Spring hasn't sprung this year so much as it has shuffled unsteadily out of the gate, not unlike the non-playoff Oilers' regrettable habit of taking a period or so to unclutter their minds before settling down to business.
The change of season doesn't seem to have provided much spiritual jump out in the larger community. These are tough times, obviously.
As for the Oilers, just wait a bit.
Once the Oilers dispatch with the final Battle of Alberta home-and-home of this season tonight and Saturday, their organizational self-examination will proceed in earnest. Not to mention in depth and breadth.
Various and sundry assessments already have been delivered by local observers and national commentators. TSN's Pierre McGuire, for one, opined Wednesday night on 630 CHED that the Oilers non-playoff failure speaks not to any shortcomings of head coach Craig MacTavish, but to "player procurement" deficiencies, which is another matter and another department.
Which is not to say MacTavish won't withdraw from his job, either in the interests of social peace in the Oilers locker-room or to pacify the hard cases in a cranky market, or simply for his own peace of mind.
But that will unfold in the coming weeks.
The players haven't ducked responsibility for the failed season, even though they didn't live up to their potential during it.
Indeed, you might have to go back to that Monty Python sketch involving the cook gutting himself because a customer remarked about a "bit of a dirty knife," to replicate the nakedly honest self-recrimination the Oilers have engaged in since they were officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup tournament Tuesday night.
And, while the public has struggled to stomach the disappointment of unmet expectations, the Oilers front office has been preparing to take a good, hard look at what went wrong.
There is real opportunity in this, if the brain trust goes about it properly.
From the fans' perspective, the Oilers have missed the playoffs three straight seasons and five of the eight years of the Kevin Lowe-MacTavish regime.
To paraphrase another owner in a different sport from another city in another time, Oilers fans are jilted lovers whose hearts have been broken a few too many times.
The fans need to see real, substantive improvement and the Oilers do grasp that.
Something else. Rookie owner Daryl Katz has the advantage of assessing things as if it's the end of Year 1 of the cycle of hoped-for success, not Year X of an ongoing project. So do GM Steve Tambellini and salary cap guru Rick Olczyk.
There is power in that fresh perspective and it should be fully leveraged.
They don't have a choice, not if they truly want to assemble a genuine Stanley Cup contender.
Job 1 may well be clarifying that, going forward, the GM is indisputably Tambellini. The division of duties between Tambellini and Lowe, at least in the public imagination, was murky this year, perhaps inevitably, given the seamless succession. The best way for Tambellini to stake his claim may well be to outline his vision publicly, and the sooner the better.
It's also basic that the Oilers cast a ruthless eye on their roster and their cluster of prospects and decide how radical a transformation is needed.
Is this the on-ice equivalent of a real-estate tear-down? Or do they think some judicious renovations will suffice?
Do they want to build a Cup contender that will endure a few years, or will they be content to assemble a nice, competitive team that ultimately will fall short?
Some observers eyeball a core group led by Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Ladislav Smid and Tom Gilbert, compare it with the likes of Chicago's Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook -- to name one example -- and reckon the Oilers come off poorly.
How good is their talent, comparatively speaking?
Have the Oilers fixated on acquiring, via draft or trade, too many smallish, skilled forwards like Gagner, Cogliano, Jordan Eberle, Gilbert Brule, Patrick O'Sullivan, Robert Nilsson and the unsigned Linus Omark?
Katz and Tambellini need to closely examine the player development function, which has been uneven, or worse, given the apology the club delivered to fans of their Springfield, Mass., AHL farm club for its poor season.
For example, much has been invested in forward Marc Pouliot since he was drafted 22nd overall fully six years ago. To what noticeable effect? Same thing with Rob Schremp. Will Ryan O'Marra ever the see light of day in the NHL?
Young goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers has made a five-year journey through the Oilers minor-league farm system and played all of eight NHL games.
If they recommit to 39-year-old veteran Dwayne Roloson, that will further retard the development of Deslauriers, who turns 25 next month.
As well, the Oilers might be Vulnerable to an offer sheet for the much-improved but high-strung Smid, who is a restricted free agent on July 1.
At the end of the day, if the Oilers franchise is in a hole -- and it is -- it has been an organizational team effort all the way. The necessary correctives must reflect that reality.
jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com
Check out my blog at: www.edmontonjournal.com
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