Lowe’s apology to fans necessary to right a wrong
EDMONTON — Making a public apology is no bargain for any of us, but for Kevin Lowe it appears to be something like an unnatural act.
So rest assured the videotaped mea culpa Lowe delivered to Oilers fans of both tiers via the club’s website Wednesday was difficult for a proud, fiercely combative man like Lowe, the Oilers’ president of hockey operations.
He had no choice but to extend some sort of olive branch after he alienated so many of the faithful Monday with his comments about “two types of fans” as he introduced Craig MacTavish as the replacement for fired GM Steve Tambellini.
Perusing social media, it was obvious many fans viewed his apology as insincere, which seems unduly harsh. Lowe certainly appeared to be in the sort of pain one associates with dental surgery, if not something more invasive. But his message seemed sincere enough.
“Yesterday was a day full of excitement and passion and emotion, and I must admit my emotion ran a little high and I have a few things to say to our fans in particular to clarify,” Lowe said in the video. “First of all, we are appreciative and are grateful to every one of our fans who cheer for us through good times and bad. We understand that we see many of our fans at Rexall Place, but we have hundreds of thousands of fans that never get to Rexall Place and we appreciate each and every fan.
“I did not make that clear yesterday and if I offended anyone, I apologize.”
There’s no doubt he offended many, including plenty who attended the Oilers game on Tuesday night, a 5- 3 loss to the Minnesota Wild — Edmonton’s sixth straight defeat.
On Twitter, some noted bitterly that the Oilers expect both types of fans, the paying customers and ordinary citizens, to pony up tax dollars for a brand new arena.
It was an ill- conceived, combative response to a query about why fans should be reassured that the same power trio — Lowe, MacTavish and the new-old assistant GM Scott Howson — were being installed to clean up the mess they helped create, and which Tambellini was unable to fully clear away.
Which is when an emotional Lowe responded, in part: “We have two types of fans. We have paying customers and we have people that watch the game that we still care about.
“But certainly the people who go to the games and support, we spend a lot of time talking to them, delivering our message. I would, uh, think it’s safe to say that half the general managers in the National Hockey League would trade their roster for our roster right now.
“And in terms of the group that messed things up, you’re talking about the group that had the team one period away from winning the Stanley Cup ( in 2006).”
The feisty approach was not out of character for Lowe. He famously had a running feud with then- Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke after Lowe signed Dustin Penner, then a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet that outraged Burke.
Lowe also turned a contract dispute with then- Oilers centre Mike Comrie into a nasty, protracted and personal battle.
That competitive streak is what helped make Lowe and the Oilers the Stanley Cup champions they were in the 1980s and in 1990. It can detract from his evident competence as a hockey executive now, but it’s part of the Kevin Lowe package, warts and all.
So was his reference to the Stanley Cups he has won ( six as a player, five for the Oilers, one for the New York Rangers), to buttress his bona fides as the club’s top hockey man.
“And lastly I’ll say, there’s one other guy, I believe, in hockey today that’s still working in the game that has won more Stanley Cups than me,” said Lowe.
This is a dicey claim to make, with the likes of Larry Robinson ( six Cups as a player for the Montreal Canadiens, three as a coach with the New Jersey Devils, including one as head coach), Jacques Lemaire ( eight as a player, two as an assistant GM, one as a head coach) and Scotty Bowman ( nine as a head coach, three more as a key front- office staffer) still working in the game.
It’s also irrelevant, a complete non sequitur.
The last six GMs to win the Stanley Cup — Dean Lombardi, Peter Chiarelli, Stan Bowman, Ray Shero, Ken Holland and Brian Burke — have four games of NHL playing experience among them, all by Holland, a journeyman goaltender during his undistinguished minorleague career. So obviously, they won no Stanley Cups as players.
None of which is to question the hockey acumen of either Lowe or MacTavish, just to dismiss any notion their glory days are any guarantee of future success as hockey executives.
Speaking of which, it is safe to say a sizable portion of the Oilers fan base reckons both men, not to mention Howson, have had their chance to fashion a championship team here.
Many fans define a change in leadership to be new faces, perhaps younger hockey people, different voices and ideas, a fresh vision.
But here’s the thing. Part of the package with Oilers owner Daryl Katz is he wants to win the Stanley Cup with Lowe and MacTavish, his colleagues and — more important — his friends.
If that is a triumph of sentiment over astute management, so be it. Katz is the owner, after all.
MacTavish said many of the right things at the Monday news conference, among them that he is an “impatient man,” that the club must be bold, expose itself to risk to improve.
Long- suffering Oilers fans have had to be patient in the extreme, suffering through seven straight non- playoff seasons that have been all the more painful after that run to Game 7 of the ’ 06 final?
And Lowe rubs salt in their wounds by saying there are two types of fans? There was no question he had to apologize for that and good on him for doing so.
Not to worry. Time — and a cluster of brilliant roster moves — heals all things. No?