In other news .........

Ty Conklin was traded to the Buffalo Sabres since they shipped Biron to the Flyers.
Wouldn't it be hilarious if the Sabres win the Stanley Cup and Ty rub it in our faces?!?!?

GO CONKS!

OILERS fan, or SMYTH fan?

I am an OILERS fan, not a SMYTH fan.

After watching the Hockey central "deadline day bash" on Sportsnet all day and reading some of the ludicrous comments from fans on the bottom ticker, all I have to say to all the Smyth-huggers who are jumping off the Oilers bandwagon: GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE! WE DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE!
Don't sit there and say you aren't going to be an OILERS fan anymore because SMYTH got traded. It's a team sport assholes, and it's a business as much as it is a game at the end of the day. Go become a fucking Islanders fan then if that will make you happy, much like the fucking Gretzky bandwagoners back in 1988 who became Kings fans. SUCK IT.

I honestly think the Smyth trade is hilarious.

Good on Lowe for not caving to his salary demands. Smyth really doesn't have many talents besides standing in front of the net and tipping pucks. Sure he works hard and is the Oilers "heart and soul" blah blah blah............. so was Messier at one point. He got traded eventually. THEY ALL DO. Unless your name is Steve Yzerman or Joe Sakic that is. The end of the franchise player ended long before Smyth was even drafted.

I don't even give a fuck, which is odd considering he is (was) the Oilers leading scorer this season, but I never was a big Smyth fan to begin with. He was just part of the team to me. I cried a little when I heard Bergeron was traded, but I didn't even care at all when I heard Smyth was traded. I know he will be missed on and off the ice but many fans, but after hearing from a few people that Smyth is a whiny ass-kisser (and also a cheap bastard who doesn't tip, which is weird cuz he owns a restaurant/bar for fuck's sake) I will miss him even less than I would have originally.

Now, if say my Raffi had been traded I would be a crying blubbing mess, but after being in denial when Doug Weight was traded, I have learned to deal with trades better. Still cry yes, still miss the player yes, but it's a team sport so players come and go. We can't hold on to them forever because forever doesn't exist.

Farewell Smyth, thanks for all the goals. I sure won't miss your "groupies".

Remember kids, it's about the crest on the front of your jeresy, not the name on the back.

Robert Nilsson.

Game review; another loss. BOO

Nice ceremony, I thought it would have been longer. If Messier didn't cry it would have been shocking. I cried right along with him. The current Oilers wearing the vintage jerseys was a nice touch. Thanks "MOOSE" for all the memories! Nice of the league to let him borrow Stanley for the party. Too bad the Oilers didn't win it last season; it would have meant a little more than it did when Messier was pumping it around the ice.



Oilers Storyline: the 28th ranked power-play beat the 2nd ranked penalty kill for the 1st two goals. Raffi Torres (as much as I love him; what a fucktard tonight) has the puck 5 feet from the blueline and doesn't get it out. The 3rd Coyotes goal is scored shortly there after off the cycle. NICE WORK BOYS. KEEP IT UP. YOU MAY FALL FURTHER THAN 9TH IN THE WEST AND REALLY BE SET IN THE 2007 DRAFT. FUCK.

As much as the Oilers pissed me off tonight, they are still my team; my "boys", I will still loudly and proudly cheer them on during the four Oilers games in March I am going to.
The chance of making the playoffs is pretty much very slim, but it sure will weed out the bandwagoners. I say Good Riddance! We don't need bandwagoners anyways.

7GP: 2W-3L-2OTL : 6 PTS.

Super road trip boys.
Way to win not more than two games in a row since November.
Start getting used to life without Oilers hockey come April 8th people.
Those playoffs are sliding further away, especially if this disturbing trend of not being able to win more than two games in a row keeps up.
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGH.

1st goals, whiny Anson Carter, playing spoiler, more injuries, Flames getting scared, team autograph session.

Haven't posted in a few days, so I am cramming it all into one!

Smid and Pouliot play some soccer in the hallway prior to the game in Columbus.

1st up, congrats to Smid for scoring his 1st NHL goal Thursday night in Columbus.
Great pass from Torres after he made a beautiful move on Ron Hainsey.
Great game by all the boys, especially Horcoff with his 1st 2 goal game of the season, in a 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets. A much needed win over a non-playoff team.
Again, another game another injury, Gilbert left after a stick in the face and did not play on Friday. He is added to the growing list of Oilers on the IR with a concussion. Ugh.



---------------------------------------------


Anson Carter of the BJ's was whining in the Columbus papers a few days before, the Friday Edm Sun did an article about him as well. Ken Hitchcock, the Blue Jackets coach, did not have nice things to say about him.

"When you see players at this time of year that say 'I don't have the focus' or 'The coach isn't playing me because he might deal me', that's a very weak excuse," said Hitchcock. "That's a player just allowing himself to get pushed out of the role that he's in. I get a kick out of that, I really do. If you stop and think about it, if you were a player in the last year of your contract, why wouldn't you try to make an impression in the city in which you live?"

Carter was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 5th round draft pick on Friday.
Obviously it was just to get rid of him, because a 5th round pick ain't much.

------------------------------------------
Oilers win a in SHOOT-OUT! Yes, you heard correctly; Oilers won in a SHOOT-OUT!




What is with the Oilers and shoot-outs against Detroit?
Earlier this season the Oilers beat the Red Wings in Edmonton in a long sudden-death shoot-out. That was their only shoot-out win of the season, until last night.
Props to Hasek for being a douchebag and biting on Pouliot's fake, which resulted in Marty Reasoner's (easy) game tying goal into an empty net. Glad to see Reasoner score again after a long drought. Poor guy is working hard and needed that break.

Both Pisani and Tjarnqvist returned from the IR. Nedved took Pisani's place on the IR with a knee injury that has kept him out of the last few games. Not that Nedved is going to be missed; he really hasn't done much in his 2nd stint with the Oilers.

Downside to the game: Lupul now joins the injured club with, you guessed it; ANOTHER CONCUSSION. What is with all the concussions this season??!?! What is with this road trip and someone being injured after every game!?!?! Stoll is still on the IR with a concussion, no word yet if Lupul is out day-to-day or if he will be placed on the IR as well. Get well soon boys, we need you! :(

The Oilers played spoiler in this one, as the Red Wings were going for their 14 th straight win at home. Too bad for them the Oilers are gunning for a playoff spot and weren't doormats like they have been on the road. Plus, Roloson sucks in shoot-outs against everyone else but the Wings. Congrats to Smytty for scoring the only goal in the shoot-out as well. SUCK ON THAT HASEK, YOU OLD FART.

With the last two Oilers wins, they are now only 5 points out of the playoffs, instead of 9. Still not as great as being in a play-off position, but better than a few days ago. This has the Flames, now fallen to 8th, worried. Damn right you bitches better be worried. (See the next segment for more on this). 20 games to go; stranger things have happened. I, like many Oilers fans, would love for the Oilers to take the final playoff spot at the expense of the Flames.
BRING IT ON LAMES.
--------------------------------------




Too close for comfort

Fragile Flames wary of an Oiler uprising in the West

George Johnson, Calgary Herald, Saturday, February 24, 2007

A quick check of the side-view mirror only confirms the unease. Squint, and damn if it isn't still there. Off in the distance. No more than a fuzzy speck in the gathering haze, nearly out of sight.

But not quite . . .

That rickety blue pickup truck, big-ass Smytty at the wheel, and Hemsky and Horcoff and Rollie the Goalie and tough-as-old-boot-leather Gator piled in back, the familiar large Oil drop painted on each door.

"Seven points," agreed Craig Conroy, "is close.
"Too close."

Five is even closer, and that's the margin by which the Calgary Flames lead the Oilers for the Western Conference's final playoff spot, following Edmonton's 4-3 shootout win at Detroit on Friday night.

One by one, the Flames filed into the Pengrowth Saddledome on Friday at 11 a.m., for either an off-ice workout or a short turn on skates across the street at the Corral. Conspicuous by his presence was general manager Darryl Sutter.

Call it loitering with intent.

When Sutter feels it necessary to make an appearance down at event level these days, and thus make a statement, the temperature in the area plummets 10 degrees. In the time it takes to draw breath.

A seventh consecutive road loss in the books, Thursday in Phoenix, and the clearly not-amused architect finds his Flames unwitting, uneasy middlemen in the ongoing squabble that is life in the Northwest Division.

Certainly close enough to reel in the frontrunning Vancouver Canucks and snare that crucial, automatic third seeding in the Western Conference. But also not yet quite out of range of a possible Edmonton Oiler uprising, and catastrophe -- just envision the fallout, try to imagine the angst. There is still all to be won, everything to be lost.

"Right now, we're in eighth spot looking up at everyone else," sighed old hand Tony Amonte, who's been around the block a time or two.

While every now and again casting a nervous glance downward, at the pursuing Oilers. In the thrall of their own murderous road swing, having just offloaded a regular defenceman (Marc-
Andre Bergeron) for a down-the-road prospect who cannot help them make up ground during this stretch run, the Oil seemed ready to fall away, out of contention, only days ago.

But the Flames' maddening inability to close deals on the road has kept Craig MacTavish's men in with a chance, infused them with hope.

"I don't know if it's a mental thing," said coach Jim Playfair of his team's road woes. "But it isn't a good thing."

Potentially a fatal thing.

And don't think a shot at sneaking into the playoffs, again, this time at the expense of the oil-soaked, money-stuffed hoity-toitys from down south, wouldn't pump testosterone levels dangerously high up the road a piece.

They might just do it on spite alone.

"We've got to tighten our belts and look ahead," lectured Calgary captain Jarome Iginla. "You could dwell on the fact that we didn't take advantage of our good November and December. You could sit around and think where we'd be if only we were .500 on the road. You can talk about the leads we've let slip away in third periods lately.

"But it's all spilled milk.

"What's done is done. We have 21 games left. We have to focus on them. I'd be lying if I told you we didn't check out what the Oilers were doing; Vancouver and Minnesota, too. I know everybody's talking about how we've got to start winning on the road, and it's true. But we've just got to win games now. Period. No matter where they're being played.

"It's up to us to keep putting pressure on Vancouver . . . and Edmonton."

To do that means beating one of the West's elite tonight at the Saddledome. And that won't be an easy task, even for a team as proficient on home ice as the Flames -- the San Jose Sharks have won more road games than any other team in hockey.

Ah yes, road games . . .

In case you can't bear to look, six of the Flames' final eight games of the regular season happen to be away from the Saddledome, where they receive worse reviews than Norbit.

If that little detail doesn't emphasize the urgency of the moment, nothing will.

"And, even if you do finish eighth, you've still got to go on the road for the first round of playoffs," cautioned Amonte.

"So it's desperation time for us. Seems ever since I got here we've had to be desperate to play our best hockey. Now we'll see what we're made of.

"If we can put a streak together, we still have a great chance at winning our division."

True enough. Just don't be caught staring straight ahead. 'Cause Craig Conroy's right -- seven points is too close.

Never forget to keep tabs on that fuzzy speck back in the distance, and take a check of that side-view mirror every once in a while. Always remembering what's stencilled on the glass: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.







Them Flames are shaking in their boots; good, I hope they crash and burn. Aha, burn ........







------------------------------

It's official: Oilers team autograph session Sunday March 4th @ West Edmonton Mall 1 pm to 2:30pm.

The Oilers press release was put out yesterday; it is also announced on the WEM website. There had been varied rumors about this event for a few weeks now.

What this means is having to get at the Mall before the damn thing opens and map-out which players are going to be where that we actually want autographs from.
I have previously been to an auto-session at WEM; it was like a damn gong show. Back then it was for only an hour though, not an hour and a half.

Also listed in the press release for the upcoming session, players are being put in groups of 2 or 3. I say they should put more players in a group for the ease of the fans. The line-ups are going to be ridiculous to begin with.

Might I suggest to anyone heading to WEM that day to do some shopping: STAY HOME UNTIL AFTER 2:30. SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE OF ALL THE OILERS FANS LINED UP AND IN YOUR WAY.

To all the other Oilers fans going: stay the fuck out of my way if you are heading to the line-up for Ethan Moreau's table. His is the only current Oilers jersey that I don't have signed yet, so he better be there, shoulder injury or not. Sure, there are other autographs I want, but the Moreau jersey is more important than all the 8x10 photos I have accumulated.

GOOD LUCK TO US ALL.

Moreau signing auto's at the Oilers recent hospital visits, Jan 29th.

Say what now?

With MacTavish also going with backup Jussi Markkanen in goal you could be forgiven for figuring - in the wake of the Marc-Andre Bergeron trade - maybe the Oilers were showcasing Markkanen for a trade deadline deal. You could also come to the conclusion they'd decided they might as well play their prospects. - Terry Jones, Edm Sun.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like the Juice and all, but what team needs another back-up goalie?
Didn't the Oilers run with 3 goaltenders last season, and look how well that worked out.
GIVE ME A BREAK.

Also rumored to be on the move from the Oilers: Joffrey Lupul, Raffi Torres, Petr Sykora.
Well, unless Lowe is getting two offensive defencemen for all of them with a few draft picks thrown in, I don't see all three of them going. What teams really has two great defensemen anyways, let alone two great offensive defensemen?
The Ducks with Pronger and Niedermayer, The Stars with Zubov and Boucher, The Senators with Phillips and Redden, the Red Wings with the greatest defenseman in the NHL, Nick Lidstrom and to a lesser extent Markov.
Now, the Oilers had Pronger last season and barely made the playoffs.
This season without Pronger the Oilers are most likely going to barely miss the playoffs.
Our worst fears are coming true; without Pronger we are fucked. The offense that looked good on paper has not been able to over-come the shortcomings on the blue line.
Even with the rumor of Brewer coming back, he's no Pronger.
This team is in a transition period, and sad to say Lowe knew this ever since he traded Pronger in July.
Why has it taken so long for him to get anything done?! I guess only he can answer that.
Sometimes things aren't as easy as they appear to be. The fans can suggest trades left and right, but we aren't general managers, so we don't know who's available and at what price.


From the Edm Journal today:

Boston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Colorado all had scouts at this game.

Possible trade partners for the Oilers or the Senators???

-------------------------------------------

Another tidbit from the Edm Sun today:

With the number of Edmonton Oilers fans in the crowd, Mike Comrie figured he might be in for a rough ride.

However, the former Oiler got the last laugh last night scoring the shootout winner in a 4-3 victory.

"I saw enough Oiler jerseys to understand what was going on," Comrie said. "But it was nice to get the cheers from the Ottawa fans."

Comrie, playing his first game against the Oilers as a member of the Senators, heard a chorus of boos from the large contingent of Oiler fans in the building every time he touched the puck.

The boos were later drowned out by cheers from the Senators fans, who eventually picked up on why Comrie was being booed.

"I was shocked," said Senators head coach Bryan Murray.

"But I think he really looked good, he's skating real well. I thought he had real sharp legs. He was really heads up on the puck." - Derek Van Diest.

PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Like as if you were really 'shocked' that Comrie was booed by the Oilers fans in attendance. He bitched out on us, we have every right to boo him.
Good for him that he is a solid player, but us Oilers fans don't take to be fucked over by a home-town boy very well.

Martin Brodeur is love.

Outside of the Oilers, my favorite NHL player is Martin Brodeur.
Being that he plays for the Devils and they are in the Atlantic division, I don't get to watch him in action.
With the crap rotation schedule the NHL is operating on right now, the Devils don't even play the Oilers this season, but according to the crap schedule, the Devils should be in Edmonton for the 2007/08 season. I am praying that my beloved Marty will be in net that night, as you damn well know I will have tickets for that game!

Impressive stats for him so far this season; he is the "ironman" of goalies.

Devils record: 60 GP: 37-17-6
Brodeur's record: 58 GP: 37-16-5.

Very impressive indeed.
The Devils are notorious for having a weak back-up that doesn't get to play very many games. ( we thought Markkanen had it rough.........)
But at the same time, if Marty can handle the work-load (while racking up the wins and the best goalie stats in the league) all the power to him.

Shoot-out loses are worth 1 pt. Wins are worth 2 pts. How about trying for a goddamn WIN!?!?!?

Props to Gilbert for scoring his 1st NHL goal tonight, with 20 seconds left in the game to force overtime, earning the Oilers 1 pt. Meanwhile, the Senators continued to up their win streak to 4 games by winning in the shoot-out while the Oilers continued to flirt with disaster by earning 1 loser pt. to bring the brutal road-trip record to 0-2-0-2. Yes, a mere 2 pts. so far; 4 games into the 7 game road trip. AWESOME JOB BOYS.

In other news, the holder of the 8th and final playoff spot Minnesota Wild won tonight. (Memo to the Oilers: the media may talk about there being more teams in the playoffs eventually, but as of this season nothing has changed; it's still just talk; 10th place does NOT get you into the playoffs!) Colorado started the night 1 pt behind the Oilers, St. Louis 2 pts behind. Both these teams won as well. Colorado is now tied with the Oilers for 9th, but by virtue of having one more win than the Oilers, the Oil drop to 10th.
(Oil drop, haha, funny).
:(

Updated (bottom of the) Western Conference standings:

7. Dal: 73 pts
8. Min: 71 pts
9. Col: 62 pts
10. Edm: 62 pts
11. Stl: 61 pts


The playoffs are slowly slipping away............................

My hope for another long Oilers playoff run is slowly dying................

*Insert heavy, sad sigh here*

We must NOT give up, but hell, I just don't feel it anymore.

Mike Comrie, that little S.O.B, actually said it best in the Edm Sun today:

"It's just that Edmonton is a tough place to play. I grew up watching hockey players do the same thing, that if you weren't winning games, you feel the pressure.

"I remember sitting there in the mid-'90s when things weren't going well. The Oilers are such a big part of the community that your mood depends on how they're playing."

FUCK.

Hanging out with the enemy, errrr, old teammates.

(L toR) Back: Heatley, Moreau. Front: Staios, Comrie.

The Oilers currently have a photo blog on their website, photos taken by media member Morley Scott of 630 Ched fame.
It's more of a product placement for a new Bell phone. (Bell is one of the Oilers corporate sponsors.)
The picture quailty isn't that great because the photos are taken with a camera phone, but you get the idea.

Heatley and Staios are former teammates in Atlanta; Comrie used to be an Oiler, for those of you who choose to not remember that time.

Game prediction: Oilers 8, Senators 5.

I'm waiting for another old-time high score! And to be on the winning end of one of those this time! (See previous 7-3 and 7-6 losses to the Avalanche for being on the losing side.)

Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn boys!

Just a "game"?

Or does it mean something more?

Hardcore/die-hard Oilers fans can relate to this; hell hardcore/die-hard fans of any hockey team can relate to this: someone who is either not a hockey/sports fan at all or a bandwagoner/casual fan saying that it's just a "game."

Just a game hey?!
Ludicrous to be crying because Bergeron got traded; even after drunkenly yelling at the TV last night "FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU BERGERON!!!"
"Crazy" to let a "game" and a team of men playing that said game effect my emotions?!
On the contrary my friend.

Why be a "fan" (short for fanatic: a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal) if some sort of emotion is not invoked after the outcome of the "game"?
Hockey means more to some of us than outsiders will ever know and feel.
To some of us (well, to me anyways) hockey means more than just being a game.
Yes, I love the game, and I love the Oilers, even when they are sucking and the playoffs seem farther off after every passing game, there is still the sense of belonging and the sense of hope that they will pull through.
Hockey is an escape from the every grind of working life, a chance to be part of something bigger than ourselves, (see the 2006 playoffs for that point), a passion that is driven 1st by the love of the game and 2nd by the men that pay it.
Players come and go; we cry and move on, but the passion is still there; always will be there.
It's a way of life.

------------------------------------------------------------

Alana on hot-oil sums it up best:

It's heartbreaking to see your team flounder like this, especially after last year's success. I think I've forgotten how to be optimistic -- I go into each game with no hope at all. This way, the wins are happy surprises and the losses are nothing more than inevitabilities. The Oilers have become that crush that really defines the word "crush" -- they're that boy who gets your hopes up and then stomps your heart over and over. But no matter how disappointed he makes you, you still love him. It's painful, but there's really no escaping -- all you can hope for is that one shining moment where he reminds you why you fell in love with him in the first place.

-------------------------------------------------------------

My gal Sally with her take on the subject:

I'm So Frustrated.

I honestly don't know what's keeping me from punching a hole in my wall.

It's funny how a game can affect your mood so much. I remember crying for days after losing to the Canes in Game 7 last season. Add the whole Pronger fiasco, and you got yourself a pretty shitty couple of weeks. I remember seeing an interview with Juice on TSN after the game, and he looked so heartbroken, it killed me. So I stopped watching Snet, the Score, and TSN for a while, in fear that they would be playing an interview with another heartbroken Oiler, or show a clip of Rod Brind'Amour frenching the Cup.

My mom told me that it was "silly to be upset over a game." But you know, hockey is so much more than "a game" to me. It's my life.

Besides, why bother watching something if it does nothing to your emotions? I probably feel 10 different things during every game. Everything from being so angry that I throw and/or break whatever is around me, to being so happy that it brings me to tears.

Everyone has that one thing they're passionate about, and my passion is hockey.

----------------------------------------------

Marc-Andre Bergeron traded to the New York Islanders for Russian prospect Denis Grebeshov

Does this mean Lowe is selling at the deadline instead of buying?
Or is he freeing up money to sign Smyth to a $5 mil-a-yr plus long term contract?
Maybe a bit of both .....................
The trade deadline is now a mere 9 days away.
Lowe might be working on something bigger, or maybe not. You never know.

Sad to see Bergeron go, as mistake prone as he was, he will be missed by quite a few Oilers fans.
I myself tended to rag on him more this season than in seasons past, but it's fair to say I also cheered him on just as much, and praying he would learn from his mistakes.
Thanks for the all the great hip-check memories, thanks for all the goals and effort you gave to the Oilers.
Good luck with the Islanders Marc-Andre "troll" Bergeron. :(

Another pre-game ceremony, another Oilers loss.

I don't think I could despise Mats Sundin more than I already do.

Fuck you Leafs. I hope the Canadiens get their shit together and they take 8th place in the East leaving you dirty damn Leafs on the outside looking in.




On a positive note, how about the move Marc-Antoine Pouliot made on his penalty shot goal?
The kid just may have some talent yet.
If I can find a video clip on youtube, I will post it later.

More awe inspiring Oilers 2006 playoff memories.






Damn you Chris Pronger! How I miss you though.
I bet there are some Oilers fans out there that miss him too but aren't willingly to admit it.

Memo to the Oilers: Please beat the Leafs tonight?! K? thanks.

Oilers @ Leafs pre-game

Tonight the Oilers take on the (un)mighty Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.
Which, of course will be the 7 pm (EST) game on CBC, as the Leafs own that cushy tv spot every Saturday night on HNIC.

The Leafs are doing a pre-game ceremony to "celebrate" the last time the Leafs won a Cup, way back in 1967.
We all know how well the Oilers track record is when playing a game after a pre-game ceremony. Might as well hand the Leafs two points, mark down a loss for the Oilers and move on to Ottawa without any more injuries.

I would LOVE for nothing more than the Oilers to beat the Leafs ala Pittsburgh Penguins style; an 8-2 slaughtering, mostly cuz I HATE the Leafs more than any other NHL team (yes, even more than the B.O.A. rival Flames and those dirty Canucks), but also cuz the Oilers need to break the jinx of these pre-game ceremony games. And two points for the Oilers would, for obvious reasons, be better than none.

I don't know why the Leafs plan to "celebrate" a 40 year anniversary of futility, but whatever floats your boat. The story in the Edmonton Sun today will enlighten us on this topic.

Oilers injury update: Stoll is still on the IR, Pisani is still questionable.
Moreau is still a long way off; Tjarnqvist could be half-dead for all I care about his injury status (still on the IR for any of you that actually give a crap about Shaggy).

-----------------------------------------

Turning over a new Leaf


But will Oilers' ceremony jinx strike again?


By TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN, February 17, 2007

TORONTO -- The scheduling seems strange.

Tonight they'll celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Maple Leafs - the last time Toronto won the Stanley Cup - prior to the game here with the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers are a team that wasn't even a gleam in Bill Hunter's eye back in 1967 - a team which has won five Stanley Cups and went to Game 7 of the Cup final last year.

The Maple Leafs are a team which has not only not won a Stanley Cup in 40 years, they haven't been to a final.

Edmonton has been to seven.

"There's great irony there," said Oilers GM Kevin Lowe.

"I don't know if I want to go there," said coach Craig MacTavish, who admits growing up in London, Ont., cheering for Dave Keon way back when.

CELEBRATION TIME

MacTavish, who along with Lowe and five other Oilers went to New York and ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought by the Rangers, said it's an interesting study.

"The '67 Leafs are still being celebrated. It wasn't that way with the '40 Rangers when I got there. They never brought that team out. I think as time passes it becomes less of a celebration and more of a commiseration.

"Not that we didn't hear about 1940. I still can hear the chant from those fans in New York.

"Nineteeeeeen forrrrrrrty!"

Who knows. Maybe 23 years from now there'll be one of these deals in Edmonton to celebrate that 1990 team - the last Oiler team to win the Stanley Cup.

Maybe Edmonton has been in the early stages of what Toronto has been going through for years. There's already been the Boys On The Bus Reunion, the Heritage Classic game and there's yet another glory gang banner raising for Mark Messier only days away.

One member of the 1967 Leafs, a rookie who scored the series-winning goal against Chicago to get them to the final, was Brian Conacher. He spent seven years with Edmonton Northlands.

"It seems like every five years somebody comes up with some sort of recognition," said Conacher.

On March 22 here, there's a big "1967 - A Tribute'' dinner for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But the on-ice celebration tonight is the first actually staged by the Leaf organization itself and it welcomes Keon back after years of refusing to attend anything involving the organization.

"I know how people in Edmonton might look at this,'' says Conacher. "But in Toronto it's not really a reminder of 40 years of futility.

"I've always said Edmonton is probably the best sports market in Canada. People in Edmonton have such high expectations, whereas Leaf fans seem to live on hope. The tolerance level is lower in Edmonton."

But Conacher reminds fans out West, where Calgary has won a Cup and been in two other finals including Game 7 of the final two seasons back and where Vancouver has been to two finals and went to Game 7 of the final in '94, is that the '67 team is still celebrated out West, too.

'END OF AN ERA'

"People grew up on the Leafs on radio and television out West back then. The Maple Leafs were their team and are still their team for a lot of them."

Besides, he says, there was something about 1967.

"That year was the end of an era. It was the end of the Original Six. There were 10 or 11 Hall of Famers on that team.

"It was Canada's Centennial year. It was Toronto and Montreal in the final as they were so often back then. In Terry Sawchuk and Johnny Bower, two of the greatest goalies in the history of hockey played on that same team. There's a lot more involved than the last time Toronto won the Stanley Cup.''

A twist in all this is that tonight, in a way, it's Edmonton versus the '67 Leafs because the Oilers can't remember the last time they won a game against somebody when a banner was being raised or a pre-game celebration was part of the proceedings.

The Oilers have lost a lot of these deals, including recent banner raisings for Mark Messier in New York and Al MacInnis in St. Louis last year and "the fourth Johnny Bucyk night" as MacTavish put it.

"It seems like we're in the era of the ceremony," he said of coming off one the other day to honour Bucyk's 50-year involvement with the Boston Bruins.




WOW, the Cup looks huge in that picture!
Those Leafs think they are so clever.

More "My NHL" promo videos/commercials.


Richards and Lecavalier play video games.





Alexander Ovechkin fights with a vending machine.





Joe Thornton making toast. Unsuccessfully.

AHAHAHAHAHA

I love Ovechkin! He's the shit! rofl

The difference between a fangirl and a puckbunny.

Read it. Know it. Save it for future reference.

Think twice before throwing out the "Puckbunny" label.

fan-girl vs. puckbunny

Swedish Twins.

I hate the Canucks and the Sedin sisters, but this commercial is damn hilarious and worth a look.

This never gets old.

Ah, Pisani, what memories.

2006 SCF Game 5 short-handed OT winner.

PISANI SCORESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!





Get well soon Fernie, we miss you. :(

Schremp hot-doggin it during the WBS Peguins Skills Competition.

All I can say is; SICK, Totally SICK.

Love it! <3