oilers

I do not remember when I first saw Ales Hemsky play for the Edmonton Oilers.  I do not remember when I became a fan.  I do not remember when he became my favorite Oilers hockey player.  I do remember more magical moments than I can count when Ales Hemsky was on the ice.

I remember game six verses Detroit in 2006 where he won the game with two spectacular tallies which clinched the series, the Oilers first in many years.  I remember that last second goal against Dallas when they missed the open net.  I remember Hemsky going to the tough areas every night and getting crushed from Regehr, Phaneuf, Kronwall, and so on.  I was in the arena on all of those nights and it was electrifying.  It STILL is.

My first year in Edmonton was 2003 and I became a season ticket holder in 2005 just in time for that magnificent run.  Hemsky has been the only player that made me jump out of my seat on a regular basis.  Could he have scored more goals?  Yes.  Could he have shot the puck more?  Absolutely.  However, you really need to appreciate him for who he is and he is a helluva play-maker.

If only he had anyone to pass to for the past decade.  Hemsky has not played with very good players during his Oilers tenure until this year.  He had almost a decade of linemates ranging from Horcoff to Smyth to Jacques to Pederson.  Personally I like and respect both Horcoff and Smyth as players but they have no business on a line with Ales.

Even with lesser teammates, Hemsky put up very good numbers.  Since the lockout, he is a 0.92 point per game player.  That ranks 29th of all players.  He is ahead of Rick Nash who sits at 0.89.  Nash has only one +70 point season while Hemsky has two.  Nash gets the edge on games played 438 to 360.  I’m comparing him to Nash simply because both are on the block right now and could be traded at the deadline next week.  They are both wingers but are quite different in playing styles.  Hemsky is a free agent this summer while Nash is locked in until 2018.  Hemsky’s cap hit is $4.1m while Nash is $7.8m.  Hemsky is 28 years old while Nash is 27.

Rumors have Hemsky asking for a longer term deal (5 years) at roughly $5.5m.  Hemsky is making $5m this year while his cap hit is $4.1.  So do you consider the asking price to be high?  The amount is reasonable but term may be a bit high if the Oilers are hesitant due to injuries.   Has Hemsky been looked over by the doctors?  Are the shoulders completely healed?  Have you even looked into this???

Hemsky has been quite consistent over his decade-long Oilers career.  This is his FIRST major slump of his entire career but is coming off back-to-back shoulder surgeries.  It has taken him longer than expected to get comfortable again but considering this is his first major slump of his career, he still is putting up 0.56 points per game.  He is not on the first unit powerplay anymore, has not played a lot of minutes with Eberle or Nugent-Hopkins (Horcoff the most), is coming off shoulder surgery, is possibly a bit irritated the kids are getting all the attention (not sure I’m completely sold on that, Hemsky has never been a fame whore), playing the tough minutes and the toughest opposition so the kids can be sheltered….and all of this without a contract offer thus far after a decade of service.

The writing is on the wall.  Listen to most media and television commentators and they all seem to be promoting the party line:  Hemsky is lazy, injury-prone, does not care, is the first off ice in practice and is inconsistent.  When the folks at TSN start running him down, you know he is not long for this Oilers’ world.

I think what irritates me the most is that the media cannot think for themselves.  You can disapprove of Hemsky due to the risk on injury but to call him lazy or inconsistent is blatantly untrue.  Until this year, Hemsky has been extremely consistent. Could he be more?  Most Oilers fans believe yes and that includes myself.  He has some mad skills and if he shot the puck more, his numbers would be even better.  But you have to accept the player you have (yes keep coaching him but accept this is, at the minimum, what you are getting). 

I want the Oilers to do their due diligence on this but considering that they had NOT had any contract talks until the last few weeks, I am not confident on that.  In fact, it took some media asking Hemsky point blank if there had been any talks and his reply was none to get the ball rolling.  The Oilers response was that they were talking to his agent about what he was looking for.  Make a god damn contract offer, don’t “ASSESS” the situation to death.

This is why I believe the Oilers do not want Hemsky.  No contract offers have been made (as far as I’ve heard), it’s a week until the trade deadline and the Oilers response to Hemsky via their media shills make it fairly evident.  Just do your job, find out if he will take a two or three year deal.  Make some actual contract offers and stop discussing things with his agent.  Give his agent a deal he can take to Hemsky so he can make a choice.  If he truly wants the moon, then it is goodbye to the most exciting Oilers’ player of the past twenty years.  Just make sure he will not take a contract with less term.

Another reason why the Oilers do not want Hemsky?  Their eyes are filled with highlight reel goals from the kids.  The kids are being pimped on a daily basis and are promoted as the only future of the Oilers.  They will take the Oilers to the promise land.  They don’t need Hemsky to play the tough minutes even though they are getting destroyed with the soft opposition they face already.  The Oilers must feel they do not need any secondary scoring.  The kids are the future.  That is all.  Nothing to see here folks.

The Oilers finished dead last two years in a row and will certainly finish in the bottom three this year.  Getting rid of NHL players is not what this team needs.  There is no one on the Oilers that will replace his points so you will have to get it by trade or free agency where you will overpay.  The Oilers under Tambellini have been HORRIBLE in pro-scouting and the majority of their free agent signings have been completely underwhelming (we’re looking at you Sutton, Barker, Belanger, Hordichuk, Eager, Khabibulin just to name a few).  So if you think Hemsky is replaced by someone better during free agency:  either it will not happen because of management incompetence or if it does, it will be a giant overpay.

The Oilers have already resigned Potter and Sutton for next year.  Yes let’s resign our current defensemen first before you get to the forward who has been on the team for a decade.  Yes the defense does not need an upgrade.  No need to overpay…oh wait they did for Sutton.

My eyes will be on Hemsky this last week and only Hemsky.  If the Oilers move him (I should say when), I hope he goes to a real contender and hope he returns to Edmonton this season and lights it up.  I NEVER cheer for players once they leave Edmonton (exceptions were Messier and Fuhr) but I will continue to show Hemsky the mad love and respect he deserves and hope he lights up the Oilers every single time.

The Prince of Pardubice has one more week in Oil Country…..just enjoy the show while you can.

Update:  Tencer (via Stauffer) tweeted that Hemsky is now open to a 2-3 year deal.  If that is the case, the Oilers cannot let Hemsky walk.  Hemsky is leaving money and years on the table.  He would easily get a 5 year deal this summer so this says to me he WANTS to be here.  This extension MUST happen.