It's been a tough day for Oilers fans today and all of them have my sympathies. Frank Seravalli has reported a few details that seems to mean great misfortune for Edmonton's divisional rival. In no particular order here are the reports:
- Noah Hanifin has directly told the Flames organization that he has no intention on signing an extension with Calgary. He will be a UFA after this season and the team will likely try to trade him now.
- Mikael Backlund, a heart and soul player in the locker room who many were hoping to be the next captain of the Calgary Flames also does not appear to be interested in signing an extension. He will be a UFA after this season and the team will likely try to trade him now.
- The Flames have reportedly offered Lindholm a massive extension offer but the belief right now is that Lindholm is not interested in an extension. He will be a UFA after this season and the team will likely try to trade him now.
- Lastly, Mitch Love, the coach of the Wranglers who has done an excellent job with the AHL team and a great guy with young players and prospects was expected to join new coach Ryan Huska's staff. Instead Mitch Love has instead taken a job with the Washington Capitals as an assistant coach.
All of these things spell doom and gloom for the Edmonton Oilers who likely will be going another year without having a true rival. Edmonton won the season series 2-1 against the Flames in 22/23 but that was over by December and Oilers fans weren't even able to look forward to a playoff round as the Flames spent most of the 23 calendar year digging themselves into a hole and frantically trying to crawl out of it at the last minute. The Battle of Alberta is supposed to be one of the sports highlights of the year for people in Alberta but sadly for Edmonton it appears as though we will be looking at a one sided bout once more.
Hopefully this will not be the case. Maybe Huberdeau can have a good bounceback year; obviously not to the 100+ point mark, that was obviously a one time thing and no one was expecting him to hit that again. No one certainly would ever pay a player with those kinds of expectations.
Perhaps Nazem Kadri can have a resurgence. We all know that players who play that style of physical game only improve with age, particularly into their 30's. Luckily the Flames have him locked up long term on another team friendly deal.
Calgary does have some strong prospects that the fanbase is certainly hoping can make an impact this year. Players like Pelletier, Zary, Coronato and Wolf will be counted on to step up. These will be guys that Flames fans will be clamoring to see try and take on big roles this season over the aging vet core. It reminds me much of the 2010 Oilers and the years that followed. Sure it was nearly a decade of mediocrity and sadness before lucking out by drafting the greatest player in the game but now we can look back at those times and laugh.
If you see an Oilers fan today be kind to them, give them a hug or an encouraging pat on the back. This is going to be a rough time for them and likely will be remain a tough time for at least the next few years as they will miserably look to their rivals in the south finally start the rebuild that should have happened years ago.
Thanks for reading.