NHL, scapegoats and personal responsibility.

The term "Scapegoat " is a Hebrew word, found in Leviticus, that was introduced into English via the old testament. It literally means a Goat that has been randomly chosen by the tribe to be sent out into the desert and fed to a Demon (Azazel). This goat's completely innocent and random sacrifice provides forgiveness to the other members of the tribe, an act that will sound very familiar to Christians world wide.

I have never been comfortable with randomly choosing innocents to blame for the actions of larger groups. There are very well known historical incidents that show that scapegoating is not an effective way to resolve a problem, and, lets be frank, it is not very good for the scapegoat. 

But I have been watching Oiler fans do this for years. We pick someone that we feel is not working as hard as they should be or is having a down streak, or was silly enough to say what they really felt, or he is just a nice guy so he is an easy target or, or, or... 

And to make matters worse, we live in a society where no one is ever responsible for their own actions. Any incident no mater how small is always blamed on a third party. Responsibility is rarely accepted by those responsible. 

So, historically, Edmontonians pick our scapegoat and run them out of town. We have done this to so many players that we are renown around the NHL for it. 

But contrary to what we think might happen, when we pick a scapegoat and feed it to the Demons, the Hockey Gods don't forgive us our sins and send us great players in honour of the sacrifice. In fact, the actual Hockey gods, the ones paid millions of dollars to win games, spread the word about the local fans and, the next thing you know, Hockey gods simply will not play here.  

So we have to build the team through the draft and by trading third and forth line players for other third and forth line players or by picking up players at the ends of their careers and hoping for miracles. So talented men like Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish, who have been at times brilliant and at times fallible are forced to play with half a deck. Other teams build by the draft or by trades. We build by the draft. 

And building by the draft takes a long time. Thank God we are in last place. Building from the draft at the top would be a nightmare. 

What is happening right now isn't one hundred percent Kevin Lowe's fault - on ice or off. Part of it is our history, part of it is distractions, but much of the blame is ours, for the pressure placed on kids, their fear of retribution and our history of turning on players. And personal responsibility is difficult. 

And I don't have an answer, just a question. When you feed Kevin Lowe to Azazel, what environment are you leaving for the next guy....  

We are very, very lucky.

On Monday, Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz wrote a letter to Oilers fans, requesting patience.

He is requesting patience because his long term plans are slowly coming together. He has made a massive investment in this city. He bought the team that defines us and guaranteed it will stay put. He is building a massive hockey cathedral in the middle of our decrepit downtown. He is building something great and he is asking us to give him a little time. 

The previous Oilers ownership group saved the Oilers and kept them in the Edmonton. God bless them for taking a risk and keeping the team here and for rebuilding the franchise. Cam Nichols and his friends are owed a huge debt from the city. 

When their time was done Mr Katz stepped forward and took over. He invested a fortune and risked a lot of his own money to keep the team here. Now he has negotiated a deal that will guarantee the team stays here for the foreseeable future. Don’t get mad at him if you don’t like the deal. Your city negotiated it for you. Every business person on earth will negotiate the best deal they can and if you don’t like your deal, call city hall and complain about their negotiators, not about Mr Katz.

In any other city on earth, where a businessman invested everything he had in a team to keep it local, then negotiated, in good faith, to build, cooperatively, a structure that would simultaneously redefine a city’s crumbly, ugly core  and rejuvenate this team, the businessman would be celebrated. He would be given every opportunity to rebuild the franchise. People would be patient, elated, looking to that future. People would realize that a team as young and as talented as the Oilers have a huge future. That future is coming in a fantastic new edifice on a piece of land that currently looks like a scene from a zombie movie.

Maybe the team is too busy looking ahead. Maybe their illustrious past has them looking backwards. Maybe Kevin Lowe forgot how to win. Maybe Craig MacTavish suddenly lost his edge.

Maybe. Or, maybe there are ups and downs in sports and every team goes through them.

Here’s a thought. Maybe we are spoiled. Have you ever looked at the Oilers numbers since they entered the NHL in 1980?

We have been in the finals 7 times, more than any other team.

Times in Finals since the Oilers entered the NHL in 1980
EDMONTON OILERS	7	21.2%
DETROIT RED WINGS	6	18.2%
NEW YORK ISLANDERS	5	15.2%
NEW JERSEY DEVILS	5	15.2%
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS	4	12.1%
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS	4	12.1%
BOSTON BRUINS	4	12.1%
VANCOUVER CANUCKS	3	9.1%
MONTREAL CANADIENS	3	9.1%
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS	3	9.1%
CALGARY FLAMES	3	9.1%

We won the Stanley cup 5 times, more than any other team. 

Stanley Cups since the Oilers entered the NHL in 1980
EDMONTON OILERS	5	15.2%
DETROIT RED WINGS	4	12.1%
NEW YORK ISLANDERS	4	12.1%
NEW JERSEY DEVILS	3	9.1%
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS	3	9.1%
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS	2	6.1%
COLORADO AVALANCHE	2	6.1%
MONTREAL CANADIENS	2	6.1%
ANAHEIM DUCKS	1	3.0%
BOSTON BRUINS	1	3.0%
CALGARY FLAMES	1	3.0%
CAROLINA HURRICANES	1	3.0%
DALLAS STARS	1	3.0%
LOS ANGELES KINGS	1	3.0%
NEW YORK RANGERS	1	3.0%
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING	1	3.0%

And,  for the”what have you done for me lately” crowd? Look at these stats from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_franchise_post-season_droughts)

Team	Last appearance in Stanley Cup Final	Stanley Cup Final drought
Toronto Maple Leafs	1966–67	45 seasons
St. Louis Blues	1969–70	42 seasons
Phoenix Coyotes	never 80	33 seasons1
New York Islanders	1983–84	28 seasons
San Jose Sharks	never 92	21 seasons
Montreal Canadiens	1992–93	19 seasons
New York Rangers	1993–94	18 seasons
Florida Panthers	1995–96	16 seasons
Nashville Predators	never 99	14 seasons
Washington Capitals	1997–98	14 seasons
Buffalo Sabres	1998–99	13 seasons
Winnipeg Jets	Never 99	13 seasons2
Columbus Blue Jackets	Never 2000	12 seasons
Dallas Stars	1999–2000	12 seasons
Minnesota Wild	Never 2000	12 seasons
Colorado Avalanche	2000–01	11 seasons
Calgary Flames	2003–04	8 seasons
Tampa Bay Lightning	2003–04	8 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes	2005–06	7 seasons
Edmonton Oilers	2005–06	7 seasons

Pause, breath. Let that sink in. Toronto has not been in the Finals since 67. How many of you reading this were alive in 67? Yet they walk like gods amongst mortal men in Toronto. .

Look, I know we all want the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup every year, but it isn't going to happen. Would you rather be Vancouver, St Louis or Buffalo? Not Likely. Toronto? Not if you paid me.

We all love Kevin Lowe. First draft pick, first goal, great defenseman, great President. Craig MacTavish has not lost his edge, frankly I think he has an amazing hockey mind for a guy that was the last player in the NHL to forgo a helmet. And Daryl Katz has taken on a burden that none of us could have, and he did it for us.

So let’s relax. Watch the new arena as it takes shape. Relish the games on the new ice. Watch the Oilers win their first cup in the new building in the third year (I am calling it).

Meanwhile, enjoy the odd win. Pick a player and follow his stats. But give credit where credit is due. If some other Joe Billionaire had purchased the Oilers, moved them to Portland and built a Billion dollar arena we would be green with envy and the people of Portland would be very lucky and very, very happy.

Our Joe Billionaire did that and we are very lucky indeed.