The time Georges Laraque and the Oilers lost their last game on purpose

This afternoon, to start susceptible On the airwaves of BPM Sports alongside Stephane Gonzalez, Georges Laraque told an interesting tale.

what is he talking about?

It's simple: When he played in Edmonton, the Oilers intentionally lost their last regular-season game for one year. The club has already secured a ticket to the playoffs, but it is not yet known who it will face in the first round. By losing, the Oilers had the opportunity to “pick their opponent,” the Dallas Stars.

George didn't say what year it was… but when we look at the Oilers' playoff history, the answer is pretty clear.

The Oilers faced the Stars in the first round during the 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-2001 seasons… but won their final regular season game in those years.

However, the Oilers also faced the Stars in the first round during the 2002-03 season… and lost their final game (of the season) to the Flames:

To choose who we would face in the qualifiers, we lost on purpose. It was never made public…but we actually did. -Georges Laraque

George goes on to say that the coach did not have a game plan for the game and did not say much in the room before the game, which allowed the players to get the message across.

His comments can be found at the beginning of the presentation:

So the Oilers intentionally lost their game to Calgary to have the opportunity to face the Stars in the playoffs.

a result? Georges Laraque's team was eliminated by Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.

It's ironic in a way because the strategy didn't work.

And what's a little annoying about all of this…it's the final game of the season against the Flames, played by the Oilers at home.

So they deliberately lost to their fans, which is disrespectful to the fans.

Plus, it was the Battle of Alberta!

In the end, karma caught up with the Oilers and that's a good thing because Edmonton played with fire.

Whoever chooses takes the worst, as the other says…hehe.

a lot of

– Will they appear?

Thursday's match will be crucial for Patrick Roy's men 👀https://t.co/VciGoCBKOt

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 8, 2024

– Your choice?

If Ryan Smith asked this question, it's probably not for nothing… 🧐 pic.twitter.com/i0ZTwu55F3

– Dance Les Colisses (DLCoulisses) April 8, 2024

– Great achievement!

– He follows.

– They'll have to get up.