Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Call Me Ishmael

"From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee!"

Ok, so this is getting to be humiliating. It is beyond pathetic to pursue this matter any further than where it has been pursued already. Look where that kind of thinking landed poor old Ahab (above...well actually it's Gregory Peck playing Ahab, but same diff).

The Oilers really need to move on and sign a 3rd Line Center. I can rationalize Penner deserving a fresh start under the new coach, unless of course the Oilers are now dead to him and he demands a trade out of town. Hopefully similar bridges have not been burned beyond repair with Smid or Cogliano, either. Unless the Oilers retract the offer to the Senators for Heatley, this is going to get really ugly and possibly even do irreparable damage to both the organization's and the city's already tenuous standing as a potential destination for free agents. If the Oilers cannot even trade for a player that has demanded a trade and named them as a preferred destination, then they might as well pack up their stuff and go home. This franchise will never be able to compete in this league if shenanigans like this are allowed to continue.

Sign Nik Antropov first thing Thursday morning, and as a wise man from the East wrote many years ago, "The Moving Finger writes, and having writ, moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a Word of it."

9 comments:

  1. JK: You're right. This really Sucks. And every day as the Oilers try to beg Heatley to come is another confirmation to Penner, Smid, and Cogliano that there's no going back. If the team had shown balls -- or even ball -- and said "OK, Dany Boy, screw you, we offered a fair package pf good hockey players so we'll just move on ahead with those guys", that would have been one thing. But after being left dangling for two or three days it's hard to imagine them not being a little bitter if they wind up staying. Have the Oilers even issued a statement acknowledging the difficult position their guys are in, offered an apology, expressed anger at a leak emanating from another source, anything at all? They're showing about as much class and common sense as Mark Sanford. I don't care how fucking hot she is, that's just dumb.

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  2. Didn't Nik Antropov already sign in Atlanta?

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  3. Antropov signed with Atlanta on Thursday morning, a few hours after my post. I preferred Madden (who is also off the table) for the 3rd Line Center position, but was intrigued if Antropov could have fit in here somewhere. Now I think it needs to be all about moving on from the Heatley fiasco and signing Kotalik to play on the Hemsky line. Thank God Chris Neil did not end up in Edmonton. Malholtra, Gratton, Morrison, Betts, and even Peca or Marchant are all still out there as viable stop-gap 3rd Line Center options that would likely be affordable and a good fit between Moreau and Pisani. Don't forget that Pouliot, Potulny, and Brule are also already in the Oilers system and are possibly even better options - never mind what Riley Nash could become in the near future or what other NCAA gems might be lurking out there somewhere in the ether.

    I still don't get the Mark Sanford reference. Que'est-ce que c'est?

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  4. I'd prefer Penner to keep playing that first line role and Kotalik to flank Gagner and Cogliano or Gagner and O'Sullivan.

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  5. I still don't get the Mark Sanford reference. Que'est-ce que c'est?

    Too busy chasing skirt to the dereliction of other responsibilities. Not quite that classless I don't suppose, but I sure don't get a sense of a steady hand on the tiller at this point.

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  6. PS: Added you to the blogroll at The Copper & Blue. Keep up the excellent work!

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  7. @Bruce

    Takes some time for Tambellini to get used having so much lee way.

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  8. Have the Oilers even issued a statement acknowledging the difficult position their guys are in, offered an apology, expressed anger at a leak emanating from another source, anything at all?

    Tambellini finally got around to some of these details on Friday (72 hours after the "trade" was leaked).

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  9. Wow...pics of other blogs.

    This must be the Hollywood of Oiler blog-ville.

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