I never want to start out my Oilers posts with bad news but today it’s simply unavoidable. I’m sure you’ve heard but yesterday we lost some really special people in a car accident in between Tisdale and Nipawin, Saskatchewan. I don’t know all of the details and frankly, I’m not sure I want to. The number of lives lost is staggering. It’s a dark time for a lot of families right now and the words I’m reaching for to describe how helpless I feel won’t help but I hope they know they have the unending support of the entire hockey community.
I’m not really sure why my heart feels as heavy as it does. I don’t have any ties to the team or the players or the league. I live on a small island off the coast of China but there’s a small town just east of the accident site called Arborfield and that is where my mother’s side of the family grew up. We went there a few times when I was a little boy. Maybe that has something to do with it or possibly just the fact that as writers or fans of hockey when something like this happens, it hits us all.
Either way, that’s not important. What’s important is that the families of the victims, the billets, the people close to the hockey team, they get the support that they require. I understand that there’s a Go Fund Me that has been started and if you can afford to donate, it’s more than a worthy cause.
Teammates forever. #prayforhumbolt pic.twitter.com/rqx1nzbcka
— Peter Mansbridge (@petermansbridge) April 7, 2018
OILERS NEWS
The Cult of Hockey – The Humboldt Broncos Tragedy: This wasn’t supposed to happen. Again. – One chilly January day while playing in a Midget tournament in Saskatoon, my Dad pulled me aside, just after I had gotten off the ice…
The Cult of Hockey – Excellent advice to NHL players from Jason Strudwick: ” I don’t think players should be on social media” – Whether you’re the best player in the league or the worst player, you’re going to find something that rattles you…
Edmonton Sun – Ryan Smyth greatly appreciated Sedins on his NHL farewell – “I don’t see them crying like I was,” laughed the former Edmonton Oiler winger who played his 1,270th and last NHL game against the Sedins when the Canucks were here April 12, 2014. The Sedins made sure every Vancouver player shook Smyth’s hand before he took one last sobbing lap around the rink.
Sportsnet – Golden Knights are playoff contenders the Oilers were supposed to be – How much money could you have won back in October if you’d have wagered that, in this April 5, Game 81 meeting between the Stanley Cup-favoured Edmonton Oilers and the tomato can expansion Golden Knights, that the latter would be the team prepping for the playoffs, and the former sending players to the world championships?
Oilersnation – 10 Years: Nation Rising – I had no idea what I was in for as I drove to Earl’s restaurant on 170th Street and 100th Ave. in late February of 2008 for a lunch meeting with three guys I’d never met to talk about getting involved with a website that I’d never heard of…
Oilersnation – Cam Talbot expects to rebound next season – After yesterday’s practice, Cam Talbot spoke to the media about the season that was, where things went wrong, and what to expect from the goaltender heading into next season…
NHL NEWS AND RUMORS
Sportsnet – 31 Thoughts: Expect Canucks to be Aggressive in Post-Sedins Era
Friedman | Islanders must still convince Tavares they can win
Friedman believes Karlsson has played last game for Senators
NHL Rumors: Oilers, Kovalchuk, Knights, Senators, Sabres and Maple Leafs
NHL Rumors: Carlson, Voynov, Canucks and Stars
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