Ex-captain feels for plight of Oilers
Former teammates forced to face fed-up fans still waiting for win
DALLAS — Shawn Horcoff’s head is with the Dallas Stars, but his heart’s never left the Edmonton Oilers.
“I still know what’s going on ... if they got rid of Twitter it might be easier not to follow the Oilers,” the team’s former captain, who was traded to the Stars in July, said with a laugh before facing his former club Tuesday at the American Airlines Center.
“I feel badly for them and they’re in a market where the fans are hungry for wins, now. They don’t want to wait any longer. They don’t want any more draft choices. They’ve heard rebuild for three or four years and it’s tough on the fans. There’s boos on every bad play and, believe it or not, the players hear that.”
Today, Horcoff walks the streets of Dallas with nary a passerby saying something like “there’s a guy who plays for the Stars.” This is Dallas, after all, deep in the heart of pigskin country — it’s NFL Cowboys territory.
Hockey’s popular, sure, but it’s not a religion as it is in Canada — or like football is in Texas.
Horcoff can breathe again. He was the Oilers fans’ piñata the last few years over his hefty contract, but says it never got ugly off the ice.
“My wife had one poor face-to-face encounter, but I never had one for all the stuff that was happening,” said Horcoff. “I don’t count whatever’s said at the rink, they pay their money and they’re entitled to say what they want but, man, I still recommend getting rid of that gauntlet.”
‘That gauntlet’ is the long walkway from the Oilers players’ bench to the dressing room at Rexall Place through a bar area that has long been a concern.
When it was established, management thought it would bring the fans closer to the players. It has, but it’s a little too close, so you can bet there will not be the same situation in the new rink downtown.
“I told them years ago that this thing (gauntlet) sucks, that it was only a matter of time until something bad happened,” Horcoff said. “I see where Mac (Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish) just had a run-in with a fan, too ... that’s two for Mac. When he was the coach, I had to get him away, too.
“You’ve got drinking, the fans are five feet away from the players. I understand the experience, but you have guys coming off the ice and people are slurring ‘you suck.’ Man, that’s tough. You go from being built up (on the ice) to exhaling (on the walk to the room). Just put up a partition in the new building with clear glass so the fans can see the players but they can’t interact as much. The problem now is it’s going to boil over, and there’s going to be an encounter and you’ll have something legal. The organization’s never going to win.”
Horcoff was saddened to hear about the fan throwing an Oilers sweater on the ice after a shutout loss at home to the St. Louis. “It shows the level of frustration, but as an ex-player there, I was disappointed,” he said.
“I know the guys in that room, and believe me, they are trying hard, but it becomes a bit of a snowball effect. ... They’ve got lots of skill, high-end skill, but they are deficient in a lot of areas you need to be successful.
“Mac has said it. Your head coach is never going to say it because he can’t and the players can’t say it, even though they probably know it.
“At the same time, it is very hard to win in the West. You have to be big and strong. Not huge but strong. You have to have solid defending, good goaltending. You need depth up front. You have to be able to run four lines because the game’s so fast.”