I realize I wrote a blog about three hours ago, but my role here is to be timely with my blogs. Lots of people say to me, "what's your role in this," or, "what's your purpose in life," or even tell me I bring nothing of value to the mix. I disagree. Aside from hyping the hell out of the Oilers, which I do on a daily basis, I'm here often to make sense of things for the masses. When I see chaos and see Oilerville struggling with it, I like to try and help everyone understand.

I can hear my daily critics who visit my Comments section saying, "are you kidding me? You know nothing about hockey, the Oilers, the NHL, girls, feelings, good pasta, Dancing with the Stars, or how to knit a little hat." You'd be surprised, friends...you'd be surprised. I know way more than you'd think I know. Of course, since you don't know, you won't understand this comment, but I'll keep writing anyway just because I can.

Twitter went nuts after the Oilers game. Absolutely nuts. I thought it was funny at first, but after a few minutes of it, I felt kinda depressed over the whole thing. I have a friend who reads news over at 630 CHED...Brandon Graziano, to be specific. He reads news often during Inside Sports, which is hosted by former Hockeybuzz Oilers blogger Dan Tencer. Graziano, who is from Toronto and is a Leafs fan (yuck) had the good fortune of finding work in Lac La Biche on 103.5 Big Dog. Of course, you all know one of my offices is in Lac La Biche. Let's just say Graziano and I became friends, and have played Cards Against Humanity a number of times, drinking lots of alcohol while it happens.

In any case, back to Tencer and tonight. Tencer hosts the Oilers pre and post-game shows on 630 CHED. Oilers faithful who were attending the game against the Blues on Saturday were incredibly unhappy at the result; started booing the team mercilessly by the end of the game. Tencer...and I'm going by what I've been told; I didn't listen to the post-game show on CHED, made comments about the fans, the booing, and how it didn't help. I'm guessing what he was trying to say is that the Oilers are a young team, and with young teams there's gonna be nights like this and the fans need to be patient. I don't think Tencer was trying to tell off the fans, nor was he blaming Oilers fans for the loss. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.

Twitter went crazy, with everyone ripping Tencer a new one. It got so out of hand, my friend Brandon sent me a text message asking if I was watching the situation unfold on Twitter. Indeed I was.

I'm going to do the Oilers and Tencer a favor. Yep. Even though the guy blocks me on Twitter for no reason, I'm going to attempt to explain this situation in a way that everyone can live with and feel better about. Why? Because I think the wrong guy is taking a beating here, and I don't enjoy seeing that no matter who's getting it. I'm going to say to you, Oilersville, the same thing I told my buddy Brandon via text message.

The problem here isn't the fans, the players, the coaches, or the broadcast team. The problem in Edmonton is management, or more specifically, the way management has chosen to conduct business.

I'll elaborate.

Oilers GM Steve Tambellini has many gifts. One of them is the ability to say a bunch of words while saying absolutely nothing. He'd make an amazing politician. But, of course, everyone hates politicians. Why? Because nobody trusts them. Part of being a good politician is keeping everyone living in fear. Watch a few old George Carlin stand-up comedy routines if you can't wrap your head around it. Fear is purposeful, because no one ever questions leadership if they're living in fear. I can offer you a few dozen examples in world history to demonstrate how and why this principle works.

Oilers fans have no idea what's going on. We're so use to losing we're petrified to question in any serious way how the team is being run. Management doesn't want to explain what they are doing, in part because fans would be furious if they did, and in part because many of the players themselves wouldn't be thrilled with it. Honesty is sometimes counter-productive. It certainly would be counter-productive to a team that is planning to make major moves over the next year and a half.

I've been saying for a very long time that the core of the team is the kids. I've also been saying the problem on the team has been and continues to be the veterans. This team has stunk since 2007. Why? Because the veterans are just not good enough. Not only am I saying this; I'm certain team management is aware of it. But when you're talking about dealing players like Ales Hemsky or buying out Shawn Horcoff, you need to wait for the right moment. And when is the moment "right"? When you have a replacement in place, and when you have the ability to eliminate those players while receiving reasonable assets in return.

Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Yakupov, Paajarvi, Hartikainen, Gagner, Petry, J.Schultz, and Klefbom are all parts of the long-term roster in Edmonton. Earlier in the year I questioned Sam Gagner's future, but now I'm completely sold on him. I'd add Devan Dubnyk to this list too if he could find some consistency. If I do add him, what we have is a list of 11 players. Eleven. Not 20. Management knows this because they know how to add.

Obviously the Oilers aren't going to get rid of everyone, but by my count there about six or seven current players on the roster who will not be here when this team is good again. This is a scary number for management to offer up to fans directly, because with it comes the realization that the Oilers are still more than a season away from being good. Perhaps this team won't be good until 2014/2015. The team, for obvious reasons, isn't going to admit this.

Shawn Horcoff is a buyout, not a trade. Ales Hemsky and Ladislav Smid could be moved for a decent return at the 2013 trade deadline, mostly because they'll be 23 or 24 teams buying and only a few teams selling. Re-signing Ryan Smyth was a mistake and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's asked not to show up for work all next season. Nikolai Khabibulin is also ready to retire. Ryan Jones and Lennart Petrell are disposable players; the type the Oilers could find pretty easily if they looked. On D, I'd like Nick Schultz and Mark Fistric to stick around, one because he's a leader, and the other because he's a beast. They are fine as a 5/6 pairing for the next five seasons. Corey Potter, Mike Brown, Theo Peckham and Eric Belanger have no real trade value, and will go away as soon as Oilers management find a better alternative.

So let's just say, for argument's sake, that the Oilers have the following players in place for their long-term roster:
Left-wing: Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, Teemu Hartikainen
Center: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Sam Gagner
Right-wing: Nail Yakupov, Jordan Eberle
Defense: Oscar Klefbom, Justin Schultz, Jeff Petry, Mark Fistric, Nick Schultz
Goal: Devan Dubnyk

By my math, this equals seven missing pieces...ten if you factor in extras. How scared are you to speak openly to fans about the situation if you're Steve Tambellini and you know...not think, but know...you still need to add 10 players before this team will stop sucking? The Oilers through dealing Hemsky and Smid could find two missing pieces. That brings us to five. If the Oilers draft high enough, they can certainly add a center with size. Now the list is four. With Horcoff, Hemsky, Smid and Whitney off the books, the Oilers will have the cap space needed to add two UFA's of significance during the summer. That brings the list to two. Once you bring all of these players together, give them a year or two to mature and become familiar with playing together. Suddenly it's 2014/2015.

The Oilers broadcast team, and everyone who covers the team is in an awkward position here. People want the truth, but they can't handle the truth. The Oilers aren't a team about to bloom; they are a team roughly half-way thru the rebuilding process. Which is something fans might be willing to accept and be more patient with if they only heard Tambellini or Lowe explain it. Because they won't, it's guys like Tencer and Stauffer who need to do it. Sometimes, like tonight, the results are catastrophic when they try.

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