AT RANDOM: 10 YEARS AFTER
7 years ago
Ten years ago today, I was on a flight from Raleigh to Edmonton. I was absolutely exhausted, toast, trying to digest what I’d seen over the previous eight weeks or so. At the same time, I was looking ahead to matters far more important.
What I’d just seen was a remarkable and unlikely playoff run by the Edmonton Oilers, a stretch that began on April 21 with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings and ended on June 19 with a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final.
I remember wondering what the mood would be like back home in Edmonton after a roller-coaster ride that took fans of the eighth-place Oilers through series wins over Detroit, a huge upset if ever there was one, San Jose and Anaheim on the way to a Cup final date with the Hurricanes.
I thought about the day before, when I looked around a dead-silent dressing room and thought about how close this group of underdogs had come. I knew that team would never be together in its entirety again because that’s how the business works – that was before talk of a Chris Pronger trade request went from rumor to reality in a story broken by Al Strachan.
I don’t bring the anniversary up today to pick at scab that’s now 10 years old, as many have done, but because I’m thinking of how so much has changed on so many levels in the years since that flight, when I was looking forward, with the hockey business out of the way, to getting married on Canada Day.
TIME FLIES
When the playoffs began, I remember telling my wife-to-be that I’d have plenty of time to pitch in and help with the planning – the catering, the music, the arrangements for travel and lodging for out-of-town guests and family. All the stuff that goes with getting hitched when you’re handling everything yourself. I’d actually picked the Oilers to beat the Red Wings, but I figured they’d be done after the second round, by mid-May.
Then, the Oilers they beat the Sharks in six games, wrapping up the series May 17 with a 2-0 win. Then, they took out the Mighty Ducks in five, closing them out 2-1 May 27. By the time the Cup final series started June 5, all that was left for me to do was rent a tuxedo and try to show up to the Hotel MacDonald on time, which I managed.
A sidebar from the big day. I ducked out of our reception and went outside on the patio for a smoke. I ran into Oiler GM Kevin Lowe. Lowe was at The Mac for another function and he looked, to say the least, surprised to see me there. “Kevin, I just have one more question for you,” I said as I approached. We had a good laugh.
Lowe came upstairs to our reception to visit and he, Rod Phillips, Jim Matheson and I got into a discussion about the playoff run. We also asked, being the nosy people we are, what was happening with Pronger’s bombshell trade request. Lowe gave us nothing, zippo. I was on my honeymoon when Pronger was traded to Anaheim two days later.
SINCE THEN
The summer of 2006 was my last off-season working the beat for the Edmonton Sun and sweating about everything Lowe and the Oilers might do. With a new publisher at The Sun and new challenges facing the newspaper industry, there were rumblings going into the 2006 post-season changes were afoot. They came into play for me in January of the 2006-07 season.
After 15 years with the old Southam chain, including 11 years at the Edmonton Journal, and seven more across town at The Sun, the new boss decided I wasn’t his guy. A lot of people, people I came up in the business with, have experienced that same tap on the shoulder right across the country since then. Sadly, there’s more to come.
Given how bad the economy sucks right now, that reality is not confined to the journalism business. It’s been tough times all around for people who thought they were well established in their field or just getting started in their trade or profession, particularly here in Alberta.
Likewise, it hasn’t been a barrel of laughs for the Oilers or their fans since 2006. In 10 years out of the playoffs, we’ve seen the GM’s chair go from Lowe, to Steve Tambellini to Peter Chiarelli. The coaching carousel has seen Craig MacTavish, Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Ralph Krueger, Dallas Eakins, Todd Nelson and Todd McLellan behind the bench.
Entry drafts that have produced first-rounders Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Darnell Nurse, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, with a fourth overall pick to come in Buffalo, haven’t been enough to propel the Oilers back into contention. All this, we know. Life goes on.
For what it’s worth, I’m confident the next 10 years will be better than the last 10 for the Oilers and their fans. I know, how could they be any worse, especially if the last decade represents a big chunk of your life? There’s a new arena downtown. McDavid, who was nine in June of 2006, is a special player. It’ll turn.
As for me, I’ve got a 10th anniversary on the horizon and my son, Sam, who graced the first item I ever wrote for Oilersnation in March of 2008, is looking forward to his 10th birthday and still awaits his first-ever Oiler playoff game. Time flies.
WHILE I’M AT IT
- After spending so many years chasing, sorting through and writing about the rumors and trade talk that surrounds the Entry Draft, this remains my favorite time of the season. The trick is separating the guesses and the nonsense from the legit. That said, even with the best sources, deals often don’t materialize.
The biggest difference now from when I was running down all the trade speculation on the beat is the immediacy of information via Twitter, which, speaking of anniversaries, was launched 10 years ago, in July of 2006.
- While we wonder what moves Chiarelli will make, specifically to acquire the first-pairing help he needs on the blue line, many fans have Yakupov, who has requested a trade, pegged as the one guy who is out of here for sure.
I had one person – not a team “insider” but somebody who has a connection to Yakupov – tell me last week that a deal for him is already done and Chiarelli will pull the trigger on it at the draft. I don’t know if I buy the already done part, but I don’t see Yakupov as an Oiler beyond Saturday.
- With Sami Vatanen re-signing with Anaheim and Travis Hamonic and Tyson Barrie supposedly not available, if their GMs are to be believed, Chiarelli has his work cut out as other names – Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm, among others – are being floated. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug suggested this morning that the acquisition, if it happens, might involve a name we’ve overlooked. The question is who? Any thoughts on that?
THE DRAFT PARTY
There are few certainties in life – we can always count on the sun coming up in the morning, Edmonton winters being dreadful, and the Oilers missing the playoffs. As such, we present the annual OilersNation Draft Party! It’s time to honour the the anniversary of drafting our beloved Connor, celebrate the rewards of another failed season, and raise some money for charity.
Here’s what you need to know…
The party is happening at the Pint Downtown on Friday, June 24th. The goal is to raise as much money as possible for the Red Cross and their efforts to bring normalcy back to Fort McMurray, and have a little bit of fun while we’re at it. For $30 you get a Draft Party t-shirt, a $10 Pint GC, a $10 Oodle Noodle GC, a draft party collectors cup, and a chance for prizes and eternal glory.
All proceeds from tickets sold will be donated directly to the Red Cross so bring your friends, get involved, and help us support a community in need. Tickets are still available here.
One day, the Oilers will be a good hockey team and we’ll all be able to laugh about this. Until then, we party.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.
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