Cheering when they fall!

I haven't written anything about the Smyth trade yet, in part because I haven't been able to stop laughing. Yet another Oiler departure? Ha! Like rats leaving a sinking ship.

Here's the facts Jack;

- Smyth is one of those players whose overall package and contributions aren't reflected in his stats. Is he a consistent 30 goal scorer? No. Is he a regular ppg guy? No. But he blocks shots, kills penalties and bleeds blue and copper.

- That said, Smyth's money requests were even for a home-town boy done good, outrageous. Sure, some GM somewhere will give him that money ($5M+ a year for 5 years and a no trade clause - I bet St Louis bends over for him), but there is no question his stats will never match up with that $ figure (think Mike Peca on a larger scale). He's a grossly overpaid player in the mold of Martin Lapointe waiting to happen.

- I have no doubts that Smyth knew this. He had set the bar publicly at Alex Tanguay+ $'s figuring his all-round game would trump Tanguay's better stats. He figured the Oilers wouldn't be able to cut him loose after dealing Pronger to start the year. He was the face of the team, he was The Man, he was going to get paid, and he would retire an Oiler. He was wrong.

- This is not the fault of the new CBA. The Oilers have the cap space to pay Smyth if they want to, even to overpay him slightly just because they really like how his mullet plays with the blue-rinse crowd. In previous years there would have been no question he was heading out the door. Nope, this time the defection is the result of pure greed - greed on the part of Smyth to cash in on his next contract. I don't blame him for this, nor more than I blame Lowe for not feeling it necessary to flush money down the toilet, but the tear fest at the airport rings a little hollow when Smyth could have lopped a year of guaranteed money, or taken a $100K less if he really wanted to stay. What's either of those figures to a multi-millionaire compared to wearing the same uni for your entire career? Save the tears for your accountant Ryan.

- Why not overpay Smyth? Good question. I would have preferred to overpay him, then to overpay; Roloson, Horcoff or Pisani - all of whom signed stupid contracts for their career performance level based on getting the Oilers to the finals. If Lowe had simply let Pisani go to the highest bidder (no loss) or moved Horcoff (unsurprisingly he has reverted back to his AHL level of talent), he would have had a much more flexible situation to deal with for Smyth. But he got his level 2 guys signed up before he got his level 1 guy signed, and the fact his hands got tied in knots is in that regard is his own damn fault.

- To all those Oiler fans who point out that Calgary will face a similar situation in two years with Iginla and Kiprusoff, let me say the following: Iginla will get paid - likely at the max. Kipper will either sign for less than the max, or be allowed to leave. Keep Iggy, let Kipper go. Simple. Leland Irving, Brent Krahn and others give the Flames depth in goal (something the Oilers STILL don't have, and they already dealt their first rounder to get the now ancient Roloson!), and while losing Kipper would suck, it wouldn't hurt nearly as much as losing Iggy. Sutter knows where his bread is buttered, how to work the cap and most importantly, how to build a team. Something, Smyth, Lowe and the Oilers have yet to figure out.

So pardon the schadenfreude (which seems to be everywhere of late), but I find the whole Smyth fiasco to be more than a little hilarious, overwrought and above all indicative of Edmonton Oiler incompetence.