The Edmonton Oilers' wing of the hockey blogosphere is bigger and more passionate than for any other franchise, and today, the funeral procession is out in full force with the loss of Ryan Smyth.
Under the headline 'A dark day in Oilers history, Chapter 94', the Covered in Oil blog sums up the feelings of many Oilers fans: "...today's deal is clearly a case of throwing the 30-goal scoring golden baby out with the bath water. I wouldn't call Lowe cheap (how else can you explain the loyalty contracts to Staios or Pisani?) but we're talking a difference of a million dollars: a couple of Toby Petersons, really."
Hugh Sacamano at The Battle of Alberta, meanwhile, has these words of lament: "I didn't become an Oilers fan until 1998, and consequently my Oilers Experience is pretty much defined by that big goofy grin and greasy mullet. I love the guy."
Smyth was reportedly seeking a dollar figure in the Alex Tanguay range ($5.25-million per season), something that would have dwarfed any other single contract on the Oilers' payroll. Still, GM Kevin Lowe dolled out significant cash recently to several members of last season's Cinderella run team: an average of $4.1-million for five years to Ales Hemsky, $3.6-million for three years to Shawn Horcoff, $2.5-million for Fernando Pisani, $1.75-million for four years to Ethan Moreau and $2.7-million for defenceman Steve Staios.
It's hard not to believe that those significant contracts didn't play at least some role in Smyth's deal not getting done. And given his place both on the ice and in the minds of Oilers fans, it seems mighty strange that the aforementioned five-some were all locked up while the Smyth negotiations came right down until 20 minutes before the trade deadline.
Those priorities aren't sitting right with the team's fanbase, a group that had hoped Smyth could have been the one Steve Yzerman-like franchise player who won the Stanley Cup and went on to retire as a career Oiler.
Not going to happen. And from the sound of things, Smyth is unlikely to re-sign in Edmonton come July 1.
As for Edmonton's return in the deal, some fans are happy on that end. The New York Islanders traded the equivalent to three first-round picks in exchange for Smyth, something that wasn't lost on blogger Lowetide . "Kevin Lowe got an excellent return today," he wrote, adding that, "the Islanders have zero chance of signing Ryan Smyth."Some, like Tyler Dellow from mc79hockey, however, are inconsolable.
"This may be the day that’s most emblematic of the Oilers as a franchise in history. They celebrate the past, point the fans to the future and screw the present — there’s an awful lot to be cynical about here, I think."
Given the team's current status as firmly out of the playoffs, the Chris Pronger fiasco in the off-season and how the Oilers bowed out of the postseason last year, it's been a tough eight months for a fanbase that can't help but wonder 'what if.'
On June 5, 2006, what if Dwayne Roloson doesn't limp off the ice and out of the Stanley Cup finals?
