At its very best, country music has the power to move you. Thoughtful and earnest, escaping the maudlin and stirring emotions hidden within all of us, waiting to be uncovered. Dolly Parton lived in that part of us. Losing her was never going to be easy, and seems especially cruel coming on a lovely August afternoon.
I have loved country music since my Mom put Pasty Cline records on the turntable. Crazy for tryin’, Crazy for cryin’, and I’m Crazy for loving you.
Mom had Patsy Cline, and Jim Reeves, Buck Owens and Elvis. Dad had Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Merle Haggard. Me? My country music is Emmylou Harris, Flying Burrito Brothers, Neil Young, Joe Ely and most of all, Dolly Parton. I think the key to her success is phenomenal songwriting ability, shown in Jolene, I Will Always Love You and Coat of Many Colors.
That last entry, Coat of Many Colors, perfectly frames her brilliance. I have listened to maybe 1000 songs mining the same subject matter. Poor family, filled with love for each other and a moral compass that preached the truth shall make you free. Most artists add strings and background singers making sad oooo’s, and it comes out sounding like Walter Brennan’s Old Rivers. Not Dolly. She laid it all out there, naked and unafraid. That’s what made her special.
Parton was a brilliant wordsmith, rhythm and rhyme matching the melody perfectly. She owned who she was, took pride in it, and for a poor kid from Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan poor was nothing like Tennessee poor, thanks Tommy Douglas) every line rang true.
She didn’t just write her own songs, she performed them in a way that made covering the record a tall task. Whitney Houston’s version of I Will Always Love You remains true to the song, with Houston’s exceptional voice cattying her version and making it unique.
As much success as she had as a concert performer, actress and being a helper to those who needed a hand, for me, Parton’s most incredible talent came in writing songs.
I’ll remember you whenever I see the light of a clear blue morning, I’ll remember you as someone who combined grace with beauty, brilliance and an incredible ability to unlock my emotions with a single line. Eagle when she flies. Goodbye Dolly. I’ll remember you forever.
I wrote about four Oilers prospects who are under the radar entering this year’s camp. All four are worth tracking this season.
On the Lowdown today, Kevin McCurdy will be our feature guest and we’ll talk CFL, NFL and college football as well as Oilers. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
New for The Athletic: Four under-the-radar names you should know entering Oilers training camp
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7537788/2026/08/26/edmonton-oilers-training-camp-under-the-radar/
Is there any interest in PTO offers to Logan Stanley and say Eeli Tolvanen? Their names have come up now and again and with some recent IR news, maybe an option?
Zero interest in Logan Stanley – the Oilers have 8D plus Regula (when health) plus Josh Brown plus Stilman plus Carfagna/Lepanen.
Tolvanen has been discussed – I think the Oilers have enough forwards and Savoie will miss like 4-5 weeks from initial reports – no need to sign anyone to fill such a short term hole. If they were to get any UFA forward, give his PK and middle six pedigree, he’d likely be the one.
Tolvanen would be a very solid pickup.
Interesting that the injury news on Andersen breaks the same day he’s pictured golfing with Auston Matthews and a bunch of former Leafs.
He’ll be healed up and raring to go when they want/need him!
Did this surprise anyone?
With Regula’s injury status it makes it impossible to sneak him through waivers on the one or two days a year where there’s a big flood.
Having said that, his oft-injured status also makes it less likely he gets claimed.
He was exposed last season, mid-season, after coming back from injury – slid right though.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library works with local partners to put books into kids’ and families’ lives. In Canada you can support local partners by donating here: https://imaginationlibrary.com/ca/find-my-program/
I just made a little “thank you, Dolly” contribution to my local partner, the Lion’s Club
Rishaug just reported Savoie late October or so. Not good
Oops, same for Anderson
And as some predicted, Regula and Janmark
D.J wanted Joseph we may see D.J choice 2 getting signed this week. Now you why Howard wanted to learn the PK midseason in Bakersfield. Babcock needs a top 10 PK to make his system work with no glitches.
4 weeks or so isn’t the end of the world. Or 4-6 weeks.
Nope it isn’t, but we have all seen when players hold out and miss camps how long it takes them to get back to the game they had previous. No clue what his injury is and that plays huge into this. Especially if it is a knee
If they don’t add a UFA forward and each of these 4 are on IR:
Howard/McDavid/Hyman
Podz/Drai/Savoie
Nuge/Dickinson/Joseph
Frederic/Samanski/Dach
Jones
Ekholm/Bouchard
Walman/Murphy
Shea/Emberson
Muk/Stastney
Jarry
Levi
? Why is Savoie in your lineup if all 4 are on IR
Sub Howard in for Savoie and OP’s lineup is fixed.
Then who is in Howard’s spot in OPs non fixed lineup?
Because Savoie is the cool way of saying Kap.
We may have all of Jones, Samanski and Stastney on the opening night roster if all these guys are on IR (short term IR even).
Cap space will be all but gone though while they have an active roster of 23 plus 3-4 on IR.
Regula will have a cap hit if on IR – it will be pro-rated based on his 29 games in the NHL last year (might even be vis-a-vis days on the NHL roster…)
Connor Ungar and Devon Levi…your Edmonton Oiler goaltenders! -).
Andersen isn’t expected to be “long term” – per Stauff (doesn’t have any indication this is months) and I am fully on board with Jarry and Levi getting their opportunity to re-establish and establish themselves. Jarry was going to get that opportunity, and it makes sense, and this makes it easy to give Levi his fair share of starts and see where he is at.
I don’t get the Jarry no like crowd. When he’s healthy he puts up numbers. Also the goaltending position is always the most difficult trade midseason. This is why you see not many goalies trade in season. Let’s see what a comfortable Jarry looks like as well as Levi.
Honestly, I could see Jarry carrying the load and doing it well next season, feeling more comfortable, finding a groove and better structure in front of him, the latter being most important, and of that doesn’t happen im not sure it matters who’s goalering.
I’m with you on hoping a healthy Jarry is a successful Jarry. I’m more circumspect about a) his WIN% and clutch play, b) his mental toughness.
The latter may not be an issue if the team in front of him plays responsibly (the amount of magical thinking about the new coach is mind-boggling; for Jarry’s sake I hope it’s real). That means 200-ft, everyone.
The former? We’ll have to wait until April, if and when he gets there.
I’m not kidding psych up Levi and then insert him for O’T’s and Shootouts. Levi is hungry and he’s acrobatic. It worked famously for MacTavish. Usually if a goalie makes a big save it goes right back the other way for the W. BSD-Big Save Devon
It’s going to be tough enough managing 3 goalies without playing 1 for regulation and then pulling the backup off the bench for OT’s and SO’s.
Every time I’ve watched Levi play he’s stacking his pads like a young Mike Palmateer. I can’t wait to see someone that can make saves by moving and not standing there like that big yard ape Lehner who managed to fleece a couple of teams for gangster cash.
Stauff thinks they will look at a UFA forward that can kill. Sigh.
Tolaven would be a very good pick up if you can get him for 1-1.25. Not sure if that can happen. Guy is fast with a hard shot and a dick
Even though Howard moved up three rungs him not being able to kill penalties may still cost him if they sign an outsider.
Don’t think so necessarily. If they did sign Tolaven he could kill penalties but could play 3rd line. I mean Babcock can seperate McD and Drai ( No clue what he does lol). Could run
Howard/McD/Hyman
Pods/Drai/Kap or Tolaven.
Nuge/Dickenson/Tolaven or Kap ( who is a RWer who shoots left)
Dach, Samanski, Joseph, Frederic, Jones. Take ur pick.
Tolaven has a hard shot and is only 27and scored 23 2 years ago.
I honestly wonder if he is a dick or something or his camp isn’t budging on an unreal contract demand.
He requested time on PK in Bakersfield. Any idea how that went?
I remember him doing well yet I don’t think he played enough to have trust in him in the bigs. OP would know exactly how his PK experiment went.
It was at the very end of the year – didn’t really come to fruition.
I was hoping to see Savoie and Joseph get the green light on the PK with endless breakaways for 8-10 Shorties between them. I hope they sign a speedster that’s good on the PK
Maybe they already have the player in Raty?
Chris Pronger with his 3 most improved teams…
https://x.com/chrispronger/status/2092644080560066605/video/1?s=61
(click for video)
Why don’t you link your twitter account so people can follow you there, if so inclined?
Stauff mentioned Savoie was likely to play PK1 with Dickinson so may have to pivot early if he misses regular season games.
Stauff doesn’t know the severity of the Andersen injury but has not heard anything about it being months.
Stauff said that Savoie is a lower body injury but has not heard anything that it’s like Hyman last year but missed 19 games.
On Janmark just said “we’ll have to see” – no mention of not long term. I’m not sure he plays this season.
Some particularly bad news on Savoie:
EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers announced on Wednesday that forwards Mattias Janmark and Matt Savoie, along with defenceman Alec Regula and goaltender Frederik Andersen, are not expected to participate in training camp next month.
Both Mattias Janmark and Alec Regula continue to recover from medical procedures performed last season and shortly after the season concluded, respectively, while Matt Savoie and Frederik Andersen are currently rehabilitating injuries which occurred during off-season training sessions.
Updates on each player’s availability to return to action will be provided when appropriate
https://www.nhl.com/oilers/news/release-edmonton-oilers-2026-training-camp-statement
Shitty. Savoie injury gives Howard a bigger opportunity for sure. But it sucks for him and the Oilers as I am sure he and the team were hoping for a great start to the year.
Anderson is already a bandaid this just makes his reliability even worse.
Janmark rehabilitating and hurt could be a reason he was not moved this offseason.
Regula injury is too bad for the player for sure.
Anderson is in the bullpen for game 1 of the playoffs. Savoie injury sucks with the next man being up. Regula is always injured. Janmark was expected.
awful.
Not that i dont feel bad for janmark/regula but savoie and freddie anderson could be very bad.
Silver lining is that it should allow babs to get a good long look at ike howard in the top 6 as well as our friend mr tralmaks.
Yes, Tralmaks will get a long look in the top 6 for the Condors…..
Andersen isn’t surprising, at this point Janmark was expected, and Regula is earning full value for a reputation of being injury prone, but the surprise is definitely Savoie.
Do we know what the injury is or is that information still forthcoming?
As Shamus noted this should present an opportunity to the likes of Howard. Hope he runs with it when his chance comes.
Yes this is his big chance. I wonder when Savoie got hurt and when they figured he wouldn’t be a good for camp? It’s basically 3 weeks till they open camp. His injury must be something quite severe to miss at least a month ( depending when it happened and covering all of camp) and no word when he can rejoin the team.
My guess is he blew out a front tire.
Stauff said he some rumblings on something with Savoie late July/early August.
Stauff say lower body on Savoie.
I think Howard should have/would have been given a top 6 opportunity prior to this but, yes, this SHOULD solidify it. With that said, there is every chance we see:
Nuge/McDavid/Hyman
Podz/Drai/Kap
Right?
At least Bouchard isn’t on that list.
Yes. And, that doesn’t mean much. The problem with head injuries is that their impact on performance is pretty subtle/invisible.
There has been no indication that Bouchard has suffered any lasting negative effects from the hit at the World Championship – his golf games, within 2 weeks thereof, look great at least
Gold would be a great game to not show negative effects. A relaxed pace without need for in-the-moment decision-making, action.
I hope you’re right. My point, and we’ve been over this, is that the human brain is a profoundly sensitive and resilient organ that we really only understand (in terms of CTE) when we slice it up.
Until we see Bouchard in a real live game state we know very little. Except that he seems fine.
I was finally able to watch the Bouchard hit without turning my head. That hit was vintage Paul Kariya. Now there’s a player that needed a Clarke Gillies-Charlie Simmer on his line his career ended the wrong way
As I just said to OP, I’m hoping he’s fine. But looking fine on the golf course tells us nothing about what’s really going on inside his skull. Fingers crossed 🤞
I agree Bouchard is quietly one tough hombre he’s the type that never says ouch.
Buckingham Palace salutes Dolly with 9 to 5
https://x.com/RoyalFamily/status/2092564347641868480/video/1
The Empire State Building went pink at exactly 9:25pm for Dolly Parton.
Because of course they made it 9 to 5. That’s how you honor an icon.
https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/1fa77.svg
Damn. You brought tears to my eyes. Best thing I’ve read about hockey for months.
Thanks.
Ps. Along with the usual twang suspects (Emmylou, Gram Parsons, Burritos, “country” Stones, “Hank Wilson,” I added Jolene to my “new Telecaster” practice /set list yesterday. Oh it’s cryin’ time again…)
Sail on, Dr. Frank N Furter.
Dam, great role RIP Tim Cury
As the season rolls out and we gauge the impact that Babcock is having, shift length will be an early tell for me.
The superstars on this team have to be more disciplined in their shift changes. There were too many occasions last season when they stayed out too long and the opposition got a 10 bell chance because our forwards were too gassed to backcheck.
Icetime is a coach’s currency. If shift lengths contract, Babcock is getting buyin. If they expand, the players are starting to tune him out. That’s the tell.
I’ll be watching for this too.
There’s some lore around the Olympics squad where Toews and Crosby started taking longer shifts, and Babs gave them the talk. 45 second shifts became the rule, not the exception, for the remainder of the tournament.
That’s one of Babcock’s traits that I’m encouraged by. He has a track record of getting the large egos to buy in for the greater good. It seems to work best in short stints like an Olympic tournament. The challenge obvs is maintaining it over a longer duration.
This team is moving from carrots to sticks. I hope they’re ready for that reality.
Balance is key.
The nice guys were too much carrot and not enough stick (or even a credible threat of one). If Babs goes all stick (doubtful) then the carrot won’t matter because everyone will be gun shy any time he moves his hand.
The man asked to look through his player’s phones in his last coaching stop. If he had any sense of acceptable social boundaries, they’ve long since left the building.
The carrot for Babcock is when he stops hitting you with the stick.
“The beatings will continue until the morale improves.”
I’m willing to give the man enough rope while he’s here to hang himself.
Ne maneas in praeterito.
I would say Babcock hasn’t changed one iota he’ll just disguise it better. The NHL is high stakes poker the ring around the rosie with everyone getting a ribbon is down a few leagues. The Oilers are hiring Iron Mike because Connor-Hyman-Hyman-Nuge are sick and tired of the Tkachuk Bennett gang rubbing their noses in fresh shit. No one is forcing these players into a life of fame-luxury-wealth they can quit anytime and get a job folding boxes at the bleach factory while eating kraft macaroni as a entree 5 nights a week.
And there we have it. “NHL players should be willing to accept workplace abuse because they’re famous and are being paid millions”
I’m glad we finally got to the crux of your Babcock defence.
Folding boxes at the bleach factory is the only other occupational option available to the likes of Connor and Leon? Good to know. Your strawman game remains top shelf.
I don’t like Babcock. I didn’t like Holland either but my love for the Oilers supersedes a coach that is a meanie pants.You make it sound like these players are working in a sweatshop. These players belong to a strong union that has union representatives that protect them. As for the wanted ads see what is available for 20 year-old that has a grade 12 education with 2 blown knees and no mommy or daddy warbucks to set them up.
You seem conflicted. You claim to “love” the Oilers while being ok with a potentially abusive coach in their workplace. Ask Kyle Beach how much his union protected him from abuse. You also equate these players with no future losers if they weren’t fortunate enough to be playing hockey. These are weird expressions of “love” imo.
I think the same drive that made them NHL pros would serve these individuals well if they’d taken another career path. I also believe they would deserve a non abusive workplace regardless of the path they chose.
It sounds to me like you love the logo more than the humans wearing it?
Fwiw I don’t have anything against you personally. I’m just not a supporter of people that normalize abuse and victim blaming.
Breach never played one NHL game. Breach walked away with a large some of money. Bowman fell on the Blackhawk owners sword as workplace codes and conduct didn’t update for the casting couch and the me too such incidents in hockey. Bowman-Queeneville were probably like myself believing what two consenting adults do in the bedroom is none of my (their) business. If you hate the Oilers organization this much why do you follow them. The NHL is one of the strongest unions in the world. Players on IR get full pay for the length of their contract. Now let’s compare the Oilers union representation to your CFL team that you so dearly love and promote. Are they still called the Elks are did Karen use her power to change it to something less revolting.
Whoa, hold on a second here.
Now, I think the Bowman’s “role” in the Kyle Beach events was less egregious than many believe (based on the official investigative report) but lets get one thing straight – this was NOT a case of two consenting adults, not even a little bit.
The case was settled out of court.
-edited by Lowetide
I don’t hate the Oilers at all. I just don’t subscribe to the notion that my fandom requires me turning a blind eye to every bad decision the team makes.
You on the other hand seem to hate a team because they changed one letter in their name. For some, being “woke” is a worse sin than being abusive.
As far as I know the public flogging of Stan Bowman and Mike Babcock has been put on hold until further notice. The Eskimos had the coolest name in all sports every weekend the thrill of going to a packed stadium crammed into the knothole gang was special. The Esks were the only game in town all the players were in the community and loved. Do you not care of all the people that lost jobs and money lost by businesses just to please a few folks that get their kicks stirring the pot.
100%.
For me there will be two tells as to whether this team is truly serious about becoming a TEAM or whether the coach, management and themselves are ready to check down to some other players regarding ice time and rolling lines. Obviously the one tell is the above mentioned, and the other tell, IMHO is how much CLeon play together 5v5… it still seems absurd to me that anyone thinks it’s best for this team to load them up more often than not.
I believe this team has the horses to spread it out of given the chance, but they need a genuine chance to get there.
I agree that is a tell as well. It can also be solved by the team playing better defence. Playing them together as the nuclear option is often dictated by the game state. The team goes down a goal or two and now they’re seen as the best option to claw the club back into the game. If the team could better focus on getting and defending a lead, you would think there would be less need to throw out the dynamic duo together.
Beautiful tribute LT, Dolly was one of a kind and there will never be another like her. An amazing person.
Yesterday evening while scrolling FB/IG, the videos and images of Dolly in various years over her life, with other performers and artists, most who went before her, brought back so many memories. The one that triggered me the most was a concert video from 1985 when she was performing with Kenny Rogers. He started singing We’ve Got Tonight on stage and then she joined in from the floor and walked through the audience to the stage while singing. The clip below includes some wonderful banter between the two of them after the song. My Mom has been gone almost 37 years, and she loved Kenny and Dolly. Last night, I felt like I was watching that video clip with Mom. I am thankful the music lives on forever, to bring back memories of both the performers and our loved ones. Dolly enriched the lives of so many in so many ways.
We Got Tonight – Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers live 1985
— yeah Islands in the stream is what I thought of when I heard the news.
— Married for 60 years, never a scandal universally loved, always true to herself
— Thanks for this LT : it was lovely personal and poignant.
Dolly will be missed. Anytime I hear “I Will Always Love You”, it just freezes me like a deer in the headlights. It literally puts aside anything that mignt have been on my mind at the time and just stirs up a lifetime of emotions in my head, whether I want it to or not.
They don’t make songs like that anymore.
There’s a story that Elvis wanted to record “I Will Always Love You”, but he (or proably his managers) wanted a song writing credit, giving Elvis 50% of the royalties. She turned it down.
“And then after Whitney’s version came out, I made enough money to buy Graceland!”
I came across the story around Jolene and it’s so Dolly. A bank teller had a crush on Carl, and he was going to the bank a lot. They joked about it, and she writes that breaking heart song of desperation classic. Amazing writer
Dolly was a remarkable woman LT. The world lost one of the nicest people in this world yesterday. People like her seem to be fewer and fewer all the time. Very sad
Touching eulogy LT. Well done.
My sense is Dolly’s beautiful heart was broken when her husband Carl passed last year. It’s a nice thought to consider the possibility that today they are now reunited for eternity.
4 Prospects:
Carfagna: Love this player. A good skater and strong mover of the puck and tenacious defender. If he had 2 inches and/or 10 more pounds he’d be a block for the NHL 2nd pair. He, along with Regula, were by far the Condors’ best d-men down the stretch last season. If he has put on a bit of weight/got stronger and picks up where he lefts off, he will pass Stilman, Brown and maybe even Stastney on the call-up depth chart.
Clattenburg – I wrote a prospect report on his for Cult of Hockey, published in the journal last week. Good skater with sneaky good hands. Needs to listen to his coaches and his organization that are trying to get him, in his coach’s words “play hockey” to develop some neutral zone transition ability, some defensive zone “getting the puck off the boards and out” and some offensive zone positioning (in his coaches words “turning his back to the play” development) – all he needs is to commit to playing and developing for half a season and he may be NHL ready – and ready to impact. It may help him stay healthy – he got hurt 4 times last year and finished development camp in a walking boot.
Akey – He remains a real prospect. A full summer of training, first time in a while – if he got a bit bulkier and stronger, he could pop in season two. Great, great skater, sneaky good defending, can move the puck – sheltered last season but has solid 2-way numbers.
Nicholl – Another intoxicating skater and what a motor from what I’ve seen. He may be middle six center in Bako depending on where Samanski starts (Marjala and Michaels) – he, like Clatt, could be a fan favourite in due time.
I have become lukewarm on Akey, after starting off hopeful he could fill a role as a 4-6 RHD. He’s brittle. He’s neither big, nor ornery. Worst of all, he’s an orphan with the new management. Hopefully he pops and I eat my words, or Stan is able to parlay his primary skills of puck moving and smooth skating as part of a deal for a roster upgrade (or draft capital).
I don’t disagree necessarily.
Far from a lock but also far from someone to give up on. That skating really is very very good. He stayed healthy last season but for the puck to the face on the bench that busted his face up real good – he was very solid before that but struggled after (wearing a bubble, lost a ton of weight, etc.).
Its seems like he’s been around forever but this coming year is only his second year pro – a big season for him.
Probably unlikely to end up as more than a tweener but, well, the story remains unwritten!
It’s too bad Nicholl essentially lost a year of development time with his injury. I think it took him a half a year in London to get up to speed again. There’s something about this player that if he can fine tune the hands he’ll make the NHL and have meaningful career.
Hopefully Clattenburg keeps the edge and plays smarter and learns when to pick his battles. I think will see a more determined skilled Clattenburg try to play (hockey) now that he’s had a taste of the NHL and so many injuries.
Did you ever watch Nichol play any junior hockey?
A couple of games, ya. London gets the odd regular season game on TV but mostly Memorial Cup games. I’ve tried to watch quite a bit of video – both Spencer P. (DFO Edmonton) and Bruce C. have video breakdown of him.