Game 1, Stanley Cup Final: Oilers at Panthers

In the euphoria of winning the Connor McDavid lottery, imaginations ran wild among Oilers fans. I remember having a conversation that day with a friend about the number of Stanley Cups that would be won during 97’s time with the team.

My friend felt 3-6 would be a fair estimate. I suggested one. We are good friends, so there was no rage, but I will say both of us were surprised by each other’s opinion. I’m the emotional one, my friend is the measured human. My belief, and it has come to pass, is that the Oilers were very young in important areas (owner, management, coaching) and the roster was a mess.

The roster had talent, but there was always something. Teddy Purcell had great hands, but his boots were shy. The organization was fixated on sideways moves (Will Acton for Anton Lander, Jesse Joensuu for Teemu Hartikainen) while being unable to get help that made a difference. Lennart Petrell was Lennart Petrell. Coaches and managers were flying in and out on a carousel. The new kids (Taylor Hall) were getting blamed for sins great and small, while the veterans (Eric Belanger is going to talk to Nail Yakupov) offered no cover for the youth on or off the ice. Frankly, it was a baffling period in franchise history.

These years later, the organization has grown, from ownership to through management, coaching and the on-ice product. Oilers fans can look at the healthy scratches in this year’s playoff run and point to legit NHL players who can help. The key is up the spine, led by homegrown talents McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Stuart Skinner.

Ken Holland brought in Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm and others. The roster is far better than it was on his arrival and that’s for sure. Jeff Jackson appears to have put his stamp on the team by hiring Kris Knoblauch as coach, and will have another hire at general manager in the days to come.

In the article above, I wrote about James Stefan and what his signing means. Michael Parkatti is the second individual who could be reasonably associated with the Oilogosphere to occupy an office in the Oilers compound. The organization had Tyler Dellow a decade ago, but evidence suggests the recommendations made by him did not (mostly) see the light of day.

Stefan is the first indication (for me) of a change in direction for the organization in procurement. His NHL equivalency at age 17 in the WHL was 29, and that’s a fine number. He has areas of strength in his game and he’ll have a chance to find his way to the NHL. A good chance. That’s all this is, getting good players, giving them icetime and watching them develop. Edmonton doesn’t have many draft picks each summer, so signing people like Stefan is the key to the highway.

I find myself feeling good about the organization now, today. I think the five years of Ken Holland as manager has allowed the organization to get its collective feet under them, to stop reacting to every little thing. If you think back on the ridiculous happenings of this organization a decade ago, from water bottle detentions to turning Eberle into Strome into Spooner, I think this way is better. Not perfect, but better.

Jeff Jackson so far, for me, represents the next step. I’m going to guess Holland’s replacement isn’t in the building at this time. I’m going to guess we see a draft and free-agent cycle run by the internal group and then an announcement in summer. I don’t know who the next general manager of the club will be, and it appears no one but Jeff Jackson knows his identity. That’s another sign of maturation, no leaks.

I vote for Eric Tulsky as next GM, but suspect the Carolina Hurricanes will keep him for a long time. If Jackson can hire the GM equivalent of Knoblauch? Music!

Enjoy the final. Breathe it all in. Kiss your person win or lose. Hug them tight. Raise a glass to this beautiful game and the blind, dumb luck that brought McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Bouchard and the rest to this northern city. Celebrate! This is the good stuff.