Oilers fans are fed up, claim they're 'getting taken advantage of'

We quickly think about the players, management and head coaches when we see that a team isn't succeeding or meeting the expectations everyone had for it, but these people all get paid, even if they do a terrible job. What about the fans? What about the Edmonton Oilers fans who have continued cheering on their club for several years, despite the many questionable moves pulled off by now former GM Peter Chiarelli? 

There was Chiarelli trading Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils in June of 2016 in return for defenseman Adam Larsson. While Larsson has managed to help the Oilers since his acquisition, Hall has blossomed into a star for the Devils, winning the Hart Trophy last season. Then, the GM traded Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders for Ryan Strome, and fans were expecting more. However, Eberle is on pace to record his seventh straight season of 20 or more goals this year, while Strome tallied 34 points last season and was traded to the New York Rangers for Ryan Spooner in November. Spooner was waived by the Oilers this past Monday, two months after the trade.

Fans have also questioned his signings, including the lucrative pact he offered veteran forward Milan Lucic. After scoring 23 goals in the first season of a seven-year, $42 million deal, Lucic has not produce enough for the salary he puts in his pockets. 

Now fans are fed up and CBC reports that many of them claim to be getting taken advantage of. 

"It's extremely frustrating being a season ticket holder and spending hard-earned money to be able to go to these games and you know, not enjoying the experience," Kevin Allan, a season ticket holder since 2015, told CBC on Thursday. 

He is right to be mad: fans are getting screwed. Allan said his two upper-bowl seats cost about $7,000 for the season. However, because the Oilers have been playing so poorly, single-game tickets are available for as cheap as around $30 on StubHub and around $50 on Ticketmaster.

"I can't give away my tickets right now," said Joe Antonucci, a season ticket holder for the past 22 years. "Even if you got free tickets, you don't want to go. And you know chances are they're going to lose."

"I just can't justify giving away more money to watch this organization flounder," he said. "The sad part about it is that we're such a loyal community and such a positive hockey base that giving up my seats doesn't affect them because they have so many people on the waiting list, they'll just fill them right back up.

"And I think that's part of the problem, is that we're such a loyal fan base that we're getting taken advantage of. And maybe the only way to get them to understand this is to not go to any hockey games."

CEO Bob Nicholson sent a letter to season-ticket holders on Wednesday, apologizing for the team's performance. 

"Our current results are unacceptable to everyone who cares about the Oilers," the letter reads. "We are committed to returning the team to a point where it can compete for the Stanley Cup in as short of a window as possible, but we will not mortgage the future to do so. You deserve no less and we are all committed to this goal."

But fans remain angry... 

"I'm just as pissed off at Nicholson as I am at Chiarelli because he should've made this decision to get rid of him, if not in the middle of last year, at the end of the year for sure," Antonucci said. 

"Promising and not following through — we've just had enough of it," Allan added. "We've been hearing this for 12 years. We sell the building out every night. We buy the merchandise. We're loud fans and we're passionate. And that's getting taken advantage of."

The Oilers better change their ways... time is running out.