Cat Man

Be more than him coming back Fingers crossed and feeling positive here we won't get lit by FLA. If the Lames can do it- why not us

Feels like we are prisoners of JT's worth. Rather not but our hands may be pushed by uncomfortable forces.

Yeah...tough to hear but understandable. Not sold either...we gotta hang on a bit longer!

1. As you please. 2. Most definitely. 3. Seems fine to me that a superstar hockey player and a HHOF journalist can throw all the muck they want at each other. 4."Punk" I think not. Both could have handled it better for sure.

No bad, though hope your side's better. Sportsnet's Live Tracker header has CBJ listed as CLS for tonights game against PHI. Happens to the best:) Domi is a busteroo...Miller's worth more.

A Worthy Read:) Leon Draisaitl’s flustered interview sums up the Oilers’ season CATHAL KELLY PUBLISHED YESTERDAY Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) and forward Ryan McLeod (71) react after an empty net goal by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Scotiabank Arena on Jan 5.JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI/USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS 105 COMMENTS SHARE BOOKMARK LISTEN TO ARTICLE Two sentences into his answer, Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl decides he’s going to pick a fight. His NHL team is in a standings free fall. It has just had its doors blown off by Canada’s best Junior A team, the Ottawa Senators. This is an emergency situation requiring that team leaders such as Draisaitl inject some aggressive energy into the situation. Okay, fine, he’s picking the fight with a reporter. In a best-case scenario he’d be picking it with whatever passes for an enforcer these days. But baby steps. The impetus is a double-barrelled question the other day from veteran Oilers beat guy Jim Matheson: “What do you think is the No. 1 reason for the losses now?” It’s a fair question that Draisaitl could have turned in a bunch of shiny, happy ways – “All I can do is be better myself” or “We’re failing as a team and we’re going to win as one, too” or some other crystal-rubbing line of positivity. Instead, Draisaitl decides to play bored: “We have to get better at everything.” Matheson: “Would you like to expand on that?” Draisaitl: “Nope …” – and had he left it there it would have been fine. But this is the moment Draisaitl starts floating backward, drops his rhetorical gloves and stares a hole in Matheson – “ … you can do that. You know everything.” Okay, fine. It’s a fight now. Good. Except Matheson starts swinging back. “Why are you so pissy, Leon?” STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT Draisaitl has been quivering with nervous energy, but stills when he registers the shot. Now he’s confused. Is he actually getting it taken to him by a newspaper guy? “Hmm?” Draisaitl says. As one-line retorts go, it’s a distant second place to “Sorry?” “Why are you so pissy?” “I’m not,” Draisaitl says, his voice climbing, “I’m just answering your …” Matheson has got Draisaitl off his feet and is deciding if he wants to start whaling on him. He does. “Yeah, you are. Whenever I ask you a question.” Draisaitl, starting to visibly shrink: “I gave you an answer.” Matheson: “Not a very good one.” Draisaitl: “Okay.” Cut. Aaaaaand print. That’s the Oilers season in one short, sad film. The internet had the usual predictable takes on who was responsible for the set-to, who won, and who was in the right, but only one thing actually matters. The rule that applies on the ice is just as applicable off it. If you, a card-carrying member of the NHLPA, plan to pick a fight then you had better be prepared to finish it. Draisaitl started this thing channelling Dirty Harry. By the end, he looked like a kid who’d just got pantsed in gym class. He looked lost out there (presumably, not an unfamiliar feeling at the moment). Draisaitl’s inbred civility prevented him from going low or flipping the podium. But in the pro-sports context, either of those things would have been a better outcome. It raises the question – what if the Edmonton Oilers problem isn’t talent, goaltending, defence or depth? What if it’s as simple as joy in the fight? What if, collectively, they just don’t like the conflict inherent in playing pro hockey? This doesn’t mean flying fists. It means going from 0-to-60 whenever it’s required. Good teams shrug off self-doubt and external criticism. Great teams don’t absorb it in the first place. They are too busy winning, even when they’re losing. That Zen mindset cannot be taught. Though he’s had cause to do so about a thousand times in his career, when do you remember Sidney Crosby dropping the just-happy-to-be-here mask he wears to all media interactions? Conversely, do you doubt that if someone went at Alex Ovechkin the same way Matheson went at Draisaitl, that it would have turned out differently? I’m guessing not. Not all great players deal with heat the same way, but they all deal with it in a way that usually ends in their favour. The Oilers don’t have that sort of guy. That impression starts with the team’s primary Alpha, Connor McDavid. When things are going well, you’d call McDavid’s off-ice presentation sanguine or measured. When the Oilers start collapsing around him, McDavid’s availabilities become leaden and miserable. You can feel his appetite for this part of stardom – never great to begin with – disappear entirely. He looks like a man in need of a long vacation. Where McDavid goes, so does the rest of the team. That is both the strength and weakness of the company-man culture that pervades the NHL. No one would ever think of stepping into the boss’s role, even when the boss isn’t feeling it. Draisaitl’s failed attempt at throwing a proper temper tantrum may have started from a useful place. Maybe in that split second he thought that creating a viral moment was going to give the boys a boost. Or maybe he was just too frustrated to think clearly. Whatever his rationale, he didn’t have it in him to follow the impulse to its logical end. That’s telling. The only people who can truly understand what’s turning the Oilers from a pretty good team into a really bad one are the guys in the room. Unfortunately, they are also part of the systemic problem. Is firing another coach and/or GM going to turn the Oilers’ lambs into lions? No. But that won’t stop anyone. Will putting NHL pariah Evander Kane on the roster improve things? No. It gives you more aggro, but creates a whole new set of issues. This is how desperation works. Nobody wants to begin confronting the big, obvious question – is the Oilers’ core ill-conceived? Is it time to start from scratch again? If this is another lost season for Edmonton, that means it is heading into Year 8 of the McDavid experiment. How many more years will the Oilers flush away before deciding that, through no fault of anyone in particular, they have assembled a group who don’t have the level of fight a contending NHL team needs. There’s no shame in admitting it. But it’s probably easier to keep pretending.

Kind of like a displacement replacement:) Remember AV's comments "I knew he"d figure it out" All to J.T.'s maturity and what Vancouver has done for him and what J.T. has done for Vancouver. Tough times. Love him as a player but we gotta sell high. All over 4 years at 7 maybe 8... after that well....

CBS is a broadcasting station. The Columbus Blue Jackets abbreviation is CBJ. Keep up with the sarcasm after an inaccurate thread post title. JM corrected it quietly earlier...listen up.

Wow J.T.'s gonna broaden his horizons. One of the best 200 foot power forwards in the league hangs up the blades to work with CBS Sports! In return we'll expect Shanna McCarriston and Austin Nivison!! Pretty sure they're not up to a .95 PPG output but welcome none the less

Sounds about right. His value's there for sure and the 1.25 cap hit is a factor but helping the Coilers right now seems absurd. On top of that is MD or AS ready for full time backup duties?

Still early in the winter up around here. A reminder that every winter's different as this one seems to be! Rare for this house to have a curl this big so early and for it too linger a bit too long. Reaching out the window this curl has a two inch layer of ice on the bottom. The thing is: curls and sloughs come and go as is life in a powder highway, metal roof town. This ones stuck around a bit long. This shot from March of "19" shows a full load late season. This year the volume and temperature are coinciding way early. The curl on the house shouldn't be that large and as the carport roof looks now it's going to need a scrape down, for the second time in 25 years! Hmm as the title says...OMG snow? GCG

2021 THE GUT PUNCH Be well y'all.

No cheers for other teams Alf. Cheers though!! To you, to us here, and others...sharing our fandom...and a heck of a lot of other stuff;) Be Well... cause we're all in this together.

Big snow day.....pushed and blew twice....still a lovely powder coming down. Hoped for a long awaited steak and martini dinner at a local hotel heli-ski lounge which morphed to Chinese takeout cause of the changes of late. Before bed from the looks of the window perusal, another big powder/snow removal day tomorrow. Snows light, belly's full, healthy in the house, all's good....AND we're on a streak. GCG Epic....pyjamas all day! Then do her nails:)

Hawaiian and Guinness sure why not? This type of pole nowadays feels about right:) GCG come on this win's important tonight.

RU SERIOUS are you serious? You funny!

This is wrong. Having never twitted or book-faced I struggle and feel awkward seeing this. This thread went from rescued bunnies to creepy stalking posts in less than a page. This reflects poorly on us. What have we become as a fanbase?

Another big one...fingers crossed. For a great cause. Holy heck. Last night I was 500 #'s away from a 440K win. Good to feel that other 440K going to flood relief. Times change...now the Blackhawks tremble as we call our forces. GCG

Buck up ye big spenders for a good cause tonight which is near to most all of us! GCG

Crock potting tonight. George looking like she could miss a meal or two:)

Watched the third period of last game yesterday afternoon again with the better half (first viewing for her) after she got home from work. She was mortified at the officiating then out of her seat cheering when Petey scored at 53 sec. left to send it to OT. We dominated the entire overtime. Yes the bad change did cost us the extra point but the skill and effort were clear. Even though Petey's still struggling a bit handling the puck his shots back!!! VP's looking like a wrecking ball with a scoring touch. Garland's got the puck on a string. Look at the shot total and if we have to play our stars on the PK for the time being till it's sorted so be it. Gotta admit they're sure fun to watch....mostly.

Cause they're from the desert...so they had a bonafide tan....sorry I'll go back to bed now. Hope Poolman's not too banged up after last game.

As Hairy was whipping on JD Chiasson joined him under the bus then Jimmy's dish lost me for a bit:) BBQ DUCK!!! Winner winner...duck l'orange (county). Big dislike for Getzlav and his flock. Bring out the guns tonight and go hunting team. GCG

Go Daniel