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Over the last two-plus decades, I would conservatively estimate I have attended around 100 Oilers games, most of them in the “cheap” seats.

I was lucky enough to witness much of the team’s improbable Stanley Cup Final run in 2006, less fortunate to suffer through the decade of darkness that followed, then gratified to have the chance to see Connor McDavid do his thing under the lights of Rogers Place.

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For all that time, even during the losing years, the Oilers have been the best show in town. And they know it.

This spring, as McDavid and co. hopefully create some indelible playoff memories, multiple thousands of fans in their orange jerseys will stream into Ice District, and few of them are going to remember that the organization’s management essentially tried to bully a nearby charity that caters to homeless Indigenous clients.

As such, while the story is fresh in our minds, it’s worth digging into before it gets drowned out in Oilers goal songs. Because for an incredibly wealthy and sophisticated organization that has carefully managed its public image, this was a rare departure into bizarre and petty decision-making.

I’ll begin my take on this by going back to last September, when the public first learned of the dispute that was emerging between the Katz Group and Boyle Street Community Services.

News broke that Boyle Street was scrambling to move out of its old dilapidated drop-in centre on 105 Avenue — just north of Rogers Place — and find temporary alternative homes for its services. The agency’s planned new headquarters, the King Thunderbird Centre, was behind schedule due to fundraising shortfalls and community opposition.

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Until the project wrapped up — now pegged for early 2025 — Boyle Street would have preferred to stay at the 105 Avenue site, which it had been leasing for $1 a month from the Katz Group.

That required a lease extension. Talks on such an extension did, in fact, take place, and that same $1 rate was even offered. Nonetheless, Boyle Street insisted — to great puzzlement — that it was “not financially viable” for them to stay. That raised speculation the Katz Group had put some new feature into the lease agreement the agency couldn’t accept, but neither side would give details, citing contract confidentiality.

It wasn’t until this week that we got an inkling of what’s been happening behind the scenes. According to court documents, the ongoing dispute is allegedly centred on a previously undisclosed, conditionally promised $5-million donation from the Katz Group — a commitment the company obviously later came to regret.

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(Worth noting, this conditional donation was on top of the Katz Group’s $5-million purchase of the 105 Avenue property from Boyle Street in 2021, and a $10-million contribution from the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.)

Court documents say the conditional gift was conceived as a “backstop,” to be paid in whole or in part only if the social agency fell short in its other fundraising efforts for the project — which we now know came to pass.

It’s unclear to me why the Oilers agreed to that kind of scheme, as it could disincentivize Boyle Street’s own work to solicit donations. But regardless of the reason, the company made the promise, which means they should be prepared to pay it.

Instead, according to Boyle Street, the Katz Group tried to turn the gift into a point of leverage. The agency’s court filings allege the company would only agree to a lease extension if Boyle Street gave up the $5 million.

Katz Group, in its own court submissions, denies the agency’s version of events, but it has also filed a lawsuit that argues it shouldn’t have to pay the money because Boyle Street failed to make “best efforts” on raising the necessary donations.

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(Claims made in legal documents by either party have not been proven in court).

Both sides are declining comment in general at the moment because they are in arbitration that will hopefully resolve the mess. But this situation was allowed to get far uglier than necessary, exacerbated by the Oilers’ strange choice to launch a lawsuit, which created public records with all the controversial details the company previously seemed to want to keep secret.

Yes, Boyle Street shares some blame here. The crisis likely wouldn’t have developed if the agency had better managed its project. At the same time, let’s not forget this is a shoestring organization that does not have professional resources or experience in organizing major capital campaigns.

Those excuses don’t apply to the Oilers, for whom the optics are especially lousy, as they are seen to be picking on a beleaguered charity over which they enjoy a huge wealth and power imbalance. Nobody likes the bully who picks on the little guy, especially when that little guy is trying to help other little guys.

Moreover, any disruption to Boyle Street’s services has effects beyond the agency, causing grief primarily for its homeless clients, but also for police, other social agencies, health services, nearby businesses, transit riders and others who feel the effects of crime and social disorder. If the $5 million is successfully withdrawn or an expensive legal fight drags on, the risk worsens to Boyle Street’s project and its ability to provide services.

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Overall, it’s just hard to understand why the Oilers would go to these lengths and risk reputational capital to try to get out of a charitable contribution that is a pittance to their overall operation. They should just end this now, pay the money they promised, and grudgingly move on.

(For what it’s worth, Forbes magazine calculates the franchise has the second-highest operating income among NHL teams at $122 million a year, and ranks them seventh in overall value at $1.85 billion. And that presumably doesn’t include all of the Katz Group companies. Owner Daryl Katz himself is worth $4.4 billion, Forbes says).

Ultimately, however, I suspect the organization’s management feels they can do this because they recognize there really is no risk. The arena will remain full and merchandise sales will remain brisk as playoff excitement builds.

We can only hope that the team reflects on the Indigenous land acknowledgment featuring Wilton Littlechild that play on the big screen before each home game. Do the Oilers see that as merely a PR exercise, or a meaningful call to action?

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