There's Something Rotten in Edmonton

You know, the phrase "jumping the shark" has been thrown around for decades in the world of television. The phrase comes from that infamous episode of Happy Days where The Fonz jumps over a shark on his motorcycle--a plotline that many saw as a desperate and odd ratings ploy. Since then, anytime TV shows do something wild, crazy, and unexpected for ratings, that phrase comes up: jump the shark.

The ninth season of How We Ruined Connor McDavid's Career is definitely no exception. And it's fitting that the phrase "jump the shark" is used in this case, because the Edmonton Oilers can't even beat the Sharks.

You know, we've all seen big time turnarounds in the NHL, good and bad. We've seen teams win the Cup and then miss the playoffs the next year. We just saw the Vegas Golden Knights miss the playoffs two seasons ago, and then win the Cup a year later. We saw the Tampa Bay Lightning embarrassingly blow a 62-win season, and then become worldbeaters a year later. My point is, big turnarounds like that are commonplace in the NHL. These things happen. Even so, we did not expect this from the Oilers.

It is bad. Catastrophically bad. The goaltending problem still hasn't been fixed. Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner have been punching bags this season, yet the Oilers decided to waive the former and send him down. According to the numbers, as bad as both goalies have been this year, Campbell's SV% is a tad better. And then there's the skaters. Oh boy. Leon Draisaitl went eight games without a goal, yet he's still their team leader in all offensive categories. That's a problem. No one else is stepping up, and the Plus/Minus stats are hideous.

And then, there's Connor McDavid. He had been injured and missed about a week or two before returning for the Heritage Classic. Even so, he hasn't been putting up the points since returning. The popular belief is that he's still not 100%, he's not fully back to that form, and with a team like that, they need that superhuman McDavid to keep that team afloat...like he has been since he was drafted. It is an absolute disaster.

So that's what's going on. The Oilers are 2-9-1. Their only wins were against the Nashville Predators on October 17, and the Heritage Classic against their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, who are also struggling. I was originally going to write about both Alberta teams, but what's happening in Edmonton is way worse and deserves its own embarrassing spotlight.

So with that, it's time for me to address the Oilers fans, because they really need this wake up call.

Told you so. I told you so, but you refused to listen. For years I've said that this team is ruining Connor McDavid (and Leon Draisaitl). Instead, all I got were insults and accusations that I didn't know what I was talking about. I'm dead serious, I think the Colorado Avalanche completely broke this team in 2022. That's another thing Oilers fans still can't deal with: seeing their team get swept out of the Conference Finals. Oilers fans couldn't wait to come at me when the Avs lost to Seattle in last year's playoffs. Yet here's the thing: the Avs won a Cup the year before. We could afford to regress a bit. The Oilers couldn't, especially with all of the undeserved chest pounding Oilers fans did, only to have an earlier exit than they did in 2022. It also doesn't help that each of their last two seasons saw them lose out to the eventual Cup Champions.

I have two questions for any Oilers fans reading this. Are you finally ready to admit that this decrepit team is ruining McDavid and Draisaitl? Are you finally ready to admit that those two need to get the hell out of Edmonton if they want any chance of winning the Cup? Sadly, I know the answers to both questions: NO. Oilers fans are delusional idiots. They dwell on the past too much. They still think it's the 1980s, when the team was beating everybody. If I know Oilers fans, they'll just ignore this shit and just pick on the Leafs, because that's what they do, while they watch their Oilers poach players from the Leafs. I swear they are so jealous of the Leafs, mainly because they know Auston Matthews will win a Cup with Toronto before McDavid wins one with Edmonton.

The Oilers are 31st in the league, and they are coming off a loss to the 32nd team in the league. Even worse, they are tied with said team in points, but Edmonton has one fewer regulation loss than the Sharks. Now, it's early. They have 70 games left. 70 games is plenty of time to fix things and get back on track. But can they, though? Their only hope is to go on a big winning tear before the All-Star Break. That's two and a half months, a lot of time to right the ship before it sinks. If things don't improve for the Oilers, Season Nine of How We Ruined Connor McDavid's Career could see an early finale, and the possible departure of the top star.