This summer, Taylor Swift completed the first leg of her Eras tour in North America. Her songs have been all over the radio and streaming waves, with the drop of Midnights and the upcoming release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). To honor a woman that single-handedly bolstered the American economy by an estimated $5 billion and who will be coming to Canada on her next North American segment of the tour, we decided to assign a song to the Edmonton Oilers for the upcoming season.
It may feel kind of ironic to be assigning a song written by a powerful woman about the double-standard that exists in life for women in similar positions to a group of admittedly privileged, overwhelmingly white guys. But “The Man” by Taylor Swift seems to speak to a group of players that have yet to get the respect due to them in the broader hockey community given that Connor McDavid leads this team.
“I’d be a fearless leader / I’d be an alpha type / When everyone believes ya / What’s that like?”
For years, the best duo in the league has been in Edmonton and yet it feels like the likelihood of the Oilers making noise in the playoffs has been underplayed or laughed outright. Granted, there are some valid concerns when it comes to parts of this roster, especially in years past. But what would it be like if the hockey world believed that the best chance for the Stanley Cup to come back to Canada laid not in the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs but the Oilers instead? Toronto might have more hyped superstars, but looking at the rosters it feels like both have their own flaws. Edmonton’s defense might be worse on paper but their top line easily goes toe-to-toe with Toronto. Neither team has world-beaters in the net. Truly, what’s the significant difference between the two rosters? If anything, wouldn’t the Oilers have the easier path as so much of the league believes that the real competitive conference is the East and not the West right now?
“They’d say I hustled / Put in the work / They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve”
Everyone knows that McDavid is a generational talent that transcends the rest of his peers. The man plays hockey like a cheat code. But you do have to wonder if, after eight seasons (and counting) with relatively limited playoff success, McDavid’s in danger of having a bunch of caveats to his greatness in the annals of history. “Yes, but…” is not what McDavid deserves in his legacy.
“They paint me out to be bad / So it’s okay that I’m mad”
When we see this line, we imagine Jack Campbell singing it at full volume on his drive to the rink. If anyone deserves a redemption arc this season, it’s him after struggling last year in Edmonton. Campbell has been candid before about how he struggles mentally with the pressures that goes with being a former first-round draft pick and face of the American goaltending future.
Consider this quote from Dusty Imoo, head of goaltending with the Los Angeles Kings in 2020 who worked with Campbell after he was traded there from the Dallas Stars:
“He was really beaten down and a lot of it was self-abuse. He had beaten himself up. He put so much pressure on himself early and quickly. Any failure, he took it very personally … he felt he was a failure as a person.”
Undoubtedly, Campbell tries to block the noise and criticism of his performance last season. But things always filter through no matter how much you try to ignore it, because, after all, we’re all just humans. You can only hope that he’s able to use it as motivation to come back better this season and prove all the haters wrong.
It’s okay to be mad, Jack.