Say what?

Squee. Project H.O.P.E. is here.

If this game shows what the future will look like, sign me up and give me Kool-Aid.


GOilers

WE WIN! WE WIN!

4 IN A ROW!!!!!!


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!


Discuss.

Who Will Be Accountable Steve?

Remember when Steve Tambellini held his State of the Union address at the end of last season? When he said we needed to "restore the depth chart of prospects that are pushing the people here for jobs" (The video is on page 19 of the "Oilers Today" video channel on the team website). Given the fact that this team has allowed 25 goals during this 4 game losing streak, something would have to change, no? Given that roughly 99.99% of the fan base can see that our defense is atrocious, you would think that these prospects we have down on the farm are ready to take a job or two from some of the players up here. I mean, one can look at the boxcars and see that a player like Chorney, who is a plus player so far this season, after the disaster that was last. Alex Plante seems he is close to ready for the big leagues, he didn't look too out of place last year during his call up. Belle could be an option, but if it was me, I would call him up if we are decimated by injuries again.


For the forwards I would bring up Reddox and O'Marra. We need to inject some life into our lineup and the best way to do that is to have someone watch a game or three from the press box. If we send the type of message that no job is safe, do you think our players will start playing better? I mean losing games 4-3 in overtime like we did in New Jersey is all fine and dandy, but the 8-2's, 7-1's, 6-2's are unacceptable. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine if the Oilers gain another lottery pick this year, but to have a team that plays this bad, and have a Coach/GM who refuse to do anything, is just not right. Something needs to be done, for the sake of the kids at least, because what are the chances they are just flowing with confidence after an 8-2 loss? Chances are they aren't, so please Steve, tell us, WHO WILL BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR BAD PLAY?

Game 14: Edmonton at Detroit

I would like to start off this post by thanking our fallen soldiers for all they have done to protect the freedoms that you and I enjoy on days like this. I would also like to apologize to the loyal readers of this blog for the lack of posts, the "fun" of being an accounting student has briefly caught up to me. Now on to today's game....


Today/night the Oilers are in Detroit to face the Red Wings. The first time these two teams met this season the Wings left Rexall Place with a 3-1 victory despite a valiant effort from the Oil. The Oilers then started on their annual November road with a win against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, again, then decided to roll over so to speak against Carolina. I have no idea what happened in that game, all I know is that I get home, check my mail and boom 1-0. Walk up to my lush 3rd floor apartment turn on the television, get confused that the game isn't on Sportsnet One tune in to the Sportsnet West channel and boom, 2-0. At that point I go "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE F**KING KIDDING ME!!!" it baffled me at just how different that game was to the Chicago game. The inconsistency the team shows, albeit they can't really help it, will ultimately lead to another lottery pick, not that another high pick is a bad thing either.

Our main problem does not seem to be the kids, it is our defense and goaltending. Khabibulin should not be playing the amount he has been, especially with how good Dubnyk has played(2.56 GAA and a .933 SV% is not that bad, is it?). Our D though, well we have no long term solution for that, unless Marincin(2nd in WHL D scoring) or Petry pan out.

Speaking of a high pick, I had the opportunity to view Top Prospect for the 2011 NHL Draft, Ryan Nugent Hopkins last night courtesy of a WHL game being broadcast on SHAW TV. Just by watching that one game, he showed flashes but didn't seem to do much. His lack of production can either be attributed to the fact Red Deer played the night before, or that fellow Top Prospect David Musil is just that good of a shutdown D man. Either way he looked flat and unimpressive last night.

Declaration of War #9- No Pressure

Tonight the Edmonton Oilers take their Exciting Last Place Hockey into Chicago to play the defending Stanley Cup Champions. I swear if I hear this song more than say, 3 times tonight, I will not be pleased. Yesterday as you may know, I made a prolific pick on this very blog, I predicted Taylor Hall to score his first goal last night(well actually I kept saying it Tuesday but meh). Tonight though will be someone else's night to shine and my money would be on King Magnus to do so. 

Word is circulating that Hall will be taking the spot of Penner on the left of Gagner and Hemsky. This move would not surprise me at all, even though Penner does have 3 goals in this young season, he seems to be "half assing" it out there. Seriously did he hop back on the wheat and barley based beverages bandwagon again? Seriously what gives? (I figure if I keep calling him out he will perform). Khabi gets the start tonight in what should be a fairly exciting game. 

Prediction:

Oilers: 4

Hawks: 3

Declaration of War #8- You Mean We Have Other Goalies?

Tonight is the 8th part in the Oilers march to somewhere, where that place is, I don't know. Tonight/afternoon(depending on where you are) also marks the first time this season that we see someone other than Nikolai Khabibulin in the Oilers crease. Did anyone else know we have three goalies on the roster? Tonight will also be a historic game as I am predicting, for sure, that a certain #1 draft pick will score his first goal tonight. I know I have said it a few times but, for sure tonight in Columbus Taylor Hall will score.


The Oilers lines are not changing tonight with the exception of Vandermeer in for Foster. This almost baffles me, I'm sure you all saw the game on Tuesday night, and the games before that, is there anyone who can seriously tell me that Dustin Penner deserves to be riding shotgun on a line with Gagner and Hemsky? We are seeing a Penner that we thought died last year under Pat Quinn. What has changed? Does he not want to be part of a rebuild? Is he sick? What is wrong with the player many call "The Flying Fridge"?

Last night I had the opportunity(that's what we'll call it, there isn't much to do here) to see 2011 draft prospect David Musil play. And let me tell you, he looked good out there. Sure it was only against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but I now see the reason why he is ranked in the top 10 for the upcoming draft. He almost made shutting down the Hurricanes power play look effortless. He got in the right position to block shots and passes, and looks like an effortless skater. I know this is still early but add him to the list of players I would like to see in an Oilers uniform in the future.

Declaration of War #7- Le Sigh....

The Edmonton Oilers will walk into the Scotiabank Saddledome tonight looking to end two disastrous streaks, one, the Oilers have not won in Calgary since 2008, and two, they have not won a road game in regulation in 26 games. Sorry for being negative but if you were looking for the Oilers to snap their 4 game losing streak, look at Thursday against Columbus for that.


The only things to maybe look forward to tonight are a close game, and maybe a Taylor Hall goal. I doubt he scores this game since apparently no one on the team(except Eberle) can score. I am interested to see if Renney gives someone like Paajarvi a shot at playing with Hemsky, since Penner just can't seem to cut it. And when I say can't cut it, we are seeing Fatgoose 2008/09 edition. Maybe he is just sick but the last couple of games he looked like he could care less what happened.

My prediction:
Calgary: 5
Edmonton: 2

My Thoughts After 6 Games

As I sit here and admire the nice green grass still outside(yes, it has not yet snowed here) there are a few thoughts that I must clear fom my mind. Let's be honest here, this Oilers team looks bad, I'm not talking last year bad, but if we can't learn to kill a penalty, we better hope Adam Larsson can, because that's where we're headed. On our potential top 3 pick, what the hell is with the love affair with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins? The guy is a pencil! If we do have the opprotunity to pick there, I sure hope we do not pick RNH, sure he has talent but he has to do a lot to fill out, time I don't think we can waste. Speaking of #1 picks, holy hell is Taylor Hall the most inconsistant player I have ever seen, he goes and has a great game against Minnesota then does, next to nothing against San Jose. I think once he finds the consistency in his game then he will turn out to be the player we have been looking for.


Another weakness that the Oilers have is special teams, not just on the PK but on the PP as well. I think the solution to the PP is a simple one, change the strategy. I get why they use an overload strategy on the PP, but it makes 0 sense to have two forwards within 10 feet of each other, what they should do instead is switch to something that resembles the umbrella strategy. Have two of the forwards on each side of the ice with someone creating traffic in front, and get the puck to Foster more, the guy was signed to replace Souray on the powerplay and we have not been going to him quite as much as we need to be. The penalty kill leaves a lot to be desired as well, I don't know if it is the players that they use or what, but we just can't seem to kill penalties. What the team should do is make a call to Oklahoma City, and bring up some players who, until yesterday, killed off 35 straight penalties. If they can't do any better than what we have now, there is little to no hope for us, and like I said earlier, we had better hope Adam Larsson can kill penalties, because no one on this team seems capable of doing so.

The defense of this team is more than just an achillies heel, it is more like a gunshot wound that just doesn't stop bleeding, you can't honestly sit there and tell me that you would rather have Theo Peckham, Jim Vandermeer or Jason Strudwick on the back end over someone like Shawn Belle. We need to send a goalie down and maybe Ryan Jones and bring up Reddox and Belle. Those two, I think would make a difference right now as well as send a message that there is no job that is safe on the team.

Declaration of War #6- WE WILL WIN!!!!!!

That is right loyal readers of this blog, the Oilers will win tonight! You might be asking yourself why this team will win against the Sharks? To which I say, remember the last time the Oilers were on HNIC? Add that this team seems too proud to lose 4 games in a row, which is what they are looking at tonight.

The only lineup change the Oilers are making is Jason Strudwick draws into the line up for the first time this season for Theo Peckham, who injured his hand on Thursday night. Tom Renney should seriously consider not rolling 4 lines again this game, that line was brutal in the minute of ice they played together all game. I would say to not even dress them, but then some injury might occur or Penner gets another 10 minute misconduct(Don't worry Penz, only the best of us can get those).


The Oklahoma City Barons are in action today, taking on the Toronto Marlies. A game preview and tweetcast can be found here.  The only thing I hope for from this game is for someone(Belle) to run over Nazem Kadri. Him doing so could only make this day better.

Go Oilers!
Go Barons!

Declaration of War #5- It's been a while.

Who makes this schedule? I mean really? 5 days between games? If you say so NHL. Many of things have happened since the last Oilers game, there were fans being attacked by players, the Leafs came crashing back to earth(even though their fans still have the parade planned), and a new episode of the 7 part series "Oil Change" was debuted last night to many of fans delight. If you are one of a handful of fans to not watch it, go here. I don't know about anyone else, but if we managed to somehow get the 4th overall pick(without trading Eberle) and draft Ryan Johansen along with Hall, I could not imagine what reaction would have been, although I think I summed it up pretty well here. After hearing Renney speak during that particular episode, I wonder if there are still people who doubt him as coach?


Looking at the Oilers website, so far it looks like there are no major line up changes(no surprise since it's still 9:40 a.m.), but there should be given that the lines were mixed all week in practice. The line I would like to see used are as follows:
Paajarvi-Horcoff-Hemsky
Penner-Gagner-Eberle
Hall-Brule-Cogliano
Jones-Fraser-Stortini

Whitney-Gilbert
Foster-Smid
Peckham-Vandermeer


How could we lose with those lines? We have someone on our 3rd line that can actually win faceoffs, we have a line of 3 players who can cycle the puck well, and we have Hemsky and Paajarvi on 2 on 1's all game. Seeing how this is a "rebuilding year"(that's what they say in the media right?) why not switch things up early this season and who knows, we might surprise some people.


Edit: Via Dan Tencer on twitter these are the lines for tonight:
Penner-Gagner-Hemsky
Paajarvi-Horcoff-Eberle
Hall-Cogliano-Brule
Jones-Fraser-Stortini

Declaration of War #4- The Second Battle of Alberta

Tonight marks the second time this year we play our rivals to the South, and the first time Rod Phillips is behind the microphone for the radio broadcast this season. The Flames, who have been absolutely horrible this season(HA!) will be looking to extract revenge for the beating they took on opening night in Edmonton. The Oilers on the other hand will be looking for a strong performance after that duck they put up in Minnesota the other night. I mean the 14th time is a charm, right?


I see many of Oilers fans are still debating the idea of sending Hall back to junior. What good would that do? He has absolutely nothing left to prove in junior so why send him there? Same goes with Paajarvi, do you actually think he should be down in Oklahoma City and Omark on the team? If so please take your hand, palm open, and smack yourself repeatedly. Omark has done nothing to show he would be better on the team than Paajarvi, both in training camp and in the AHL so far. I mean if there is one person who has not lived up to the hype so far it's Omark(or anyone not named Hartikainen in Oklahoma City right now).

Tonight should be a good one folks, it's unfortunate that the Flames will fail to score for the 3rd time in 4 games.
Score:
Edmonton: 3
Calgary: 0

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Jokinen. (Gets me every time)

Declaration of War #3- Is this for real?

So last game being on Thanksgiving and all, I had the opportunity to miss such an awesome game. I mean I saw the first period where Khabi stood on his head, then left for dinner, and by the text updates that I got, I saw the Oilers happened to pull off a victory. When I got home and saw my twitter feed from the game it appears that we didn't play the best of games. Meh, we're projected to finish last, I think we'll take what we can get. The lines for the game appear to be the same, because if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Although over at Oilers Jambalaya it says different. For some reason, I think that whoever wrote that post assumed that Pitlick would make the team, and had this post ready to go for months.



It was announced that the game on Saturday is going to be the first of the 10 games that Rod Philips calls this year. If you are tired of hearing Mark Lee call Taylor Hall, Adam, then this might be a good game for you to mute the TV and listen to the Hall of Famer call the game.

Things to watch in tonights game would be:

• If this team can win faceoffs. They had a good showing but put up ducks against the faceoff juggernauts Florida.
• Will Taylor Hall finally score? No pressure or anything kid. 
• Assuming Khabi starts will he continue to look sharp?

Declaration of War #2- Everything Is Alright.....I think......

Today the Oilers match up against the Panthers of Florida, in their 2nd battle on the way to the playoffs. While this team might not make the playoffs, we can sure as hell try. I mean we're going 82-0 right? Jordan Eberle will score 164 points, and Khabi will finish with a GAA of 0.00 and a save percentage right? What's that, those feats are impossible? Balderdash. Anything is possible, right?

According to the Oilers website the only changes to the line up is that Stortini is in for MacIntyre and Deslauriers is the back up tonight.

That would mean the lines are(for those too lazy to look):

Hall-Horcoff-Eberle
Penner-Gagner-Hemsky
Paajarvi-Cogliano-Brule
Jones-Fraser-Stortini

Gilbert-Smid
Foster-Whitney
Peckham-Vandermeer

Khabibulin
Deslauriers


Based on what happened last game, combined with the fact it's Florida I expect nothing less than a victory tonight.

GOILERS!
Happy Thanksgiving.

Battle of Alberta #1 Recap- Are you F**king Kidding Me Eberle?

Seriously Eberle? Wow. That is all. It will be hard to temper enthusiasm, I mean look at that, how the hell am I not supposed to Squee over that goal, and hope for that all year. Yeah I know Hall and Paajarvi looked good too but look at the blog title, Eberle is god.

Big Mac looked pretty good in his job tonight. Knocked out Ivanans. Made sure the kids were comfortable.

Hockey is back Ladies and Gentlemen, discuss.

Declaration of War #1- The First Battle of Alberta

Today is it folks, today is the day we have been waiting for since June 25th. Today is finally the day we get to see the magic of Taylor, Jordan and Magnus. Today is the day we remember what Ales can do, see what Sam can do, wonder if Dustin stayed off the wheat and barley based beverages. Today is the dawn of a new era of leadership on the team with Shawn dawning the C for the first time. Today is the day we get to see if Nikolai can regain his form from years past. Today is the day we can see we get excited and see the dawn of hope, promise of a better time, a time where we were top of the world. A time where we won 5 cups in 7 years. The dawn of the new era begins tonight.

Tonight we start the new era against long time rivals the Calgary Flames. Tonight we sit and watch as our young guns start their march to restore greatness in the City of Champions. We have not won a game versus these Flames in a while, why not kick off the new season with a win? Sounds good to me.

According to the Oilers website the lines for tonight are as follows:

Penner-Gagner-Hemsky
Hall-Horcoff-Eberle
Paajarvi-Cogliano-Brule
Jones-Fraser-Stortini(though I expect Big Mac to be in tonight)

Gilbert-Whitney
Strudwick-Smid
Foster-Vandermeer

Khabibulin
Dubnyk

If you are not excited for this game yet, WAKE UP!!!!!! This is it, this is where it begins, we all saw what the Big 3 could do during the pre-season now it's time to see what they can do for real.


LET'S GO OILERS!!!!!





Calgary Sucks

Preparation for War #6- We're Almost Ready

Tonight marks the 6th and final game of the Oilers preseason, where they will play the Calgary Flames down at the Pringledome in Cowtown. Tonight will be the final chance for players like Peckham, Omark, Petiot, Giroux, Jones, O'Marra to audition for a spot on the Edmonton Oilers this season. Two of the scratches that strike me as odd for tonight are the scratches of Liam Reddox and Chris Vande Velde. I don't know about anyone else but would it not make sense for say, Vande Velde, to head down to Oklahoma City to join the Barons instead of watching the game from the press box? Maybe I am looking too much into it, but it's defiantly food for thought though.

I wouldn't look too much into the lineups for tonight as it is an assessment game for the 11/12/13th spots on the roster. The lines will look as follows:

Penner - Cogliano - Eberle
Giroux - Gagner - Brule
Omark - Fraser - Jones
MacIntyre - O'Marra - Ondrus


Smid - Peckham
Strudwick - Gilbert
Petiot - Belle

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

Judging by those defense pairings, it would appear that Petiot won't be on the team. But then again maybe the team wants to see how effective he can be given 3rd pairing ice, who knows? Based on this lineup though I expect nothing less than what we saw on Friday, unless the killer D's stand on their head it should be a long night for Oilers fans.

Little off topic for a second, I would again like to congratulate the Oklahoma City Barons on the first win in team history last night. It may have only been preseason but it's hard not to be happy for the "Baby Oilers" after their come from behind win last night. It sounded like Pitton learned to play sometime before the game last night and my boy Teemu Hartikainen sounded like everything I expected him to be. It will be a fun year not only for us Oilers fans up here, but also for the Barons fans down south.

Go Oilers!!!!!
Go Barons!!!!!

Preparation for War #5- The Big 3 Meet The Flames

Tonight is the 5th and almost final stage in the Oilers Preparation for War™ and we can see what sort of line combinations will be used come October 7th. Based on the last couple games it is a safe bet that Hall-Horcoff-Eberle will be one line and that Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky will be another line. It is not unreasonable to suggest that Penner-Brule-Cogliano will be line 3, which leaves Fraser, Stortini, Reddox, Vande Velde, Big Mac and apparently O' Marra who for some reason is like a f**king cat, seriously this guy can hardly make the Falcons last year and the Oilers think that he can make the team. Yes I know what he did as a World Junior player but still we have not seen that same player since we acquired him in that trade we had with the New York Islanders but yeah....

The lineups for tonight are as follows:

Hall-Horcoff-Eberle

Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky (I'm not sure which of these 2 lines are line 1)

Jones-O'Marra-Reddox

Big Mac-Vande Velde-Stortini

Whitney-Gilbert

Smid-Foster

Peckham-Vandermeer

Khabibulin(He gets the whole game)

Dubnyk

Newsworthy notes from today include Sheldon Souray cleared waivers(Who saw this coming?) as well with Martin Gerber. Gerber is for sure going down to Oklahoma City, Souray on the other hand, well no one knows where he is going. For those paying attention to the Barons training camp, you will notice that Phillippe Cornet is not there yet. You may be thinking to yourself WTH?!?!?! Well don't fret folks, he is still in Edmonton dealing with immigration paperwork. 

My Score Prediction:

Oilers: 5

Flames: 3

GOILERS

Preparation for War #4- Can We Get Excited Yet?

Tonight is the fourth stage of the Oilers Preparation for War™ when they will face the Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes down at Rexall Place. One of the many things to look for in tonight's game will be how strong Jeff Deslauriers plays. This would seem as though his last chance to prove the goalie he is(but by looking at what Dubnyk has played, roughly a whole game already with probably another start) it would seem that Deslauriers is the odd man out in the crease.

The lines for tonight(courtesy of Dan Tencer) are as follows:

Magnus Paajarvi - Sam Gagner - Ales Hemsky
Dustin Penner - Andrew Cogliano - Gilbert Brule
Liam Reddox - Colin Fraser - Ryan Jones
Alex Giroux - Ryan O'Marra - Colin McDonald

Ladislav Smid - Alex Plante
Taylor Chorney - Tom Gilbert
Richard Petiot - Kurtis Foster

Jeff Deslauriers
Martin Gerber

Lines one and two are what many expect to be lines one and three when the season offically starts next Thursday. I am curious to see two things: 1) Can Sam Gagners foot speed keep up with King Magnus and The Pardubice Prince. If Sam shows up with a strong showing tonight there should be no reason why he doesn't hit 65 points this season. And 2) Who gets cut from camp after this game either tonight or tomorrow? We still have 37 players in camp, some of which don't have a snowball's chance in hell of making the team(e.g. Alex Giroux, Taylor Chorney, Ryan O' Marra). Renney needs to find 25 or so names that either have a spot locked up or are serious contenders for a spot.

One little neat quote I read on tsn.ca this morning from Jordan Eberle about the competition between the young guys "It's more of a friendly competition, you see a guy do well and you're excited for him but at the same time we are competing for jobs. It eleveates each other's games." Seriously, how do you read that and not get excited about this then Eberle trying to out do it with this and then a beauty play here. The competition between the "Big 3" should leat to some exciting hockey this season regardless of where the team finishes in the standings.

My score prediction:
Oilers: 5
Yotes: 3

Preparation for War #3- Guess who's back?

.....Khabi's back. Yes that is correct folks, for the first time since last November, team MVP Nikolai Khabibulin will appear in an Oilers uniform. He should be all nice and rested with no distractions right? What's that? He was charged and convicted with extreme DUI after being pulled over on Super Bowl Sunday? That's fine though, he already served his jail time right? What? He didn't because he appealed the conviction? Sigh.....


The Lines for Tonight

Taylor Hall (4) - Shawn Horcoff (10) - Jordan Eberle (14)
Dustin Penner (27) - Gilbert Brule (67) - Linus Omark (23)
Alexandre Giroux (12) - Jared Aulin (47) - Ben Ondrus (25)
Teemu Hartikainen (56) - Chris Vande Velde (54) - Zack Stortini (46)

Ryan Whitney (6) - Jeff Petry (58)
Jim Vandermeer (2) - Theo Peckham (49)
Jason Strudwick (43) - Johan Motin (39)

Nikolai Khabibulin (35)
Martin Gerber (29) 

My player to watch for tonight will be Chris Vande Velde, as I believe that he is entrenched in a battle with Andrew Cogliano for the position of 3rd line center. I know some of you Cogliano fans might not want to think about it but, I believe that if Cogliano can't figure out his face-offs at the NHL level then he will be sent down to Oklahoma City to master his craft there. It would make sense for not only the team but for Cogliano to do, why have a 3rd line center who can't win faceoffs? There can be a case made for putting Gilbert Brule at center, and Cogs at wing, except that Cogs is a player that prefers playing the middle of the ice. I know it's still pre-season and so on and so forth and I won't make a judgment for another week or so.

GOILERS!!!!

Preparation for War #2 Recap- King Magnus is Crowned

Last night was supposed to be all about Taylor Hall, apparently a one Magnus Paajarvi didn't get the memo. It was a great game for the future of the club, Hall scored his first official goal on a bad clearing attempt by Dan Ellis(I guess money isn't the only problem Ellis has.) and Magnus scored three, not one, not two, but three goals on Mr. Ellis. Here is his first goal, a change up that Ellis should have had. 
His second goal was scored on a nice feed from Penner, who has underrated passing ability, on the power play from pretty much blue line, on his off wing? Apparently Paajarvi is one of a few players that can play both left and right wing, and look good doing so. I know a one Erik Cole said the same thing and yeah.....

His third goal was a thing of beauty, shorthanded, streaking down the right hand side, took a snap shot that apparently Mr. Ellis should have had(I respectfully disagree with Ray Ferraro)  (skip ahead to the 1:17 mark) I don't think I can remember so much hype around three young guys like this ever(Did Toews and Kane have as much hype?).

Other Thoughts From Last Night

• It's going to be hard for Hall to be my goat on the year, but to avoid taking the easy route for that(Horcoff, Rekhabi), I feel that Hall just won't live up to expectations this year and thus for every post he hits, or every net he misses I will "Baaaaaa" at my moving pictures box. 
• It wasn't just me, but Hemsky looked like he was trying to feed Hall all game, probably a good thing since I have a feeling that #4 will be on the left side of #83 this year. 
• Dubnyk had a nice bounce back game after the questionable half game against Vancouver, Deslauriers didn't look too bad either. The second Tampa goal was not his fault, I believe Smid should have knocked Ashton on his ass. 

News from the Oilers this morning: Tyler Pitlick was assigned to Medicine Hat of the WHL, I can't wait for them to come he to Lethbridge so I can get a first hand look at both Pitlick and Bunz. 

Preparation for War #1

Guess what ladies and gentlemen? Hockey is back! That is correct folks, the Oilers begin their prep work for the 82 battles of the long war that is the NHL regular season. Tonight marks the first of two preseason games vs. the Vancouver Canucks.




The Oilers Front


Fans expecting to tune in to tonights game and see all of the "Big 3" will be
severely disappointed. But have no fear....

.....for Eberle is here. Yes, that is correct, Jordan Eberle will be on the top line for the might Oil tonight with Alex Giroux and the 6 and a half Million Dollar Man at center. The rest of the Oilers lines are as follows:

Greg Stewart/Brad Moran/Zack Stortini
Colin McDonald/Ryan O'Marra/Teemu Hartikainen
Steve MacIntyre/Chris Vande Velde/Ben Ondrus

Ryan Whitney/Jeff Petry
Jim Vandermeer/Theo Peckham
Taylor Chorney/Jake Taylor

Devan Dubnyk
Martin Gerber

The Canucks Front

Someone must have forgot to tell the Canucks that this was just a preseason game as they decided to ice a line up that looks like their opening day roster. This is the team they will put forth for tonight:

D.Sedin/H. Sedin/Shirokov
Raymond/Kesler/Samuelsson
Schaefer/Bolduc/Desbiens
Volpatti/Perrault/Oreskovic

Hamhuis/Edler
Albers/Ehrhoff
L. Sweatt/Connaughton/ Ramsey

Luongo
Schneider

Should be a fun one. GOILERS!!!! *crashes into mountain of beer cans*

Why Hemsky should have an A, Predictions and More.....

    A couple days ago Smokin' Ray of Oilers Jambalaya wrote a piece on whether or not Hemsky should be one of the "A's" of the team. While I do agree with him when he says Gagner and Penner should have one, I'm not so sure about Whitney and leaving a letter off the jersey of the guy who has been without a doubt our best player the last 3 seasons. One knock against Hemsky is his work ethic, last on the ice and first off for practices, etc., etc. I for one am one of those people who could honestly care less what players like Hemsky do for game prep, as long as they show up and play to their best of their ability night in and night out. I think the time we should be concerned is when Hemsky, the guy who never plays healthy, stops trying and looks unmotivated, like Penner during the MacT era. All in all I see Hemsky as a player who might not try in practice, does give it 110% when it matters, if that isn't enough to retain the A on his jersey, especially on this team, I don't know what is.


Prediction Time....


With most of the rosters set I think now is a good time to start to look into the crystal ball and see how the 30 teams in the league will finish.

West
1. Chicago...Let's face it, are they really that much worse?
2. Los Angeles..... They are where Chicago was last year.
3. Vancouver.... Weak division
4. Detroit.... Somehow is always this good
5. San Jose.... Losing Nabokov will hurt them alot
6. Phoenix...... They seem to do things right?
7. Nashville.... Somehow always end up with 35 or so wins each year, I don't know how though....
8. Colorado.... Barring any "Sophomore Slumps" should be good
9. Calgary.... BAHAHAHAHAHAHA Jokinen...
10. St. Louis.... Will just miss the playoffs
11. Dallas..... Not quite a playoff team yet
12. Edmonton..... Not as bad as everyone thinks
13. Minnesota..... So Backstrom is kinda good, who else do they have?
14. Columbus...., What is happening there
15. Anaheim.... Losing Niedermeyer will hurt, alot


East
1. Washington.....They play in a very, very weak division
2. Pittsburgh...... Yeah....
3. Buffalo...... Miller and Meyers are just too good
4. New Jersey.... With Kovy they are a very good team
5. Boston.... Solid all around team
6. Philadelphia.... Goaltending may be an issue, but they still have CFP on D
7. Tampa Bay..... Stevie Y did wonders with this young team, will be the most surprising team in the league
8. Toronto..... Yes, they have good enough D to cover questionable goaltending and a decent group up front
9. Montreal..... Price just doesn't have what it takes to win enough games yet
10. New York Rangers..... yeah.....
11. Ottawa.... Alfie is getting old, they are nearing a rebuild I think
12. Atlanta....Terrible team
13. Carolina.... See Atlanta
14. New York Islanders.....Have they ever made a good draft selection, they have been in the top 5 alot
15. Florida...... Dale Tallon is going to make this team very good, eventually......


Stanley Cup Champs: Washington



Other things.......

• So apparently Souray takes back what he said 5 months ago, I wonder if he changed his mind watching the Big 3 play last night
• Of those Big 3, I do expect Paajarvi to have the best season and Hall to have the worst, nothing against Hall but Magnus has been playing against men for the last few years
• One player I expect to have a better year than last is Shawn Horcoff. He will regain his "Scorecoff" form and will be playing with one or two of the Big 3
• Linus Omark won't make the team, sorry to disappoint, but he will light it up in OKC and be the first call up for sure.

Jeff Deslauriers and Oklahoma City Barons Goaltending

Such a familiar sight for Oilers fans, I'm willing to bet that shot went high on him too. Sadly, Tambi has no idea what will happen with Rehabi yet so he had to sign Jeff Drouin- Deslauriers to a one year $1.05 million dollar contract. 

What this could mean?

Well according to Capgeek Deslauriers is a UFA after this season, which means that either this is his last chance to show what he can do, or that management plans on letting him walk come July 1, 2011. I would guess the latter with Devan Dubnyk signed for another year after this upcoming one. There is much speculation by other bloggers and fans alike that JDD either gets moved when the first goaltending casualty comes in the league this year, said team that suffered such casualty probably comes calling, or he gets sent down to OKC.

If he does head to OKC?

If he does end up in OKC it gives the Barons a good veteran goalie to help them to the playoffs. But chances are he won't end up there until Novemberish,  assuming he clears waivers. What the Oilers should do is sign that Benjamin Conz guy. Yes, the same one who single handedly defeated Russia at the WJC's. I was shocked that he was not drafted this year, and if I am Tambi I sign the kid and bring him over for OKC. His numbers were not bad in the Swiss A league last year(3.20 GAA and a .908 SV%) meaning the guy can probably stop a puck or two. If the Oilers are in a true rebuild, then having Dubnyk, Bunz and Roy in your system can't be all that bad, can it? 

Fantasy Hockey

 

Hello there Mr. Karlsson, you look good in that Ottawa Senators jersey, mind coming to the Oilers and play with fellow country man Jonathon Ericsson? No? Hmm, well you have no choice. 

 And by no choice I mean that tonight is the rookie draft for my fantasy team, the Edmonton Oilers of the National Fantasy Hockey League. 

Since the start of the league my team has finished last and 5th last in the league. Meaning last year I would have had the 1st overall selection in the Rookie Draft. Who did I pick? Stamkos? Nope. Mason? Nope. For some reason I decided that the first round pick packaged with Roman Hamerlik was worth Marian Gaborik, T.J. Hensick, Jonathon Ericsson and to move down 21 spots to the 22nd pick. Who did I pick then? None other than the Oilers own Jeff Deslauriers. Did I foresee Stamkos leading the league in goals? Not a chance. But I did get Gaborik out of it, so it's not all bad. 

Having Gaborik leaves me with a top 6 that boasts such talents as: Scott Hartnell, Patrice Bergeron, Martin Erat, David Legwand and Jakub Vorachek. The would be no room for Stamkos in that top 6. 

The defense doesn't look too bad either with Josh Gorges, Tom Gilbert(I know what will be said but he was top 4 in the league in assists), and Jonathon Ericsson, they should keep the puck out of the net right? Right? Not when you have the superb goaltending tandem of Deslauriers and Biron. 

With this team will I be keeping the cup out west(Vancouver and Calgary won the first two cups) or will I be gunning for Hall, Eberle etc.? Only time will tell. 

Mid Summer Musings

Remember when we had him? (Smyth not Lupul) Those were the days. I remember being at the game where Smyth beat one of Gretzky's Oiler records for fastest 3 goals(You can see the video here). Boy was that magical. Well the fine people on the internet were suggesting that there was a possibility of the mulleted one returning to Edmonton. My take on it? I would prefer taking someone like Stoll back. Looking at the Oilers depth chart on LW(Hall, Paajarvi, Penner, JFJ?), the Oilers simply don't need another LW, especially at a cap hit of $6.5 million a year. 

Souray?

One of the more intriguing story lines of the off season is where Souray will end up. No one quite knows the answer. If it was up to Souray, he shuts his mouth and plays the season in Edmonton. If it's up to Tambi, Souray is playing in the ECHL. Should be fun to watch.

Khabibulin

It seems like a wonky back and dehydration issues were the least of his worries this past season. There was the matter of the whole driving 70mph in a 45 zone, and having a BAC of .164, twice the legal limit. He has two options for his trial, either he can have the judge act as jury and have a trial at the end of August or he can have a jury trial at the end of September. His lawyer says these both interfere with his off season training, but wouldn't make sense to get it over ASAP? You'd think but apparently they need to clear that through the Oilers.

Should make for an interesting couple of months.

2010 Oilers Draft Review

Take a good look at these young men Northwest division. These young men are coming for you and there is nothing you can do to stop it. 

Is it just me or do these young men look like they want your liver and your kidneys? I would be afraid if I am any team the Oilers have to play over the next 187480540435* years.

* Actual length of time that this team is going to be good.

Think about it, Paajarvi, Eberle, Hemsky, Hall, Gagner, Lander, Pitlick, Plante, Petry. If that doesn't get your juices flowing, you must be a Canuck fan. It has been noted that teams who have done well have drafted well, and well I think over the last few years I would say with some luck/skill(eg. MPS falling to #10, Eberle at 22) we have drafted pretty damn good.

Fear not Oilers Nation, the future looks damn bright, Northwest, the ball is in your court. 

16 Hours and Counting

In less than 16 hours Steve Tambellini get to walk up to the podium in Los Angeles and announce "With the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers are proud to select....." and no one knows what will be in the blank. Part one of the seven part "Oil Change" documentary that aired on TSN Thursday night gave no insight on which way the Oilers were leaning but did reveal a couple things:

1) Our scouts are really high on Gudbranson, going as far as saying "there is no one in our system like him"

2) Our scouts have their sights set on someone who they say will be a "dark horse" in the first round, no specific names were mentioned, but it was noted this player was a forward, had character and leadership, and had a good second half of the season. This player could be Austin Watson who exploded offensively with the Petes after being traded from the Spitfires.

Random Thoughts 

• Sheldon Souray is back in LA after heading back to Edmonton to get a clean bill of health on his hand/wrist. He says it feels good, and Tambi hopes to have him dealt by Saturday
• Tambi should do all he can to get as many picks as possible, even if it means trading Penner and Hemsky.

2010 Oilers Off Season

With it being one week from the draft I figured I would compile a list of things the Oilers must do this off season:
1) DON'T SCREW UP THE DRAFT!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough, from 1st overall to the 6th round, we must address team needs and draft accordingly.
2) Send Souray on a one way flight out of town. Get that S.O.B. out of here, he and most of the "veteran  leadership" are cancers in the locker room, they need to go!
3) Get Moreau, Nilsson, O'Sullivan somewhere else but here. These trio of forwards were at the center of frustration for many fans last season (even though Nilsson did show some flashes of talent every 20 games or so). I don't care how this gets done but it needs to be.
4) Sign Gagner and Brule. These are the two RFA forwards that we need to keep long term. Both are young and have tremendous upside. I suppose Potulny could fit in this group as well, although for no more than a year or two.
5) Pick a goalie! Both DD and JDD are RFA's this off season. Both are waiver eligible. Both would not pass through waivers if sent down.  Tambellini needs to pick one of the two, and trade the other.
6) Do something with Andrew Cogliano and Marc Pouliot. These two forwards are either what we have too much of, or completely useless, and both are RFA's so we should try and get something for them before we get low balled on offer sheets.
7) Under no circumstances trade Penner, Smid and Cogliano for Jason Spezza. See the Heatley fiasco last season.
8) Find a top four defenceman. We have a solid top pairing in Gilbert and Whitney, and a solid bottom pairing in what will probably be Strudwick and Peckham we need a 4th guy since neither Strudwick or Peckham is competent right now.