Mac-T Relieved Of Duty: End of an Era in Oil Country

(Photo by Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

I know it's taken me a while to say anything about this, but it's been hard for me to swallow that they—meaning the so-called Oilers faithful—have rested the Oil's lack of success this season squarely on the shoulders of the best coach this team has had since Glen Sather back in the '80s.

Yes, I was the sole member of the 'Anti-Brown Bag Movement' on the Oilers message board this season, if you can call it that.

In all the years since the '06 run I hadn't seen such negativity and bitterness on the site.

It was astounding and most of it was surrounding Mac-T or more to the point "Fire Mac-T"! So much so that I stopped frequenting the board for a while, 'cause I just got so sick and bloody tired of all the whining, bitching, and complaining coming out of the mouths of "Oilers fans."

I swear, this was the first season I've ever been somewhat embarrassed to be an Oilers fan. And it wasn't the team, the coach, or the roller coaster way they were playing. It was other apparent Oilers fans that appeared to have just jumped off the bus from Calgary!

The icing on the cake for me was in the middle of the stretch run to the playoffs, when the Oilers were right in the hunt to snag as high as sixth in the conference. Some no-mind, jackass, crap-for-brains "fans" decide that it's a good idea to hold a "Fire Mac-T Rally" outside of Rexall Place on a game day.

That was my low point. I couldn't fathom that any fan would be so selfish as to hold a coach firing rally when the team was just a week away from a potential berth in the playoffs, which is allegedly what they wanted.  Instead, they were content to provide a distraction to the team and elect to not support the team in that task. It honestly made me sick to my stomach.

Well, Oil Country, you got your wish—the only guy to take the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals since Sather is now gone. I hope you're happy with yourselves. Bravo.

The same people that were screaming for change and "tired of mediocrity" are about to get a sharp dose of reality next season with a new coach. They will realize that it wasn't the coach that was mediocre—it was the players themselves playing at a mediocre level and way under their potential due to some outlying, lingering injury recoveries from the season before. 

And of course we're dealing with just under one-third of the roster going into their second full season in the NHL. Yes, the sophomore jinx. And it hit the Young Guns hard, unfortunately. 

But I'll admit, I was on the bandwagon too. I got swept up in all the hype the media and everyone was putting out there about the Oilers being a contender again this year.

Looking up and down the roster, I was excited. And why not? Souray, Vishnovsky, Hemsky, Horcoff, Gagner, Roloson, Gilbert, Garon, Cogliano, Brule, Cole—and the way they finished the season last year with key guys out from injury, it looked like we'd be nearly unstoppable.

It wasn't until I saw the first couple of games on my freshly squeezed Centre Ice package that I noticed that everyone had overblown the situation, and they weren't quite as good as they looked—yet! ;-)

Horcoff was still recovering from his shoulder surgery, something nearly everyone completely forgot about. Or, they just didn't bother to realize that despite being a pro athlete, and in better shape that you or I, it always takes a while for anyone to get back to form after an injury—let alone surgery.

I kept pointing this out to people but all they could see was him missing shots he normally would make, fanning on passes he normally nailed—and all they kept saying "Well, how long could it possibly take? He's supposed to be a professional!"

Well, I only point to Dwayne Roloson as an example. From his knee injury in Game One of the '06 Finals to last season's abysmal flop (lucky Garon was on fire), to exploding this season and being the Oilers MVP, while Garon fell flat on his face like he always does.

So, you tell me how long it takes for someone to get their rhythm and confidence back. It doesn't come back right away. Anyone who's has played sports and has gotten an injury will tell you that.

Garon coming out flat didn't help matters at all. And MacT still wasn't sure where Roli was at yet. Coupled with the fact Lowe had just signed DesLauriers to a one-way contract, this only made things worse. Having to play three goalies is difficult when you don't feel you have a bona fide No.1 guy between the pipes.

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