By Bob Herpen
The emotional departure of Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers in a blockbuster deal before Tuesday's trade deadline raises a serious issue in this cap-dominated era of the new NHL: how important is the future to any franchise if cap constraints mean divorcing themselves from an integral part of the club in the present? 
According to several sources North of the Border, the main issue between Smyth and Oilers GM Kevin Lowe, was a difference of two-to-three-hundred-thousand dollars separating what the team was prepared to offer the man dubbed "Captain Canada," and what the long-time Oiler believed he was worth as the media-anointed face of the franchise.
The 31-year-old, who was the longest tenured Oiler before Tuesday (nearly 12 years in blue and orange/copper), is an unrestricted free-agent after this season. In a press conference before the Oilers-Coyotes game Tuesday night, Lowe dragged out the old chestnut, now rapidly becoming cliche, that the club had to move forward, get the most value, and do what was best for its future.
Sound familiar? Like another embattled general manager about 2,000 miles to the Southwest? Sure it does.
Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spouted similar remarks following the February 15th deal which shipped superstar-captain Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall, prospect Ryan Parent, and a pair of draft picks. To hear Holmgren tell it, every day Forsberg refused to give a definite answer about whether he wanted to stay in Philadelphia or help the team by agreeing to a trade, Foppa was endangering both the short-term and long-term plans of the club.
According to that logic, if the Flyers and Forsberg could not come to an agreement until this past Monday or Tuesday, any other team interested in the star forward could have acquired him for a warm case of Labatt's and some second-hand goalie equipment.
It's just not the case.
Despite what a majority of trades and the general managers who make them may tell you, the NHL is still very much a "future is now" league. With 16 teams reaching the playoffs each year, plus another six more on the bubble this late in the regular season, there is always the temptation in the back of their minds to try and swing a deal for a bona-fide jersey-filler to help in the short term even as the organizational philosophy is to accumulate draft picks and prospects.
Look at this year's deadline - the teams which made the most moves for the most bodies were the ones either on unsure footing, or scraping together as many players for depth as possible to make a run at a playoff berth. Edmonton is one of those clubs on the bubble in the Western Conference, and they will most likely fall by the wayside due to a hard-line stance on a salary issue, having dealt away their heart and soul for little more than potentiality.
So, it's more than a little hard to swallow when Lowe and Holmgren stand in front of a bank of microphones and crow about their club's dedication to building for the future and getting the best value possible, when two big names depart teams who, by virtue of trading those big names, have to reload almost immediately to recoup that loss.
The end results are thorny at best: Smyth had trouble composing himself during a brief press conference at Edmonton International Airport, at the end of which he defiantly spat out his wish to win the Cup with the Islanders just so he could bring it back and show the fans of Edmonton.
According to several sources North of the Border, the main issue between Smyth and Oilers GM Kevin Lowe, was a difference of two-to-three-hundred-thousand dollars separating what the team was prepared to offer the man dubbed "Captain Canada," and what the long-time Oiler believed he was worth as the media-anointed face of the franchise.
The 31-year-old, who was the longest tenured Oiler before Tuesday (nearly 12 years in blue and orange/copper), is an unrestricted free-agent after this season. In a press conference before the Oilers-Coyotes game Tuesday night, Lowe dragged out the old chestnut, now rapidly becoming cliche, that the club had to move forward, get the most value, and do what was best for its future.
Sound familiar? Like another embattled general manager about 2,000 miles to the Southwest? Sure it does.
Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spouted similar remarks following the February 15th deal which shipped superstar-captain Peter Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall, prospect Ryan Parent, and a pair of draft picks. To hear Holmgren tell it, every day Forsberg refused to give a definite answer about whether he wanted to stay in Philadelphia or help the team by agreeing to a trade, Foppa was endangering both the short-term and long-term plans of the club.
According to that logic, if the Flyers and Forsberg could not come to an agreement until this past Monday or Tuesday, any other team interested in the star forward could have acquired him for a warm case of Labatt's and some second-hand goalie equipment.
It's just not the case.
Despite what a majority of trades and the general managers who make them may tell you, the NHL is still very much a "future is now" league. With 16 teams reaching the playoffs each year, plus another six more on the bubble this late in the regular season, there is always the temptation in the back of their minds to try and swing a deal for a bona-fide jersey-filler to help in the short term even as the organizational philosophy is to accumulate draft picks and prospects.
Look at this year's deadline - the teams which made the most moves for the most bodies were the ones either on unsure footing, or scraping together as many players for depth as possible to make a run at a playoff berth. Edmonton is one of those clubs on the bubble in the Western Conference, and they will most likely fall by the wayside due to a hard-line stance on a salary issue, having dealt away their heart and soul for little more than potentiality.
So, it's more than a little hard to swallow when Lowe and Holmgren stand in front of a bank of microphones and crow about their club's dedication to building for the future and getting the best value possible, when two big names depart teams who, by virtue of trading those big names, have to reload almost immediately to recoup that loss.
The end results are thorny at best: Smyth had trouble composing himself during a brief press conference at Edmonton International Airport, at the end of which he defiantly spat out his wish to win the Cup with the Islanders just so he could bring it back and show the fans of Edmonton.
Likewise, Forsberg took nearly four games in Nashville to find some kind of comfort zone, coming off the first trade of his storied career, and now has three points in his last three games.
The Flyers are 1-6 since Forsberg's departure. Still reeling from the shock of Tuesday's shenanigans, the Oilers could not even muster a goal on Mark Messier Night in Edmonton, losing to lowly Phoenix, 3-0.
With results like these, no wonder Lowe and Holmgren are professing faith in the future -- because the present looks mighty bleak.
The Flyers are 1-6 since Forsberg's departure. Still reeling from the shock of Tuesday's shenanigans, the Oilers could not even muster a goal on Mark Messier Night in Edmonton, losing to lowly Phoenix, 3-0.
With results like these, no wonder Lowe and Holmgren are professing faith in the future -- because the present looks mighty bleak.
3 comments:
Who cares about the Oilers or Canadiens for that matter.
you'll care just about the time you're whining about the Flyers' defense not being able to stop Smyth when he scores the a possible playoff-berth-clinching goal for the Islanders on Martin Biron late in the season.
I care about the oilers, and I am Canadian...so that was a very kind comment up there, thank you. It's about hometown patriotism. Even living in New Jersey right now, I will cheer for the Oilers and always will. I suspect that Ryan Smyth will end up back with the oilers in July, but for now I will also cheer for the Islanders, because of Smyth and Bergeron. Funny enough, they both scored points in tonight's game. Go Oilers!!
As for the comment about not caring about Canadians, you're the type of person that gives Americans a really bad reputation when it comes to friendliness thinking that the USA runs the world.
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