"It didn't do us any good to give Kevin a black eye, or Cal a black eye, at that time."

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Nichols was left reeling. After the meeting, he still had a social commitment, showing off the Oilers new dressing room to the general membership of the EIG. He tried to contain his frustration. "I was in a bit of shock over what had happened. I had a terrible time."

Board member Dave Addie, who had also sided with Nichols, took LaForge aside and said, "This didn't go well. We will get what we want, but this didn't go well for Cal."

"I could see something had gone wrong, that something had gone terribly wrong," LaForge says. "Cal was all red in the face and his eyes were red. He was feigning happiness."

Nichols felt he had failed in his job to persuade the board on a crucial move for the success of the franchise. He also felt some board members simply failed to consider how much time and effort he had put in to come up with his recommendation. "I spent so much more time at it. I was just closer to it, and those guys would run their businesses and then they would come to a board meeting, and it was catch up all the time.

"At times it would be very tiring. You just breathe it, you drank it, you eat it, and it's a level of impatience (with the other board members). A lot of research was done and a lot of collaboration, and you guys come along for a meeting and it's not important until right now, and then you all become experts all of a sudden without any background research."

Nichols wondered how Lowe would take the news. Lowe had every right at that point to start looking for work, and to announce that he was doing just that in public, Nichols believed. He shuddered at the thought. "I couldn't imagine the backlash."

That same night, Nichols let loose his feelings in an e-mail to the EIG's lawyer, Mike Crozier: "I'm sitting here in the wee hours of the morning. So unbelievably disgusted with what happened at our meeting today. I was amazed and dumb-founded ... at the rejection of the extension of Kevin Lowe. In the end, I believe that this was as much as anything a rejection of my judgment and recommendations. The lack of generosity and appreciation from this group blows me away.

"Maybe I should have been more attentive and selfish in the Katz overture. In the end, I still believe that the group approach is still the best way for this franchise to succeed, and I also believe that the current retirement amount is fair to the buyer and seller. As a result of what happened today, and what happened in the recent past, I would still consider selling my shares."

LaForge had his own catastrophic take on the vote's significance. "I saw all of it aimed at Cal. Because he had pushed the button: This is my idea. This is supported by management, but I am bringing forward. . . . This is our guy and you are going to support me in doing this."