Since Darryl Katz officially took over the ownership of the Edmonton Oilers, there's been a bit of a spending spree going on. He hasn't matched the fiscal output of Tampa Bay's new owners ($85 million for 11 years for Vincent Lecavalier), but there is definitely a new stamp on the team.
The biggest new deal is that of Shawn Horcoff, and his six-year, $33 million deal which is essentially guaranteeing him a position on the team until 2015, unless he wants out or the team can't use him anymore.
Perhaps calling him "Super Shawn" is a little bit excessive. He is, however, one of the best players on a mediocre (at best) Oilers club. Sure, there were some flashes of brilliance from the younger guys (Nilsson, Cogliano, Gagner, Penner, Gilbert, Glencross), and some fairly solid goaltending from Mathieu Garon, but for the most part I think that the Oilers are in serious need of a marquis player.
Is Horcoff that marquis player? No. He's not going to carry the franchise to a Cup. He won't ever score 40 goals. He'll probably never have 50 assists. He may never even have another chance at winning a Stanley Cup.
What he will do is play at 100% every game, and enjoy himself while doing so. One of the best things about Horcoff is that he loves to compete, and he will always play his heart out.
In a world where loyalty to an organization is questionable at best (David Beckham? Brett Favre?), Shawn Horcoff does seem to embody that quality. Of course, so did Brett Favre. Let's hope Horcoff never takes the Oilers down that road.
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