After losing the annual New Year’s Eve game to the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers dropped the gloves with the staff of Osteria de Medici, an upscale Calgary restaurant.

After a group of almost 50 people racked up a bill of $14,234.06 before tip (16.796.19 after an automatic 18% gratuity), they demanded a break on the bill, according to manager Maurizio Terrigno. Staff members even claim some of the players became threatening during the dispute.

Reports show that half of the Oiler’s tab was on alcohol, ranging from shots of tequila to expensive wines and champagne (they lost, right?).

Restaurant staff claims that only after the fact of calling in the tab did the group request bottle-service prices. (Keep in mind that any restaurant owners who want to provide bottle service must apply for a permit through the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission. Although an upscale restaurant, without evidence of Osteria de Medici having this permit, it may have been part of this issue.)

Reading many online reports, many people have stepped forward with their two cents from both sides of the table:

Wayne Leong, owner of Melrose Cafe and Bar in Southwest Calgary said, “Out of the blue I don’t believe you can say, ‘Can I have bottle service?’” He continued, “I think that if they were to negotiate it at the beginning … but not after, whether they were a regular customer or celebrity.”

Oilers spokesman Allan Watt (although biased from being directly connected to the dispute) stated the bill was “outrageous” and had earlier said the players had a pre-arranged menu on the evening in question. However, Watt has little ground to stand on for some areas of their dispute. He also said the restaurant tried to charge for an imported bottle of expensive brandy after one of the players took a swig from it. Ok, somebody drank directly from the bottle, and are all pissed they’re being charged for the whole bottle? My firm understanding of the Health Code is that the restaurant can no longer serve that bottle to anybody else now that a player was drinking from the bottle. But the all-too-common sense of entitlement and arrogance that comes with being a high-rolling NHL player - such as drinking from the bottle of what was a $200 imported brandy - then crying about being charged for it because you’re an NHLer, makes you a bag of shit.

But alas, there are unbiased opinions floating around the Internet claiming the players have been treated unfairly and accused the eatery’s management of trying to gain publicity by going public with the allegations.

On the Oilers’ team message board, user “Hillcat” stated, “This guy sounds more like a hardcore Flames [fan] just looking for an easy way to give the Oilers a black eye”

IMO, the Oilers should have better managed their evening’s events beforehand to avoid this mishap after the fact. Discover the facts about the restaurant’s bottle service existence/rules and sort it out ahead of time.

From the restaurants perspective, going public with a report did nothing positive for their business. If anything, they lost some seriously paid customers - the entire Oilers organization, plus players and friends, and by going public, any loyal fans as well.

One thing for sure, as someone who doesn’t give a shit about the team nor the restaurant, I’m no more enticed to go there now than I was before all this went down.

The general opinion however, is not one of sympathy for the Oilers. Most people side with the fact that the Oilers and players are very well-paid athletes and shouldn’t be disputing a tab for the team’s night out. The team’s eventual bill was trimmed to $12,381 by restaurant management - almost one-third less.

On the same team message board, username “Lilfrnz” suggested that perhaps the players should have chosen another restaurant if they didn’t want to pay a hefty bill, or the large tip that went with it.
“It was a group of nearly 50 people who refused to pay 33 per cent of their bill. If anything, it sounds like they objected to the 18 per cent (automatic gratuity) which means they shouldn’t have gone to the restaurant.”

Regardless of opinion, the bottom line is that ANY player on the Oilers’ roster (let alone the organization itself), could have paid that bill in full, without question, and not even missed the money. This season’s combined salary for the Oilers roster is a staggering $56.8 million. If it was perfectly split among all 26 players, I’m accurate in stating that the “average” Oilers’ player annual salary is nearly $2.2M, or $42,011 a week - A WEEK!!! Now put all of them together and watch them go “ballistic” (as restaurant manager Terrigno stated) over a <$17,000 bill. Give me a break.

Tags:edmonton, edmonton oilers, new years