The Oilers have been a fucking joke, but RNH has not been ruined. He made big steps this year. He's a solid player. He's still getting better. He still has the potential to be a VERY good 2-way forward.
From what I've seen of RNH, he has every single tool to become a star, and I really think he would have had at least one 80-90 point season under his belt by now if he was playing for any other organization. It's his development as a professional hockey player that's being stunted and 100% of the blame for that goes to the Oilers coaches and management.
Just to continue to pile on in the Oilers hate:
They have a terrible attitude towards forcing players to play through injuries, and will likely continue that attitude with McDavid:
http://www.matchsticksandgasoline.c...onnor-mcdavid-taylor-hall-ales-hemsky-problem
I'm really not surprised to read any of that. The Oilers upper management runs the team in the most amateur and bush league way possible. The fact that they kept on playing an injured Hall even after they were out of the season speaks volumes about how much they actually care about the future of the team, it's the definition of having a mindset that's firmly stuck in the present.
Not much separating Marner, Strome, and Hanifin imo.
When the Oilers were scheduled to be picking 3rd or 4th (LOL! Glad we're not there anymore!), I read up on these prospects quite a bit and couldn't decide on one. I think the Leafs will be happy with any of the 3. All 3 of these players could be #1s in a conventional non-generational draft.
Anyway, as an Oilers fan, I gotta say that I love the SALT from fans and media from the 29 other teams. Seriously. There's no way you're going to make an Oilers fan feel bad right now. We went from a joke and afterthought to well...we're still a joke, but there's jealousy in those insults. It's fun being the heel.
Winning is everything. People made fun of the Penguins before. The Blackhawks were forgotten all throughout the 90s and most of the 2000's. Winning cures everything. Nobody will care how much of a joke the Oilers are right now if they start winning.
I don't think anyone is jealous. I'm happy for Oilers fans, and I would be really happy with the Oilers winning the lottery if
1) Kevin Lowe wasn't the president
2) Daryl Katz wasn't the owner
3) MacTavish wasn't the GM (but, honestly, it's Kevin Lowe pulling all the strings any ways)
I think people are more pissed off that the Oilers have yet another 1st overall pick to ruin, and this time it's a generational talent.