Lars Eller of the Montreal Canadiens should probably pipe down now
Lars Eller made headlines when he said that the Edmonton Oilers reminded him a bit of a junior hockey team. He reportedly regrets the comments, but getting lit up by the team you just talked smack about can be a pretty humbling experience. Eller has been one of the biggest surprises of the young NHL season, and for good reason.
"We thank Lars Eller for his comments before the game." - Coach Eakins on the MTL forward's 'junior team' line earlier today
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2013
It may seem like common sense that you can’t kick a dog when they’re down in this league. The Oilers were in desperate need of a pick-me-up, and you can bet they heard each and every one of Eller’s condescending comments.
The simple question, now that all the dust has settled after the Edmonton and Montreal contest, is who does Lars Eller think he is anyway? He’s widely viewed as a flop, having gone to the St. Louis Blues with the 13th overall selection in 2007. Prior to this season, Eller’s biggest year was a 16 goal, 12 assist output two years ago.
Five goals early in the season and suddenly you have the pedigree needed to down-talk a loaded team like the Oilers? We’ll chalk it up to a learning experience for the kid, but that takes a lot of gull.
38 goals in 218 games isn’t akin to a microphone in the NHL. The NFL is that-away, if you’re interested in smack talk based on anything outside of reality.