Firstly, I don t have any patience for NHL players who spurn Edmonton because of the climate. To any

It s no secret that Edmonton has had its challenges attracting free agents best western hotels palm springs and retaining top talent, and it s also no secret that fans have at time struggled to cope with the results of those challenges.
The last quarter century has taught Oilers fans not to expect good things to last. The Wayne Gretzky trade is the primary example, but the list of stars that have left town over money is long and varied. It starts with the guys that helped the Oilers to five Stanley Cups, includes the brightest stars on the plucky teams in the late 1990 s and early 2000 s, and last demonstrated itself best western hotels palm springs with the tearful departure of Ryan Smyth in 2007. At the same time as Flyers fans were learning that no goaltender would ever excel in Philadelphia, Oilers fans learned that good players left town once they got near the ends of their contracts.
Those departures are one part of the story. Another part is the decisions of individual players. In some cases, those decisions involved departure for reasons other than money such as in the case of Mike Comrie and Chris Pronger and Petr Nedved and others. In other cases, players simply gave Edmonton a pass to play elsewhere, best western hotels palm springs often in a way that embarrassed the Oilers organization and its fans this is the group that players like Michael Nylander and Dany Heatley belong in.
There s a long history that I m summarizing in two paragraphs but it boils down to this: there is a perception that Edmonton is a second-rate destination for hockey players, and that impacts their ability to both acquire and retain talent.
It s true that Edmonton is far from a perfect destination for unrestricted best western hotels palm springs free agents, and it s also true that some of the factors in that won t ever change. However, a) there are things to like about the city and the team and b) most of the suggested ways of dealing with the unchangeable problems are stupid.
Edmonton cannot help being cold in the winter. The Oilers cannot help having a tougher travel routine than an Eastern-based team. A five second glance at a map indicates why: the Oilers are the NHL s northernmost best western hotels palm springs team and aren t sitting next door to 17 other teams the way they would be if they played in the northeast. Another absolute: as a world-class city, Edmonton can t compete with New York. Those things will scare free agents away, and there is nothing to do but accept them and move on.
Acceptance of reality doesn t mean that the Oilers need to accept an inability to compete for free agents, though. Weather and travel aren t the only reasons NHL players best western hotels palm springs pick teams. Above all, NHL players as a group seem to like winning hockey games; if the Oilers can find a way to transform their group of young draft picks into the core of a contender they ll cover a lot of other sins. That s how the Red Wings continue to land high-end talent, even as Detroit turns into one of the most dangerous cities in America .
The Oilers also have some natural advantages. The fans are as rabid and single-mindedly devoted to hockey as any in the league; a hockey player in Edmonton best western hotels palm springs is a celebrity to a degree he isn t in the majority of NHL cities. best western hotels palm springs That s both good and bad as a selling point, but doubtless appeals to some players. Edmonton also lies at the heart of an incredibly fertile hockey player-producing region; some players don t like playing in the fishbowl best western hotels palm springs but doubtless there are others happy to be playing close to where they grew up (It s funny; there are lots of X doesn t want the pressure of playing at home stories in Edmonton and few of the I want to play for the team I grew up cheering for variety so prevalent in Toronto). Edmonton is also has one of the NHL s most favourable tax situations , for players that like squeezing every cent out of their contracts. With a wealthy owner and healthy revenues, the Oilers also have significant financial resources.
The Oilers as a destination have good points and bad points. The bad points mean some players will never see Edmonton as an attractive destination, and that s just the way it is. The good points would be considerably enhanced if the team starts winning games.
The 2013 Edmonton Oilers are a different breed from their predecessors. They don t face the same financial hardships as previous Oilers teams the need to ship away players because they cost too much doesn t impact them more than it does other NHL clubs (because of the salary cap). That section of franchise history is of no relevance when considering the team today.
The Oilers struggles to land free agents also need to be seen in context. There are 30 NHL teams; on every free agent signing 29 teams are going to miss out. The difference is that it seems like such a big deal when it happens in Edmonton, and maybe in part that s because with all the losing so many fans placed big hopes on those free agent signings. When Detroit misses out on Ryan Suter or Pittsburgh fails to land Zach Parise or Boston loses Nathan Horton, it doesn t prompt the kind of anguish best western hotels palm springs in those cities that it does when a player makes a deliberate choice to leave/not best western hotels palm springs go to Edmonton.
It shouldn t be that way. Edmonton is a tremendous hockey market, and the Oilers have a rich history. If there s a cause for an inferiority complex among fans, it should be the team s record over the last few seasons, not the decision-making of Player X. Player X whether it s Justin Schultz signing in Edmonton instead of Anaheim or Chris Pronger going to Anaheim instead of Edmonton - will always make a choice based on criteria unique to him. There s no sense worrying about him.
I scoured best western hotels palm springs the list of all of the players to ever compete in the NHL after passing through best western hotels palm springs the entry draft without being selected. best western hotels palm springs Then, I narrowed it down to all of the players that are currently active in the NHL, and chose the best ones out of the bunch. I created 2 different teams composed of said players. I have to give some credit to Kent Wilson, whose idea of building best western hotels palm springs an "All-UFA Team" a few weeks ago inspired me.
Jonathan Willis is Managing Editor of the Nation Network. best western hotels palm springs He also currently writes for the Edmonton Journal's Cult of Hockey, Grantland, and Hockey Prospectus. His work has appeared at theScore, ESPN and Puck Daddy. He was previously founder and managing editor of Copper & Blue. Contact him at jonathan (dot) willis (at) live (dot) ca.
This. Lowe's ego has done a lot of damage to this organization. He was a good GM until his ego took over. The Souray situation is a good example of Lowe putting best western hotels palm springs his ego in front of what's good for the team. The Comrie and Smyth trades are also good examples. And he certainly cemented that reputation with the "two types of fans" comment
Those days of Edmonton being a small market city are done. The Capital region has well over a million people living in it. You want to compare apples best western hotels palm springs and oranges. Detroit vs Edmonton. Has any one been to Detroit lately. What a perfect best western hotels palm springs example of urban decay in the post industrial out sourcing era. What a hole. There are worse places to live than Edmonton. Players have their druthers just like everyone. Kovalchuck is a good example. He goes home and makes more money and lives in place that he enjoys.
I for one know a ton of people who would not change living in Edmonton for warmer climates like Pheonix. sure we all like it when it isn`t -35 but on the other hand we get weeks like this where its 28 degrees on September 3rd. Where you can play golf into the twilight at 10 oclock at night or wake up in June and go shoot a round before you head to work. I`ll take our 4 month long festival season. I`ll take our 4 seasons over a Hooba in August. Or a Hurricane in December. I`d rather shovel my moisture than have to bail it out of my basement.
Firstly, I don t have any patience for NHL players who spurn Edmonton because best western hotels palm springs of the climate. To any player best western hotels palm springs who moans about the cold, I ll always say this: If you didn t like winter ... why did you choose a winter sport as your vocation?
Yes, I know. The problem isn t so much that Edmonton s climate is bad (it s not winters are actually fairly lame in Alberta best western hotels palm springs nowadays compared to 25 years ago), it s that there are places that are just so much better. I get that. But ...again ... winter sport ... played in the winter...in a city that actually has winter. best western hotels palm springs Suck it up, princess.
As for the quality of the city, Edmonton holds up well. Keep in mind: NHL players don t live in the rough sections of any NHL city, so don t bother pointing to the gamey areas of Edmonton as a reason why Dan Heatley didn t want to come to Edmonton. They live in the rich neighbourhoods, in well-appointed condos and houses. If you honestly think that players give a rat s-rear-end about urban blight or potholes best western hotels palm springs or the number of drunks wandering around best western hotels palm springs town, then the Detroit Red Wings must be a complete mystery to you. They manage to attract free agents, despite playing in arena that's on the doorstep of Detroit-in-the-Robocop-Movies.
That's because the players live out in tony Ann Arbor. On the drive into work, they don t have to unlock their car doors until they re inside the parking garage underneath the Joe. Heck, I bet the players in Chicago and Columbus and Buffalo and Raleigh-Durham drive past far more shocking urban blight best western hotels palm springs than anything in Edmonton.
See, I think the problem with the inferiority complex among Edmonton fans is that it s a reflection of a larger inferiority complex that Edmonton has (and shouldn t have), period. A BIG part of that is being in the same province as Calgary, best western hotels palm springs which is quickly turning into the Toronto of the West (and that s not a compliment), in terms of its bellicosity.
Everything best western hotels palm springs in the national media in Canada is so Calgary-focused and Calgary-boosting (can do!) that it can seem like you re on the outside looking in if you don t actually live there ... even though the place where you live is pretty much just as good.
The other night, I watched a show in which Maclean s magazine presented various lists about Canada. It ended up being a 60-minute best western hotels palm springs commerci