It’s funny. Sometimes Oilers news or rumors are flying at you day-by-day and then sometimes it takes a week to get something worth writing about unless you feel like blogging about donairs. I can’t do it. The juice simply isn’t worth the squeeze.
Anyways, yesterday Shane Hnidy was on The Jason Gregor show to discuss the Vegas Golden Knights and more importantly to Oiler fans, Jason Garrison. Edmonton’s shiny new PTO signing. I’ll toss the audio up at the end of this section for you to hear if you’d like.
The foot speed is the big thing. Garrison is still a quality guy. Could be a depth guy you have for injuries but if there was one thing that was knocking, it was probably his foot speed.
Nothing new there. Jason Garrison is 33 years old and to be honest, I think they’re bringing him in to play a sort of Chris Kelly-type role. A veteran comes into camp and pushes the other players a bit, teaches the kids some lessons.
If he did sign, I could see it being more of a Matt Hendricks-like role. He’d be a PT NHLer where the value he’d bring would be off of the ice. Especially if Evan Bouchard spends any time outside of pre-season with the Oilers because Edmonton doesn’t have that old general on the back end to teach the youngins.
He’s a big strong defenceman. Big Shot.
Right. A big shot he does have but it’s been too long since it was an effective weapon at the NHL level, I’m not sure if we can even say that’s one of the pros to signing him anymore. Even Garrison said on Gregor’s show today that he’d probably bring more defensively than offensively.
I think his salary last year kinda hurt his opportunites. So maybe depending on what you can get him in, maybe if he has a good showing at camp, which he’ll be trying to do at his age to show he has some stuff left.
Yeah, could very well be but even then, if the Golden Knights saw any value in bringing him up, they would’ve and he would’ve stuck.
He thinks the game very well, a guy that’s been around but depends on what price point possibly you can get him on. I think he could be a good depth guy to have.
If you didn’t know, Garrison has the same agent as current Oiler Brad Malone and was coached by former Oilers assistant coach Rocky Thompson in Chicago (AHL) last season.
You can listen to the segment here. Fast forward to 12:20 to get right to the Hnidy part.
SUPPORTING THE OILERS
I read over on the Cult of Hockey about an Oilers supporter who is regretting renewing their season tickets this year and I wanted to comment on that.
At least he didn’t write a letter and put his stuff in a box and give it to his parents.
That said, the Oilers fan in that article isn’t far off from Letter Boy. What I mean by that is, I can understand if you wanted to pack up shop after the Boys on the Bus were pilfered off or during the Tambellini days but why in Sam’s Hell would you regret having the chance to watch, at the very least, Connor McDavid 41 times a year?
Full disclosure, I never had season tickets as a kid growing up in Camrose. Oilers season tickets were like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. A myth to me. It’s crazy talk to me when I hear people giving them up, especially now with McDavid and Draisaitl, Nuge, Nurse, Larsson, and Puljujarvi.
I just really feel like quitting now is selling low.
I will say this though, I don’t really enjoy the regular season in-game experience anymore. When I was a kid I loved it, what child didn’t or doesn’t today? But it is too expensive, the food is marginally good, the seats are okay I guess, and it’s generally more of a hassle than not. I prefer watching the games on the TV and in a pub setting where it’s a bit noisier and the drinks are cheaper and I can hear some commentary. So from that perspective, I get it.
But if you’re not looking forward to the season because social media has soured your Oilers experience and you can afford to have season’s tickets (not a lot of people can but buy them anyhow), doesn’t that sound a bit entitled? It sounds like an uptown problem to be honest. GROW A PAIR AND GET OFF OF SOCIAL MEDIA! It’s that simple.
Be grateful there’s even a team there! Be grateful you even have season tickets! Be grateful you can afford them…
I mean, an experience is what you make it and if you’re letting an outside influence take control of said experience, you’ve got to remove that influence.
Maybe my life is that boring that the day the hockey season ends for the Oilers, I’m counting the days until training camp opens. Maybe I remember the days where the Oilers were nearly moved to Houston and I cherish the fact Edmonton even has a team for the residents of the city to support. Maybe that little boy who liked to go to games at Northlands Coliseum and race down to the glass to watch the players warm-up still lives on inside me.
Find that little boy or girl inside you that fell in love with the Oilers for the very first time. You won’t regret it.
