Detroit is the biggest dump in North America. Crime rate is through the roof, economy is 1929 bad, and the streets look like Hitler's tanks rolled through.
Yet, they are the best run and managed organization in the league and players LOVE it there.
I think so. We're getting people that have played here/role players wanting to be here. When we start winning, we'll get big name free agents wanting to come here
Wow this thread is a real present! My gosh how many times have we battled on this board about this rebuild, how Edmonton is a great city and once we start winning players will love to come here? I feel the same as you guys that the strategy is starting to pay off, fans from other teams see it too. There were some real dark days in there but we held the course and after this years draft we can start reaping the dividends! Congratulations are in order, there are thousands of threads buried here proposing quick fixes, but management, and fans have stuck through this and folks the sun is about to start shinning again!
Seguin actually said it before Edmonton had won the lottery, he specified that playing in Edmonton would be amazing and a dream come true. I know what you're saying, but he went a little beyond the typical, 'I'd love to play for whoever wants me blah blah blah' thing.
I get that there are reasons beyond, 'I love this city' for every player to sign here, but a few years ago it seemed that fans were constantly trying to justify why Heatley/Souray/etc didn't want to be here, while you are now trying to come up with reasons why players ARE staying here.
That's a bit of a sea change, IMO.
Really? I remember it the other way around. Seguin was saying he wanted to go #1 overall and Hall was saying he wanted to be an Oiler. Never really know what they're saying and actually feeling though.
Of course, the Oilers have a loooong way to go before you can call them a 'winning organization.
we also have a loooong way to go before our city is anything like Detroit, which is a good thing. This city isn't nearly as bad as people like to make it out to be. It's actually a good place despite what a lot of people and the HF hivemind want to believe.
and this is a topic that gets me into more trouble then anything else
As a former Edmontonian who has lived all over the world I have a different perspective of Edmonton vs the other 29 nhl cities (been to just over 20 of them)
Its weird because in Baseball, Football and Basketball player's want to play where the fans are crazy about the sport and where there is great history but in Hockey the player's don't seem to care as much about the history of the team or the fan enthusiasm. You never hear of nfl player's complaining about how it would suck to play in cold Green-Bay, or in a cold Soldier Field.
The Calgary game, the Philly game, the Leafs game and the two Chicago games show what we have to look forward to. We are starting to see these performances more often. I haven't enjoyed Oilers games so much since the 2006 cup. We are moving in the right direction and that's why the attitude towards playing in Edmonton has changed. . A little more patience and we'll be watching these games on an every game basis. Makes me pretty happy. I'm not saying I like the job Tambo has done.....but he's done alright. He is scared to make a trade I think. A brand shiny new arena doesn't hurt either.
By the time it opens, we should have most of the makings of a quality team. So who wouldn't want to play for the Oilers in a state of the art building with an exciting young team.
Sure, there may be some shallow guys who don't want to play in a cold-winter city. But that seems to be more of an issue in the NBA, where in the NHL the same players as kids played hockey outside in the cold.
I think it was blown out of proportion to begin with. Obviously there were a couple of high profile incidents that led people to believe Edmonton is a frozen hellhole.
But realistically, there will always be players who won't play in Edmonton. Not a lot you can do about it other than hope the players are courteous about it and don't turn it into a ridiculous media frenzy. For example, the Oilers tried to get Scott Gomez when he was a UFA, and he basically said thanks for the interest but he wanted the big city lifestyle. No problem there, imo. Even LA had Smyth asking for a trade, and according to the Sportsnet guy last night, Nash won't go there. There are simply a ton of variables.
I'm also guessing some players saw what happened with Chicago and Pittsburgh and are gambling on Edmonton being a similar story. And if they're wrong, well, they still get paid and can spend their summers anywhere on the planet they want.
People want to play for a winner. The Oilers have some great young talent and people can clearly see we will be a contender much like the Penguins or Blackhawks. People want to play here now.
Never was and never will be about the city. It's all about the organization. One of the crappiest organizations in the league over the past 20+ years, one of the oldest buildings...
So yeah, you're living in a cold climate, a small city, a bad organization, an old, old building, hockey is by far number one and you have very little privacy...it's not an ideal place for a veteran, star hockey player. Not by a long shot.
But it's not the city. Edmontonians seriously need to get over their inferiority complex.
I honestly don't know if it ever really existed. Outside of Pronger and a few other odd apples, you've never really heard a whole lot of players say they wouldn't want to play in Edmonton... Yeah, I guess TSN run NHLPA polls may indicate Edmonton as being one of the lesser desired markets to play in, but I don't think that necessarily had to do with the city. Plus it was from TSN. TSN likes to stop on teams out west.
I can tell you this though, most pending UFA's would've told Edmonton to go firetruck themselves if they had offered a 2 year deal. That's a big risk on Hemsky's part, and one that really shows that he likes playing with the organization.
Could be. Probably still is the case. But I too wonder whether something is changing.
The bloom is off the NHL rose in many US cities and with players playing in markets where they don't matter one iota.
Actually i think a fair number of palyers used to like playing in places like Dallas where they weren't rockstars or anything but were still famous enough and known to be recognized, pick up chicks, or whatever players do..But now hockey seems to have gone "south" in some of these places..
Now they may as well be car salesman when they walk into a nightclub in a lot of these markets.
I think the good young player wants to be recognized, wants to be seen, to be a star. Gotta suck playing in say Anaheim where you're an afterthough as long as you're there.
You look at the enthusisam of guys like Hall, Eberle, and RNH and its really hard to imagine them being content with a Columbus type market.
Check out the comments of the current Jets' players and how much they enjoy playing in front of 15000 insane fans...
Never was and never will be about the city. It's all about the organization. One of the crappiest organizations in the league over the past 20+ years, one of the oldest buildings...
So yeah, you're living in a cold climate, a small city, a bad organization, an old, old building, hockey is by far number one and you have very little privacy...it's not an ideal place for a veteran, star hockey player. Not by a long shot.
But it's not the city. Edmontonians seriously need to get over their inferiority complex.
I'm pretty sure it was specifically about the city in the Pronger case, lol.
I'm pretty sure it was specifically about the city in the Pronger case, lol.
So one Guy (Pronger or his wife) did not like the city........so what...........?..........Ryan Smith and his wife did not like LA..........so the people there should feel interior? We don't all eat the same things nor do we wear the same clothes.......so we should feel bad?................We are all different.........that's what makes the world interesting!
NHL players really are a strange breed these days in the fact that they want to play away from the hotbeds of the sport. You don't hear Superstars in the NBA saying "Damn, I would absolutely love to play for the Milwaukee Bucks where hardly anyone will know me"
We are building a young and exciting team that will be going places soon. It's an exciting time in this team's history and a number of players will want to be a part of it.
__________________ Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated
Really? I remember it the other way around. Seguin was saying he wanted to go #1 overall and Hall was saying he wanted to be an Oiler. Never really know what they're saying and actually feeling though.
BINGO! This is exactly the way I remember it too. When I first saw it, I was extremely pleased we picked Hall.
