from Jason Gregor of the Edmonton Journal,

When Todd Nelson replaced Dallas Eakins as Oilers head coach midway through the 2014-15 season, the first thing he noticed was a disjointed team. “They didn’t have a strong bond,” Nelson said. “I felt it was important to try to make them play for one another.”

The Oilers made slight improvements under Nelson, but they were still a bad hockey club and lacked on-ice continuity.

This season the Oilers have a new president, a new general manager, a new coaching staff and new players in Andrej Sekera, Eric Gryba, Griffin Reinhart, Lauri Korpikoski, Mark Letestu, Cam Talbot and Connor McDavid. There is renewed optimism.

But they will not be a championship team until the players stand up for one another on the ice.

With six minutes remaining Monday night in the third period of a meaningless pre-season game, Garnet Hathaway, a Flames American Hockey League prospect, hit Taylor Hall. It was a cheap hit. Hathaway earned an interference penalty. The Oilers scored nine seconds later to tie the game, but not one player said or did anything to Hathaway on his next shift.

No one.

Hall is the Oilers first line left-winger. He is the team’s most productive NHL forward at this point, and no one responds when Hathaway takes a cheap shot at him? That is unacceptable.

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