I always watched Edmonton but not really as a fan: I have way too many hard feelings about them stealing the Stanley Cup from its rightful home on Long Island. As a Northern Alberta kid, they were the team on TV and the radio, and I got sick and tired of hearing the hometown coverage (little did I know how bad homer-coverage could get until I lived in Southern Alberta! Damn! Ed Whalen was as bad as Dick Irvin on HNIC!). I thought the Oilers were a team of Whiners (I loved that T-shirt) and I especially hated Glen Sather's arrogance and overall demeanor.I laughed with joy when Steve Smith scored on his own net in '86, and I was heartily cheering Lanny and the Flames in '89. I had mixed emotions when Gretzky was traded, because I would be able to cheer for him now, if I wanted, but I wasn't sure I wanted to, and I always feel a little let down when my Great Enemies are brought down.
Then Ron Caron & Neil Smith led the charge in escalating team salaries to the point where the Oilers became a glorified farm team to the Rangers and other teams, and small markets were pushed to the edge of extinction. I went to Oiler games to support them and keep them in Edmonton, even though , like 99% of Northern Alberta, I thought Pocklington was a scumbag for holding the city for ransom*. I stopped viewing the Oilers as "the Great Enemy", and more as "the team I don't care for but they're here as my best option to see the NHL". In short I went to cheer for the Oilers' opponents, especially when my Islanders came west.
Now, my friends who still live in Alberta and cheer for them, are really upbeat, more than when they went to the finals a couple years ago. They see the young talent and think they might be on the verge of a new elite level team... if it comes together. They have reservations about the goaltending and blue-line, but they are (rightfully) in love with the young kids they have up front. There is a lot more room for optimism in Edmonton than in Calgary, Winnipeg (who is just happy to have a team again) and maybe even Vancouver (who are good but I think have plateaued and are now at a point where they are going to get old soon). Hockey fans in Edmonton have reason to smile.
* Pocklington was scum for exacerbating the team's situation but the real enemy in those days were the large market GMs, like Caron, Smith, Bob Clarke, Cliff Fletcher when he was in Hogtown and a few others, for trying to price the Cup out of reach. Jimmy Develano in Detroit gets some blame too although he was more reactive to other GMs than instigating (I always thought it was ironic that Detroit was the most successful, albeit the most reluctant of the Big Spender Club).
