, potentially lead the second pair but right now is better off as the second man there, and could definitely lead the third pairing with Smid.

Jeff Petry is an unknown at this point.  He was on for all four goals against last night versus Buffalo, but was credited with a helper on the Ryan Jones goal.  Given that it's his NHL debut, on a bad team in a slump, missing its best defenceman, it's hard to rag on the kid.

Jim Vandermeer and Jason Strudwick are known quantities.  Their foot speed betrays them in this league.  Both have adapted somewhat, getting better position and playing further back, but they're incredibly exposed on turn-overs or the kind of back-and-forth hockey the Oilers play.  A team with a slower tempo and more reliable forwards would be a better suit for either, but the Oilers are what they are.

In short, Whitney is completely irreplaceable.  Hemsky and Horcoff have decent substitutes, so does Khabi this year.

If the MRI on Whitney's ankle comes back really bad, as Bob McKenzie has rumoured, the wheels have officially fallen off the wagon this season.  Worse, it will likely slow development for the kids, since they won't get those nice break-out passes, and their mistakes are going to be much more costly.  The Oilers, rather than compete with the Flames for last in the West, could now find themselves in a competition with the Islanders and Devils for last in the league.  The embarrassing loss to a tired Buffalo team, after close defeats against San Jose, LA, and Vancouver, adds to the problem and is a bad sign for the Oilers sans Ryan Whitney.

Let us pray.

Kyle Wellwood on the receiving end of a Cam Barker love tap in the playoffs

The Oilers have been playing really well lately, their best hockey of the season.  That may be somewhat of a surprising position given a look at their record, but it's true.  Without their best player and best all-around centre, the Oilers have strung together three very close defeats at the hands of three very good teams.  They were more competitive against San Jose, Los Angeles, and now the red-hot and loaded Vancouver Canucks than they were in many wins this season.

The Canucks were the best team of the three and it showed, they had consistent puck possession and as the game went along they figured out how to limit the Oilers tendency to create odd-man rushes.  San Jose, not gifted with the fastest players in the league, had the roughest time with the Oilers.  Los Angeles, despite improving defensively in recent games - in particular their wins against Detroit, Nashville, and especially Colorado - is inconsistent at that spot as the Oilers showed.  If it was later in the season, and coaches were gathering video for a potential playoff matchup, I suspect the young Oilers success at breaking LA's defence might make for coach's room or locker room viewing.  LA looked awfully exposed.

Vancouver did not, but they're one of the favorites to win the Cup and the best team in the West along with Detroit.

Today's game against Buffalo will be telling.  The Oilers have had three close defeats in a row, and those can demoralize - especially giving up a lead and then a game winning goal late against Vancouver.  Their compete level against Buffalo today will be telling, since that's a team they can beat.  Hemsky's return to the lineup may very well spark them into a performance, or it may lead to some confusion.  Do you split up Hall and Eberle? Regardless, Hemsky should help the embarrassing power play.

---

Learning to Fly

Normal people think bungee jumping is crazy, bungee jumpers think skydivers are nuts, skydivers look funny at base jumpers, and then... there are the wingsuit wingnuts.

Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
Can I escape this irresistible grasp?

LT's post today, possibly the 10th this year in which he mentions how much he enjoys watching this year's Oilers, inspired me to comment and I'll echo these comments here:

Much as we try, I don't think it's possible to appreciate this year's team enough.  They're kids, and like children, they grow up too fast.  Young and hopeful, full of potential and not burdened in the least by expectations or a ticking clock, this may be the most enjoyable Oilers team I've ever watched.  They're not a winning team and quite unlikely to make the playoffs, but that just means there's nothing to stress and worry about.  For the next couple of years, but this year in particular, there's no anxiety about where they're going, what they'll do when they get there, and if they have the talent, the pieces, the chemistry, and above all the will to seize glory.

It has been 30 years since the 1980-81 season, when we first had the majority of the pieces.  Look at that season.  Dominated by red losses early on, slowly turning more and more green before a dominant finish.  The Oilers had done that the year before in '79-80, but the momentum didn't carry over.  After '80-81, however, things would be different for the next decade.

This could be the closest thing we have to the 1980-81 season in our lifetimes.  With more teams, a hard salary cap, and early unrestricted free agency, it won't be the same but it is sure coming close.  It's a magical season because unlike even next year, there are no expectations on this team.  We're Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams and we're just watching greats play the game.  There are no contract anxieties, no worries about the playoffs, no concerns if we have the right supporting cast.

Like real children, as they start coming into their own, we're in a special and rare moment where dreams and reality are interwoven.  The potential is there and right now it's undefinable, nobody knows how good Hall, Eberle, Pajaarvi, Omark, and even Gagner and Peckham can be.  We're free to let our imaginations run wild and dream.  And we can dream because there's enough reality, enough of a solid grounding for this team that we know for sure that something special is here.  These aren't flights of fancy about Jason Bonsignore, Steve Kelly, Boyd Devereaux and Michel Riesen.  These kids are here, in the NHL.  They're producing.  They're clicking.  They're having fun and clearly loving every moment of it.  Above all, anyone who sees them can sense that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Which is exactly where the Oilers as an organization are.  I truly urge you to read LT's blog and catch up on the top 20 prospects this year because we are sitting on an embarrassment of riches:

Martin Marincin - 1st in WHL defencemen scoring, 2nd in WHL rookie scoring, 2nd in team scoring (after the very potent Brett Connolly).  Boldly moved from Europe to the WHL and adjusted immediately to the game, showing far more puck ability than expected, as he was projected to be a stay-at-home defenceman.  Key component of Slovakia's World Juniors team.

Anton Lander - Captain of the 2011 Swedish Junior team, captain of Timra IK of the Elitserien, a renowned two-way player in his league and well on his way to beating his personal scoring mark from last year.

Curtis Hamilton - He's a big man (6'3, 202), can't call him kid or boy.  Has shown way more offensive flair this season than past years, currently tracking 1.4PPG with the best +/- on the team.  Recently bumped up to the top line on Canada's WHJC squad.

Tyler Pitlick - Good-sized centre who will be competing with Lander for the two-way role on the team.  Like Marincin, he moved to the WHL, though his origins were much closer in the NCAA.  After struggling somewhat early in the season, has picked up the pace.  The +/- is middle of the pack for the team, which is something to note.  A surprising omission from the US WJHC training camp, but given the heavy veteran presence on that squad, not a huge concern.

And that's just the kids exceeding expectations this year.  Lowetide has a much more thorough rundown of our prospects on his site - like Ryan Martindale, Teemu Hartikainen, Toni Rajala, and more.

Taylor Hall celebrates the Oilers 4th goal against the Leafs on Dec. 2, 2010.

Just a few short weeks after being blown out in four of five games by scores like 8-2, the Oilers defeat the Maple Leafs 5-0.

Typical of this season, the Oil were outshot 33-19, but for once that shot total wasn't as bad as it looks.  The Leafs were either desperate or just stopped caring, because they shot from anywhere.  They arguably still had more chances than the Oilers, but not by a 1.5 : 1 ratio.

There are several reasons this win is impressive, more impressive than the come-from-behind victory against Montreal the night before.  It's the Oilers' 3rd game in 4 nights, second in a row, and it is against arguably equal competition.  We were without our best player and our goalie was coming back from a groin injury.  Having Khabibulin in net makes for three different goalies in three straight games - on the road to boot.

The laughable Leafs are equal competition to the Oilers.  Both teams were tied with 20 points apiece.  The Leafs were in a bad mental space on a long losing streak, the Oilers were tired and had the perfect excuse to take a game off (as Oilers teams since 2006 have been prone to doing).  They could have said "we've done enough, we're tired, nobody will be mad if we lose."  True, they were outplayed, especially in the first, but they didn't quit.  This is another feature new to the Oilers collective psyche.

What really makes this game significant is that we're starting to see some consistency from the kids.  Hall has 4 goals and 1 helper in 5 games, and is +7 over 7 games.  Eberle has six points in that same 5-game span, and has his first goal since October 29, and is +6 over 7 games.  Even Pajaarvi, who has had a much rougher transition from the SEL than I imagined, got his first point in a month and played effectively.  We can expect more from the three come mid-late January.  With half a season under their belts, especially with the minutes Hall and Eberle have been getting, the rookies should increase production.  We'll worry about sophomore slumps next year.

As significant as this game is for the Oilers, it's much more meaningful to Leafs fans.  They were demolished by a bad, tired, young Oilers squad that is missing its best player.  The Leafs haven't had a proper rebuild in ages, and Brian Burke's bold moves have not only not brought them out of the basement, he has basically crippled their ability to start a rebuild.  Two first round picks might not have been an overpayment for Phil Kessel if Toronto was in the playoffs.  They're not.  Last year they were the second-worst team in the league and handed the second overall pick to the Bruins.  Seguin is within spitting distance of Stamkos.  This year the Leafs look likely to contend for bottom three in the league, likely handing the Bruins a chance at Couturier, Nugent-Hopkins, or Larsson.

This season the Leafs are effectively in a rebuild, they're the youngest team in the league.  However, Leafs fans don't get to soothe the pain of 5-0 (or 8-2) losses with the knowledge that they have some of the best young talent in the league developing right in front of their eyes.  The Leafs faithful have Kadri and little else.  Kessel peaked early, Phaneuf isn't getting any better and the rest of their lineup are more or less interchangeable plugs.  And like last year, the Leafs fans are watching their team tank and they don't even get the conciliation of a high draft pick for their pain.

Bad Losses, Continued

Maybe we can convince Kevin Lowe to suit up

There's really not much to say about the Oilers' 5-0 loss to Chicago tonight that I didn't say just a few days ago. Losses in a rebuild are understandable.  As are occasional blow-outs.  However, in the past 5 games we have been outscored 30-8.

7-1, 6-2, 4-3, 8-2, 5-0.  These aren't baseball scores from the World Series, ladies and gentlemen.  You might expect the average hockey team to experience blowouts like those (other than the New Jersey 4-3 loss) maybe 5-6 times per season, not almost 5 games in a row.

For some perspective, Bulin allowed two goals in the first period and still had a .900 save percentage at first intermission.  How many goalies can say that?  A team that is outshot 20-4 in the first period and 47-18 in the game cannot even begin to pin the blame on the goalie.

Terrible beatings like this are what starts to really mess with team and fan morale.  There will always be a few die-hard grumblers (les grognards) who will find something to complain about, who will not accept the realities of a rebuild.  These people are to be expected and treated accordingly; acknowledged and dismissed.  However, the realistic and even the optimistic fans will see significant cause for concern in a situation like this, with constant losses that are only getting worse.  This was supposed to be a fun season, one full of ups and downs.  Nobody went in expecting a winning record, and few expected to be out of the bottom 5 in the league.  However, we did hope to see some offence, to see the kids play and create and show sparks of brilliance like they did early on this season.

As a fan, this isn't fun.  I can't imagine being a player and enjoying myself in this situation, and this is where guys start getting in each other's faces in unhealthy ways.  Steve Tambellini might not have made all the right moves this off-season, but he did his best to get rid of the dressing room cancers.  Another four or five losses like this, however, the cancer will not only have come back it will have spread.

We went over 50% on the dot, however.  Everyone knows how important face-offs are for puck possession.

Bad Losses

It's one thing to beat yourself up to your own benefit.

I doubt that the educated and well-meaning Oiler fan will get too upset over a losing season during an acknowledged rebuild year, a rear right after we drafted first overall.  That's fine, we can live with that.  It's not pretty, and it's not what we want to see, but it's something we can live with because we understand the NHL system and we know this will make us better in the long run.

So when someone argues that we should trade Penner for Chris Phillips, I argue no, because Penner is an asset and could still be useful 3-5 years from now, when this team is competitive.  Chris Phillips is 30 and it's very likely he will not be good at the time when we actually need him to be good.  Inherent in this argument is the knowledge that losing, painful as it may be, is all part of the plan.

This kind of sanguine and generous viewpoint is hard to maintain in light of an 8-2 beatdown by the middling New York Rangers.  Yet when this loss comes on the heels of a 7-1 defeat to the equally mediocre Carolina Hurricanes and a 6-2 thrashing at the hands of the admittedly mighty Red Wings, topped off by a 4-3 defeat by the supposedly-just-as-bad-as-we-are Devils in which the Oilers were outshot 39-24, a sanguine attitude is hard to maintain.

Something must be done!  The feeling builds within our hearts.  Even the happy-to-lose crowd with dreams of a second consecutive first overall pick, think that at least for the sake of the kids, we should make some upgrades.  We allegedly got rid of the cancers in the dressing room over the summer.  For the continued health of the team it would behoove us to not roll around in toxic waste dumps, the kind created by losing by 17 goals in 4 games, if we expect there to be a proper atmosphere in the locker room.  Yes, we can lose, we expect to.  But be competitive.  Score.  Defend.  Make other teams pay to play us.  If need be, get occasionally blown out, after all, we're a bad team.  Just don't lose by 17 goals over 4 games.