Edmonton Journal

HOLLAND KNOWS OILERS MUST GET BETTER

‘I’m hoping this disappoint­ment was a learning moment,’ team’s GM says

- ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI rtychkowsk­i@postmedia.com Twitter.com: @rob_tychkowski

Are they the 1994 Detroit Red Wings or the modern-day Toronto Maple Leafs?

That’s what everyone is wondering about the Edmonton Oilers right now after a bewilderin­g post-season defeat that people on both sides of the dressing room door are still struggling to comprehend.

All we know for sure is that the Oilers took a promising season that should have ended up in the playoffs and crashed it straight into the massive stage constructe­d in their honour.

Why it happened is a pretty important question at this point.

Was this a simple case of growing pains, like the ones that saw a pair of 100-point Red Wings teams suffer humbling firstround defeats twice in two years before winning three of the next eight Stanley Cups?

Or are they the Western Conference version of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a dazzling collection of high-end talent that’s still trying to figure it out after four straight first-round exits?

Oilers general manager Ken Holland, in his end-of-season call with the media, says he sees more Detroit in his team than most people do after that shocking four-game qualifying series loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

He doesn’t think they were listless, as many believe, or lacked the kind of fortitude necessary to win in the playoffs. But he is also quick to point out that they weren’t good enough, either.

“In Game 1, (the Blackhawks) were ready to go and we were not ready to go for whatever reason,” he said. “And I thought the rest of the series we played fine, but fine isn’t good enough. We had a onegoal lead in every game, but when we got those leads we didn’t hang onto it for longer than three, four or five minutes. That’s the fine line in finding a way to win or lose in a playoff series. And a veteran team like Chicago took us to task.

“I’m hoping this disappoint­ment was a learning moment.”

It can be. It should be. But as Oilers fans know all too well, you can’t take developmen­t and progress for granted or you might be waiting 14 years for it to pay off.

Every young team feels it just needs a little experience before it’s ready to win, but not all of them are right. Some end up like the San Jose Sharks, who, despite a library full of fantastic regular seasons, are left with permanent scars from a Stanley Cup window slamming shut on their fingers.

Just three years ago, the Oilers were considered legitimate

Cup contenders after going two rounds deep in the playoffs. Since then, they missed the post-season twice and got upset in a qualifying round. So expecting them to automatica­lly take a step forward next spring (or whenever the playoffs start), is based more on hope than evidence.

“If we can play our way into the playoffs, then you’re going to look back and hope this massive disappoint­ment against the Chicago Blackhawks is going to be the experience and fuel and motivation for us to do something better,” said Holland.

“If we miss the playoffs, it’s nothing, no factor in the scheme of things. We can’t fall back. You need multiple chances. Good teams find a way into the playoffs every year, and with multiple opportunit­ies, somewhere along the line, you start to piece it all together.”

Five seasons into Connor Mcdavid and six into Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers aren’t there yet. This team, as it stands, can’t be counted on to win in the playoffs yet. Whether that will come with time or whether it requires significan­t changes to get there is the organizati­onal crossroad facing Holland this off-season.

Only the playoffs can reveal a team’s true identity, so the Oilers remain a mystery.

“We had much higher expectatio­ns going into the bubble,” he said. “We felt good about our team heading into the series.

I’m massively disappoint­ed we weren’t able to win the series and advance. I’m hoping that we put ourselves back in the same position next year.

“We have to play our way into the top 8 in the Western Conference and be more prepared for next year than we were for this year.”

Was last week just a case of the Oilers coming back from four months off, in an atmosphere where they couldn’t feed off a crowd, and getting caught flat-footed? Or, after a series they walked away from admitting they had more to give, is there a tragic flaw here that might not be visible again until next spring, when it’s too late?

Holland hopes it’s the first thing, but he has to protect against the second thing just in case.

“We made progress, but we have to find a way to make the team a little bit different, a little bit better, a little bit deeper,” he said.

“I know we’ve got some things we need to accomplish over the summer to get our team to take another step. We all have to find a way to be a little better.”

 ?? LARRY WONG/FILE ?? General manager Ken Holland notes the Oilers held a one-goal lead in every game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but they couldn’t hold it for more than five minutes.
LARRY WONG/FILE General manager Ken Holland notes the Oilers held a one-goal lead in every game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but they couldn’t hold it for more than five minutes.
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