Pause.... sob.... "cause that's where my heart is"
At first I was OK with this trade. It's a damn good return for a UFA, and there's always the chance that they weren't gonna get this done by July 1st and they'd lose Smyth for nothing. I didn't like the idea of paying him 5.6 or whatever (I've heard 5.5-5.8) when Smyth was 36, or overpaying him because he's in a career year. And hey, the Islanders have a storied history of trading their prospects who later become stars elsewhere, see McCabe, Luongo, Jokinen, Chara, Spezza (k, as a pick) and to a lesser extent, Torres.
But that press conference yesterday turned me. He would have been worth overpaying for.
I'm not getting into whether it was the smart hockey move or smart money move or whatever.
It was a bad move because of what I said in my last post, Smyth WAS the Edmonton Oilers. He was everyone's favourite player, to the point that he was a default and people had to pick others. Ok, so Pisani and Moreau and Hemsky and Reasoner are your favourite player... but that's only after Smyth. Smyth was just a given, there wasn't any point in actually saying he was your favourite player, everyone knew it. He was your favourite player even if you didn't know it. Hell, he was your favourite Oiler even if you didn't like the Oilers.
As fans, we need reasons to keep coming back. Smyth was invaluable to us as fans because he was a reason you could always cheer for the team. He was the identity that not all teams get to have. Even when your top-three-in-the-league defenseman demands a trade four days after leading the team to G7 of the Finals and one year into a five year contract, you can still cheer for the team because you still have the team's identity. You still have the embodiment of what you want your team to represent.
Now... the Oilers don't have an identity. If Smyth doesn't come back, in five years time it might be Ales Hemsky. Which of course is right when his contract is up. But Hemsky is no Smyth, he never will be, he can't be.
Losing Pronger hurt because we lost a great player. Losing Smyth really hurts because it feels like we've lost the whole team.
But that press conference yesterday turned me. He would have been worth overpaying for.
I'm not getting into whether it was the smart hockey move or smart money move or whatever.
It was a bad move because of what I said in my last post, Smyth WAS the Edmonton Oilers. He was everyone's favourite player, to the point that he was a default and people had to pick others. Ok, so Pisani and Moreau and Hemsky and Reasoner are your favourite player... but that's only after Smyth. Smyth was just a given, there wasn't any point in actually saying he was your favourite player, everyone knew it. He was your favourite player even if you didn't know it. Hell, he was your favourite Oiler even if you didn't like the Oilers.
As fans, we need reasons to keep coming back. Smyth was invaluable to us as fans because he was a reason you could always cheer for the team. He was the identity that not all teams get to have. Even when your top-three-in-the-league defenseman demands a trade four days after leading the team to G7 of the Finals and one year into a five year contract, you can still cheer for the team because you still have the team's identity. You still have the embodiment of what you want your team to represent.
Now... the Oilers don't have an identity. If Smyth doesn't come back, in five years time it might be Ales Hemsky. Which of course is right when his contract is up. But Hemsky is no Smyth, he never will be, he can't be.
Losing Pronger hurt because we lost a great player. Losing Smyth really hurts because it feels like we've lost the whole team.
posted by Julian at 3:36 a.m.
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