Thoughts: Ales Hemsky.

Once upon a time, I wrote about hockey on this blog. From time to time, I still do. I may not write about the NHL and the Oilers, but I’m always up to talk about it. My RSS feed is full of daily reading materials.

There’s lots of chatter on the ol’ Al Gore on the subject of Mr. Ales Hemsky.

I believe he is a goner.  I’ve read he has essentially disappeared from Oilers video montages.  The Oilers media talks about him like he’s terrible (yet at the same time up-sell his return value).

There are all sorts of posts on the matter..

BDHS: Ales Hemsky and the Fans

MC79: I hate to point this out, but Hemsky isn’t dead.

Lowetide: Wing and a prayer

Copper and Blue: Ales Hemsky’s final run with the Edmonton Oilers

…and there are tons more like this. Mine won’t turn over any new stones.

Like Pat, I stop before I get to the comments of most sites.  I can’t read that drivel.  Not because I disagree with many of them and, frankly, think I’m smarter than those folks, but because part of my day job entails moderating thousands of comments.  The only thing it has taught me is that under the veil of Internet anonymity, people release their core idiocy.  I’m scared for humanity.

Back to Hemsky.

How about a list? I love lists.

5 reasons to keep Hemsky:

Bonus: He’s not Cam Barker.

5. He was named to the all star game… LAST YEAR.

4.  2007 Hot Oil Hot Off Champion.

3. Stats.

2. He’s still just 28 years old.

1. What are you going to get for him?  Reading posts around the league about deadline day, and many think Hemsky is not worth the risk.

I’m actually not totally against trading Hemsky.  If there is a deal that actually does some good, I’m for it.  I’m just so disillusioned by past moves that I no longer expect a decent deal to be done.  When I look at teams like the Canucks (who are shoved in my face constantly), I see a team with skill all through the lineup.  Getting rid of Hemsky leaves a hole in the lineup.  Based on how well numerous defensive holes and the hole in net has been addressed, how can I trust that management will bother filling them?

I was watching a Vancouver Giants – Edmonton Oil Kings game this weekend that featured young Keegan Lowe. It was a fun game. We sat in the front row by the penalty box to give my Australian boyfriend’s brother an up-close experience of (Ice) hockey. As I watched young #4, a defenseman for the Oil Kings, it dawned on me. I no longer associate Kevin Lowe as the player. I think of him only as an inept manager.

You can blame Renney, you can blame Katz (actually, I’ll get back to that), you can blame Tambo, but who has been here these painful 6 years? Lowe.

Katz was an Oilers fan growing up.  So was I.  But a stockpile of number 1 picks does not hide the fact that I’m forgetting what success feels like.  Stop ruining my memories.  Start making some tough decisions regarding the management of this team.  It’s… not… working.

In just over a week, we’ll be saying happy trails to Hemsky.

He was a step off when he came back from injury and now he’s just a half-step behind. I imagine he’s about 8 days away from full go. Just in time for the trade deadline.

As an Oiler fan who put up with the last 10 years, I wish him well. I have no qualms with Horcoff or Smyth but Hemsky is the only magic left from ’06. And he is real magic.

I look forward to what he’ll do for another team in a playoff run.

I look forward to seeing what crap we’ll get in return.

But I wish they’d treat him like the best player of the Oilers of the last decade, because he was/is.