Oilers owner Daryl Katz takes rare action at practice
Yesterday morning, the Oilers took to the ice for their last practice before their series against the Los Angeles Kings. Just before practice started, the team was visited by owner Daryl Katz.
Katz reportedly watched on and spoke to a few members of the team in rhetoric leadership group, likely just to get excited and see the team before the most important time of year. It must have actually motivated the team to give it a little extra effort, as Connor McDavid said afterwards it was one of the more intense practices in his time with the Oilers. Still, it's always odd to have boss Daryl Katz just walking around and hanging out at practice.
I wish guys practiced that hard all the time. It was a good practice, up and down with pace. I thought the guys were dialled in.
Fans certainly aren't too happy to see Katz in any capacity at the moment. For this year's playoffs, fans have seen a huge increase in ticket prices, as well as seasons tickets for next year.
In the ninth year of McDavid's career with the Oilers, everyone involved with the team knows that they have to take the next step and go on a truly deep playoff run. McDavid should be considered among the best players of all time already, but he needs to add the Stanley Cup to his hardware - and deliver on his promise to the city of Edmonton. Not only that, but Leon Draisaitl's contract will be up for negotiation next season, and a Stanley Cup would be a great selling pitch for an extension.
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