It can be painful to be a hockey fan

I've been trying to limit my number of hockey posts this season because this isn't a hockey blog, but also because I do realize that it interests probably very few people, and the fact that I follow the Edmonton Oilers probably interests even fewer people. It hasn't been hard to not write much about hockey this season though, because it's been a lousy season for my favorite hockey team. What a letdown after going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season.

Sorry for the extensive hockey posts, but a few big events happened the day before yesterday that pretty much rocked my "hockey world." I would have blogged about it sooner had I not been so angry about it. Sometimes, when I'm angry, my writing is profane, mean-spirited and short-sighted, so I thought it best to let it cool down first.

Anyway, what should have been one amazing day for the Edmonton Oilers and their fans, the retirement of Mark Messier's number, turned out to be, as the Edmonton Sun called it yesterday morning, a sidebar story.

On Tuesday, 20 minutes before the trade deadline at 3 p.m. EST, the Oilers traded away their best player and leading scorer this season, Ryan Smyth, to the New York Islanders for a first-round draft pick, Ryan O'Marra and Robert Nilsson, both also first round picks. (Above, Smyth speaks with reporters at Edmonton International Airport yesterday before flying to meet his new team, the New York Islanders. It's a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Oilers, who at the trading deadline last year brought in players that ultimately made all the difference in the world. Edmonton went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and came within one win of capturing the team's sixth Stanley Cup.

Fast forward to one year later - no deals to bolster the team at all, and now Oil fans have to bid adieu to the longest-tenured Oiler on the roster. Most damning of all, I read in the Edmonton Sun this morning that the difference between the two sides was $100,000! That seems like a lot of money, but not when you're talking about $5.4 million per year. It's absurd that the two sides couldn't figure out a way to get the deal done.

The only positive I can think of is that Smyth is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and there's always a chance he could end up back in Edmonton, but I doubt it. When there are 30 teams bidding for your services, the price is going to go up, not remain static.

I have no doubt that the trade was tough on Oiler GM Kevin Lowe (above), who appeared very emotional at the press conference announcing the deal. But, guess what? We're all emotional as fans in bidding goodbye to a cornerstone of the team.

Without question, the team is going to miss Smyth's grit, leadership and tough goals in front of the net. No one in the entire NHL drives the net like Smyth does. How do you replace 31 goals per year on an offensively starved team? It won't be easy.

This is a picture from the end of last season, when Smyth was leaving Rexall Place for the summer with his daughter. But, it certainly is apropos now, too.

So long, warrior. I sure hope to see you in Oiler silks again some day.

Last year's Stanley Cup Finals seem like a million miles away now. Maybe if I live to be 80, I'll live to see the Oilers win another Stanley Cup. They aren't too close this morning.