Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Notorious E.I.G.


How much control does Kevin Lowe really have over the Edmonton Oilers? Until Katz came in with his crazy circus ("Hello, I'd like to offer you a business transaction in which all parties come out ahead."), it seemed as though Lowe wasn't calling the financial shots at all, that his hands were tied. Is this a fair enough assessment?

Since that time, though, he's been as freewheeling and freespending as a sailor on leave. So, I'm not really sure what's better. At the risk of beating a dead and buried horse one final time, for a difference of one seat section of one game at Rexall, we let Ryan Smyth walk and now we can't even replace him despite the millions at our disposal.

I've often wondered how much shadow play is actually involved in any large corporation that primarily earns income from what amounts to public perception. I almost never trust a word that comes out of Patrick Laforge's speaking grill and if he and Cal Nichols are the most honest appearing people they can come up with out of the group, then I'm afraid we're all going to have to just sit back and enjoy the new arena we'll all build with the welfare dollars we pour into the pockets of this poor little group of heroes.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

EIG probably decided to start throwing money around rather than look out the window and realize that we don't actually like them.

grease trap said...

I think they're probably pretty aware that public opinion is starting to turn. They want to get a deal on a new arena done in the next 18 to 24 months, for sure, while they can still play the community card. In the meantime, if it means a little less profit, it seems they'll actually spend somewhere in the proximity of the cap if it keeps the sheep docile.