The bottom line for me, I would have rather invested my money with Bernie Madoff than invest in Edmonton’s word.
Dean Lombardi still isn't a happy a camper when it comes to Colin Fraser. He has some nice things to say about Edmonton as a city later on, so just to be clear, this is a shot at the folks running the Oilers. It's the kind of public tirade that only happens when you don't have any other avenues left, so it seems to me like a lot of smoke with not much fire. But at least the smoke is funny.
11 months ago
Scott Reynolds
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Haha. Lowe vs Burke redux. The thing I don’t understand is why didn’t Lombardi just make the deal conditional on Fraser passing a physical? That’s happened in trades before.
I think it would be hilarious if Tambellini now signed Doughty to some ridiculous offer sheet. In the $9 Million/year range just to fuck with Lombardi. To see Dean’s head explode with rage would almost make the screwing up of our salary structure and the loss of potential lottery picks worth it.
by melancholyculkin on Jul 9, 2011 11:15 AM MDT reply actions
Whether or not Lombardi has any avenues remaining doesn’t change the fact that the Oilers look absolutely horrible here. We’re left wondering whether they are assholes or just imcompetent. There is no in-between.
Now that I think about it, that same question about the Oilers has been coming up every 6-8 weeks for the last 5 years.
by RiversQ on Jul 9, 2011 2:04 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
Or it could be that these things developed in between the last visit with the Oilers medical staff and the Kings checking him out. Both this “cyst” and “blood disorder” without specifics could range from meaningless to quite serious in impact on Fraser’s health. The fact that either the NHL doesn’t think much of Lombardi’s claims or that the Kings haven’t formally talked to the NHL makes me think the Oilers didn’t do anything malicious or incompetent here.
Yeah that’s possible. However, the Oilers originally tried to send Brule the other way. That kind of kills their credibility here.
by RiversQ on Jul 9, 2011 2:30 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
No transaction was ever completed with Brule. The Oilers provided the Kings his medical information, and the Kings discussed his file with the NHL lawyers for several hours. The Oilers didn’t force any player on Lombartdi. Tambellini, nor the Oilers, nor the league ever announced a completed deal with Brule. The Kings leaked that they had completed a deal to the media. TSN was rather annoyed draft day that Tambellni was not confirming what the Kings had told them, and that Tambellni had nothing to tell them.
Ditto with Fraser. The Oilers told the Kings Fraser was coming of an injury and would have to be taken “as is”. Nobody was holding a gun to Lombardi’s head when he said yes to the Oilers and to the NHL. The Oilers had no urgency to get a deal done. The Kings were the ones forcing a fast deal so they could have the cap room available for free agency.
So the Oilers offered two different damaged players and took it to the point that paperwork was filed and/or discussed with the league and you are fine with that?
I consider it dishonourable.
by RiversQ on Jul 9, 2011 2:54 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Brule was physically healthy to play hockey but couldn’t be bought out because of his rumored depression. Unless the Oilers had encountered the scenario before, I’m not sure how they could have anticipated that.
The deal for Brule couldn’t go through because the Oilers didn’t file the right paperwork. NHL lawyers worked on it for hours. Highly doubt Lombardi is the one who leaked it.
As for a rush job: they’d been trying to move Smyth for months after his trade request. The deal should have been Smyth for a simple late draft pick, like a 6th or a 7th. The Oilers wanted to foist off a player that they didn’t want anymore as well, but the Kings only wanted one they had the option to buy out. They weren’t right about the health of this player. Ordinarily the deal would simply be made void, but Tambo is counting on the fact that they wouldn’t want an unhappy Smyth back, and refused to take their calls.
I don’t know how the Oilers come out looking to you, but to me, it’s pretty bush league. If the worse thing that happens to them is that Tambo gets called out in the press — well, I think he deserves it.
In Dinglebarn We Trust -- JftC
The Oilers told the Kings Fraser was coming of an injury and would have to be taken "as is".
I’ve seen this claim before, but I’m not sure where the information comes from. Did you get this from a Tambellini or Lombardi interview?
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jul 9, 2011 6:42 PM MDT up reply actions
I’m neutral when I say this, believe it or not. This is not good for the Oilers. This kind of stuff is never forgotten.
Tamb may have pulled a fast one on Lombardi but he may as well forget about making a trade with the Kings ever again. May as well scratch out Burke as well. Tambs has damaged his reputation with this with the remaining 28 GMs who may want to deal with the Oilers.
The day will come in the future when the Oilers will want to do trades to balance out there team. This will be remembered by other NHL GMs. Not classy to do.
You are making the assumption that Tambellini knew that Fraser might need surgery and hid the information. I haven’t seen any proof of that. If there’s some information that confirms that which NHL GMs are privy too then this is bad for the Oilers. If not, then this is a he said/she said situation and the effect on other GMs will depend on their personal opinions of both Tambellini and Lombardi.
You are making the assumption that Tambellini knew that Fraser might need surgery and hid the information. I haven’t seen any proof of that.
Well, Tambellini had a press conference where he denied that he did anything wrong. But is that the crux of the issue?
The Kings were willing to accept a player they could buy out; they didn’t get one; and Tambellini is apparently refusing to work out something else that would be acceptable. He is counting on the fact that they will not take the usual course of action open to them in this situation, which would be to void the trade.
Tambellini can certainly try to get away with as much as he can possibly can. But usually, GMs care about their relationships with their trade partners, and they care how their reputation stands around the league.
If it’s true that they’re refusing to take AEG’s calls, what is going on there? Is Fraser’s salary worth that much to them? This is a risk they’re choosing to run.
I look at all this, and have a hard time believing they really wanted this Smyth trade. A simple late draft pick and this would have been over a month ago, smooth as silk. The LW in question is a useful player. It’s making an utter mess of a gift horse situation, and destroying a relationship in the process.
If Tambellini has some other kind of defense, I’m all ears. But I haven’t seen anything of the kind.
In Dinglebarn We Trust -- JftC
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