Accountably.
I’ve been waiting for someone on this hockey club to stand up and be accountable this year. Nobody has. Not one.
Character drives a team. The great leaders like Messier didn’t put up with nonsense. If he was terrible, he owned it. He wasn’t afraid to step up to a microphone and admit when he could be better. He was also never afraid to let the boys have it if they weren’t pulling their weight. I know players like McDavid, well this isn’t their strong suit. But right now, it would be a good time to have him or Draisaitl or Nurse or whomever, step up, own what’s going on and rectify some of the damage that’s been done.
Coach Tippett came out and said that goalie Mikko Koskinen wasn’t very good last game. Let’s be honest, he was horrible. Justified words from the coach? Yes, it was. However, Koskinen had his own reply.
”It’s not nice being thrown under the bus. I have to be better but at the same time we scored 7 goals in my last 6 losses. I can’t score goals.”
Shots fired.
While I’ll agree with Koskinen on his observation, he should have just owned his own failures. That’s more respectable than saying what he said.
As of right now the leaders on the current Oilers are McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Nugent-Hopkins and Keith. Tippett has said Keith finds himself more comfortable on the team and in recent weeks he’s become more of a leader in the dressing room and on the bench. Awesome. However, public accountability goes a long way to ease the pain the Oilers fans are currently feeling. Would we feel better if McDavid said, “I haven’t been playing to the level I know I can play. I know I can be better. I know as the captain it’s my job to help carry this team to get out of this slump. I called a players only meeting and we are going to sort this out.” At least if this was said, we would all be a little less pissed off right now.
Speaking of players only meetings. It’s about time one is called. I figured when they went on the first skid that one would have been called then. But alas, there wasn’t that we know of.
So what now?
Smith is back and will start tonight vs the Leafs. McDavid, Ryan and Barrie are out and have been placed in Covid protocol. Nugent-Hopkins is still out as well.
Tonight will be a tough game, and even more so without these 4 guys.
