This year it was supposed to be different, this year the Oilers were supposed to take a step towards competitiveness. The off-season moves that were made to help change the dynamic of the team were supposed to bring more success, or at the very least, more competitiveness. Well here we are at the quarter pole of the season and the Oilers sit dead last in the Western Conference and tied with the dreadful Buffalo Sabres for dead last in the entire NHL. 

Watching the Post-Game interviews with players is almost as depressing as watching the actual games. The players are dejected and at a loss for words. They don't know anymore than the fans what is needed to right the ship. The dam of ineptitude is breaking and the players are drowning right now. Even Head Coach Dallas Eakins, usually bristly after a loss due to his competitive fire, was emotionally breaking last night. At one point he nearly broke into tears when he spoke of the fans and how they deserve so much better. The problem is that these are empty words, of course the fans deserve better, they sell the games out night after night, year after year, and yet they see no improvement from this team. 

There are a myriad of problems with this team that everyone from the casual fan right down to the players themselves have no problem identifying; and yet GM Mactavish seems oblivious. There is no second line NHL center on this roster, there is no top pairing defender on this roster, the goaltending has been atrocious, and the players themselves cant play a system that doesnt include costly break downs on a regular basis. The poison of another failed season is overtaking this team and yet nothing changes. Change for the sake of change is usually a knee-jerk reaction, but after five straight years of this, change for the sake of change is absolutely necessary. The lack of accountability starts in the GM office and has bled its way down to players. 

Accountability?

Does this team have any accountabilty whatsoever? There is false accountability being displayed, Nikita Nikitin has been dreadful all season and he finally got healthy scratched last night against the Blackhawks. However, Justin Schultz has been at least equally as bad, probably worse. Schultz is playing way to many minutes for a guy that can't grasp the defensive side of the game, which is pretty much a prerequisite for a defenseman in the NHL. This false accountability means that the big five get costless passes, while the guys that are playing different roles get all the accountability piled upon their shoulders. That is a recipe for disaster because it sends the wrong message to the team and it makes the negativity towards one another grow. David Perron has had enough of it, and after Fridays 2-0 loss to the Devils he went to the media and without naming names, clearly called out this lack of accountability that exists for Eakins, Hall and Schultz. 

How much longer can this team ignore the holes? At this point all of Edmonton should be worried about trade requests flooding in from the young stars on this team who have been part of this process from the beginning. The fan base may be losing interest, but the games are still sold out night after night and unfortunately money talks. The change is going to have to come from Mactavish himself because this team has hit the point where change for the sake of change is the only option. If there is no urgency for improvement from the top, there will be no urgency for improvement at the bottom.  

There will be a trade, and it will likely be an overpay from the Oilers side of things, but Mactavish has dug this hole himself by ignoring the glaring holes in the off-season. There is no choice now but to deal from a position of weakness, unless the plan all along is to draft McDavid, which quite frankly, wouldn't shock anyone at this point.

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About the author
Shaun Maddex
VAVEL NHL Editor and Writer who grew up playing hockey in Canada.