Loose Ends...

There are some players that were here last year that may not be here this coming year, and it won't be because they're traded.

UFAs: Ales Kotalik, Dwayne Roloson, and Jason Strudwick.

There are some players here that were key pieces of last year's puzzle. And unsuccessful puzzle, but a puzzle nonetheless. Ales Kotalik had some pretty decent chemistry with Hemsky last season, especially heading towards the very end; once they seemed to get the hang of each other. A lot of people like to point out the fact that Kotalik apparently had a lot of goals and assists that 'meant nothing' because they were late in a game where we had barely any chance of coming back. Since when is a goal meaningless? If the whole team itself was better than it is possible that perhaps that goal wouldn't have been meaningless. Goals are goals, and on a team that had trouble scoring last year I don't see how the Oilers think it's alright to not even send an offer his way. If we end up letting another guy go because we're chasing a 'big fish' and then coming out with nothing I will not be impressed.

Dwayne Roloson... What to say about Roli... Here's my issue: He will probably want a contract at around the same value as his last contract. I just don't know that he's worth it at his age. Say what you want about the 'lack of miles' on his engine, he's getting up there in age. I don't know that I'm comfortable with Roli as our starter next year, though it seems that the organization has a different idea because rumour is that they've already offered him a contract. I think the money could be better spent elsewhere; there are other options on the market.

About Strudwick: If we sign him as an occasional player I'm fine with it, but god damnit if he takes a starting spot out of camp I'm going to kill someone. End of story.

RFAs: Liam Reddox, Ladislav Smid, and Denis Grebeshkov.

As far as Liam Reddox is concerned I'm not sure if there's a place for him on this team. He is a hard worker, so that's a major plus that he's got going for him, but if we're going to retain him then he has to be comfortable with the role that he fits into: and that most certainly is not a top 6 spot, no matter what MacT thought.

It seems like we don't have much to worry about with Grebeshkov, although the fact that this is going a bit late is a little strange. There was a rumour a while back that we had already signed him to a contract, but clearly this isn't the case, as there weren't any official releases on the matter. It would seem that he's a top priority, but I suppose we'll have to see how it plays out.

If Ladislav Smid is not on the Oilers roster next year I will be splitting my loyalties between the Oilers and whatever team he signs with. That is all.

Bye, Bye, Brodziak.

During the Draft we did a few interesting things: We somehow managed to draft Paajarvi, also drafted his linemate, and then we traded Brodziak and a late pick for two other late picks.

Now, Pajaarvi is a great choice. Great choice. I've heard nothing but good things about him, and he's got some size on his side, which is something that the Oiler organization has stayed away from in past years. Particularly in the first round it seems. Lowetide has a good quick glance at Paajarvi here.

In the second round we drafted his team mate and friend Anton Lander. This creates a bit of concern for Oiler fans. These Euros occasionally decide to make certain requests if they are to come to play in North America. One of those requests can, and has been to come across and play with a friend/desired team mate. I'm not too concerned at the moment, as the organization has stated that their team mate and/or friendship status is a coincidence. We shall see, Oilers, we shall see.

Then, out of the blue, we trade Brodziak for a couple of late picks...

From what I've read around it seems like people are expecting Gilbert Brule to come into Brodziak's empty slot next season. Our PK was brutal enough last year with a PKer as skilled as Brodziak, and I can't recall Gilbert ever taking a major role as a penalty killer. He's also yet another small young forward with little to no NHL experience. In exchanging Brodziak for Brule we lose 4 inches in height and about 30 lbs of weight. Personally I was under the impression that we were attempting to head in a new direction: one that involved a team that could compete physically and didn't need to rely on it's speed and it's production off the rush. A team that could cycle down low and crash the net.

Also we've got how many guys with contracts that just aren't being met production and/or performance wise, and we decide to toss away one of our value contracts? Unless Brodziak was expecting too much money I don't see how this makes sense. If they wanted to make room for the up and coming, then there were more viable options out there in my opinion. Pouliot anyone?

Now, clearly there's more to this. There has to be someone else coming to town, or at the very least a player that management is chasing after.

And if the player booking a flight to Edmonton this coming season is Dany Heatley then this club is in trouble defensively.

Part 2... Following Major Delays With No Known Cause.

Man... This would be so much easier if the Oilers had just made the playoffs... Inspiration! I've got very little.

Anyway, so here's installment 1 of the forwards. Feel free to comment on your own take; really, I don't know everything after all.

The Top Six-ers

Ales Hemsky (Cap hit of 4.1M for the next three seasons)

In my eyes there's no way Edmonton trades Hemsky. He's one of the few talents we've managed to develop, and I personally would really like to see how he does under a new coach. He had more than his usual flashes of brilliance last season, and then his production dropped off completely. Sure, his comments in the paper weren't the greatest, but under all of the sore spots that people seemed to take out of it was a message we've all been wanting to hear: Hemsky wants to be that guy. He wants to be Edmonton's top gun; our go-to star player. Granted, he didn't do that last year, and there was a considerable dropoff in his production leading up to and following the statements, but I'd still like to see what Quinn can do with him. The best part about Hemsky is that he's a finesse player with a toughness that isn't often matched with his skillset.

Shawn Horcoff (Cap hit of 5.5M for the next four seasons)

Despite his brutal extension Shawn Horcoff is a player that you want on your team... Just not at his cap number. However, that fact is not one that we can change. The contract has been signed, and the only way out is to trade him somewhere else, which is not an option that most other teams will like, and it leaves us with a lot of holes that need filling. Shawn Horcoff is a complete player, and he's a type that's not easy to come by. If he can get his scoring touch back from two seasons past he'll be a force, and he'll be worth the money, but for now he's on the books as an awful contract that will most likely be underperformed. Unfortunately we have too many of those.

Dustin Penner (Cap hit of 4.25M for the next three seasons)

A lot of people would like to see Penner in another jersey next year. I am not a member of that school of thought. Yeah, he makes a lot of money, but he's got incredible potential. And don't say that he never delivers, because then you're just a liar. I think Penner could be an incredible force, and I also think he *will* be one eventually. I just think the problem was that we expected him to be and do too much too fast. Look at Ladislav Smid for an example, he's in his fourth season this upcoming year, and he's just now beginning to be the player we all wanted him to be. Quinn is known to be an excellent motivator, and I want to see Dustin Penner under Quinn before we give up on him completely. One more year, please; or at least half a season.

Robert Nilsson (Cap hit of 2.0M for the next 2 seasons)

Oh dear... Yeah, I think this guy's on his last legs here in Edmonton. He's not consistent enough to make a real case for staying, and his salary is money that is definitely better spent elsewhere. I don't see Nilsson back here next season, and if he is I would think he'll be taking frequent trips down to Springfield or the pressbox. Unless Quinn can find a fire in Nilsson that no one else has been able to I see Nilsson in another city early in the season if not before season start.

Andrew Cogliano (Cap hit of 1.133M for another season)

When reading trade possibilities around the Oilers Blog and Message board communities it seems that Cogliano is a popular player for people to involve in big name trades. It's not hard to see why: He's young, he's got some serious skill, he's one of the fastest players in the league, and his cap number isn't bad. In Edmonton he's not going to hold a place higher than one on the third line. It's just the way we're built right now. If he's switched over to wing they might have him side Gagner, which would be a good situation I think. Personally I'd rather keep them both, but then again I'm not completely sold on the idea of a star player anyway.

Sam Gagner (Cap hit of 1.625M for another season)

If the Oilers trade Sam Gagner they're flat stupid. That's the end of the story in my eyes. This kid's gonna be good, and it would be in our club's best interest to keep him at all costs. There's not much else for me to say.

Ales Kotalik (UFA)

Personally I liked the look of Kotalik with Hemsky. Especially once they seemed to warm up to eachother's styles. I don't think another year of Kotalik is out of the question. Let's see if this chemistry with Hemsky was a fluke or something that could last. We made a mistake with Sykora; a huge freaking mistake, I want to see how this plays out. Don't give up on this too fast; if Hemsky stays then Edmonton should look into keeping Kotalik.

Patrick O'Sullivan (Cap hit of 2.925M for another three seasons)

Here's another name frequently mentioned in possible trade options. Mostly as a 'one of Cogs/O'Sullivan' piece. If I'm choosing between the two, and I don't want to, then I'm choosing O'Sullivan. He's got more experience, and he's got a scoring touch. Granted, that was a scoring touch that disappeared completely when he came to Edmonton, but he's young, and I would imagine that kind of thing happens sometimes. O'Sullivan is further along on the road to 'complete player' or something like it. If we decide that we are in need of another 'complete player' then we should look at O'Sullivan, because his skill sets are pretty diverse. He's a player I keep for next year.

Yeah... Top sixers and I've got 8 players listed... That doesn't even include some of the guys that got occasional shots in the top six, like Reddox or Pouliot. We've got too many guys for too little jobs with too many holes. Changes have to be made, but I thin we've got more problems with the bottom six than the top six. That said, the bottom six weren't responsible for out lack of scoring last year. I'm glad I'm not the GM, because I don't want to make these choices.

Edmontonians should be glad I'm not the GM too, because I seem to have an attachment to some players... That's not good when you're running a business.

I'm just sayin'...

Been a While Since I've Talked 'Bout You...

Yes indeed, it has been a while. In fact, I haven't talked about you here since the playoffs started... Well, unless I was making a snide remark about your three year absence.

Many things have happened since our season was cut off in... Well, not it's 'prime', but you get the idea. My point is that the season once again ended too soon, and once again Calgary continued on, and unfortunately so did Vancouver. Now, yes, Calgary choked as per usual, and Vancouver lost to the very same team in the next round, but still. I've almost forgotten what it feels like in this city when the team's playing really well; let alone when we win a playoff series. Hell, I'd settle for a win streak beyond four games at this point. Oh, and a couple less blowouts where we come up on the wrong end; especially the kind where our goaltenders let in 4 or 5 goals a piece.

Any way, like I said there have been a lot of things that have happened. MacT was fired, Pat Quinn and Tom Renney were hired, several free agents have been topics of hot discussion, and big name players have been rumoured to be available. My, my, but aren't we a regular gossip train?

First I'd like to go through a superficial analysis of the players we *do* have. I'll start with the defensemen today, and move to the forwards next. After which I'll browse through our goaltending situation.

Let's get this train moving, shall we?

The Boys on the Blue (and sometimes the other team's red line, but that's beside the point...)

The way I see the defense situation is this: We've got three proven offensive defensmen, two defensive defensemen and one guy who's not entirely sure what he is. This is excluding Peckham, Chorney and Strudwick, who are all guys that I don't see in a full time position on our current roster. The three offensive guys are Vishnovsky, Gilbert, and Grebeshkov; two defensive guys are Staios and Smid; and the guy who's confused is Souray. I'll explain a little more in each of their respective sections.

Sheldon Souray (5.4M cap hit for 2 more years*)

There's one thing that complicates the issue of discussing the idea of trading Souray, and that's his No Movement Clause. What a b---- that thing could potentially be. Regardless, if I had my choice of which defensemen to ship out in hopes of either landing a top 6 forward in trade (i.e.: Heatley) or shedding salary in hopes of signing a valuable UFA (i.e.:Bouwmeester) Sheldon would be my choice. What's he got going for him? Let's see: He's got one hell of a slapshot from the point, and when he gets angry you best not be the pest who's angered him because you'll be going down; and you'll be staying down. He's also, from what I can tell, a good leader and a possible future captain of a club. But when I think about it, I think we've got players who can cover his upsides without having to add another player to fill the hole he'd leave.

Lubomir Visnovsky (5.6M cap hit for 3 more years*)

If I'm choosing between getting rid of Visnovsky and getting rid of Souray there's no way I'm choosing Lubo. First of all, his nickname is Lubo. Come on, now that's just plain awesome. But seriously, they're the same age, so I can't argue anything regarding age, but Lubomir is a character guy, and he's also got a bullet of his own from the point. He makes breakout passes like a champ, and if I had to choose one of our Dman to go one on one against Zetterberg it would be Lubo. Yes, he is more expensive (but a whole 0.2M), but we've got him for another year, and he seems to like Edmonton, and if I recall correctly there haven't been any reports of him requesting a trade. But really, I don't know that many players coming from L.A., where they would have issues selling out playoff games, would complain about our city. Unless they can't handle the cold. Poor babies.

Tom Gilbert (4M cap hit for 3 more years*)

If told that we had to trade a defender, and it couldn't be Souray, then I would take a serious look at the market for Tommy. Now, I wasn't the biggest fan of Gilbert this season, but there are some decisions he makes sometimes that just aren't NHL calibre decisions. Granted, he is still young in terms of NHL experience, but he is not young age wise. He has a very good understanding of the offensive side of the game, and he's one of the best breakout passers on our backend, but his defensive skills are lacking, and when we're icing a lineup that doesn't consist of a lot of defensively responsible forwards his lack of defensive prowess is a liability.

Denis Grebeshkov (RFA)

Here's the issue I have: We have a defensive core that seems to be too good for any one new to penetrate it. And 3/4 of these guys are offense first-defense second type of players. In my mind Grebeshkov and Gilbert are virtually the same. Grebeshkov traditionally starts out slow and gets better through the season, and I think he's a bit more defensively responsible than Gilbert is, but they're both third-year offensive defensemen who make their share of mistakes. If I had to choose between the two of them I'd likely see what the market is for both of them first. I tend to lean towards keeping Grebeshkov though.

Ladislav Smid (RFA)

Now, granted, I tend to be rather biased towards Smid, but with a lineup full of offensive guys I think we can stand to all have a little bias for Laddi. The issue here is that he's getting to the point where he's ready for some big responsibility; top four kind of responsibility. I'd also like to see him on the penalty kill. For that to happen though, we have to lose one of our top four and we have to leave that spot open. If we're looking at Bouwmeester, then we'd have to trade two of our top four defensemen to fit Laddi into the top four. Smid has grown a lot since his detrimental sophmore year, which followed a brilliant rookie year. He makes more smart plays, he's calm under pressure, he sticks up for his team mates, and he protects the goaltender's crease like no one else on our team. He's also got size *and* weight to his advantage; he's a big guy, and that's something you can't teach.

Steve Staios (2.7M cap hit for one more year*)

I'm traditionally very hard on Steve. He's a guy that I could see the team getting rid of in the near future; his prime has long gone, and he's not really benefiting any one any more. Despite the fact that Smid really likes playing with him. I think his 2.7M could be better spent elsewhere.

Theo Peckham

From what I saw of him last season he looked like he might be ready to take a spot on the big club; should the opportunity arise. I'm not one to keep up with the farm generally, but I've heard a lot about this kid, and he's another player with size, which is always a plus. He's not one to put up points, but most of the defensive guys, and I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of goal scoring for some goal prevention.

Taylor Chorney

Speaking of kids I know nothing about... Well, maybe not nothing, but very little. I tend to feel that if I don't hear a lot about a kid, he's probably not worth looking at that much. And when most of what you hear is all: potential, potential, potential; and no: performance, performance, performance, then you have to wonder if he's worth clearing a roster spot for. In my eyes the answer is no.

Jason Strudwick (UFA)

When MacT benched Ladislav in favor of this guy I wanted to kill someone. Who benches a youngster with promise for an old guy who isn't the kind of guy who holds a regular spot on a team? Of course, eventually Laddi was playing again, and it seems to be that everytime Ladislav is benched he plays better directly following; more fire I think. Regardless, is it worth it to have a guy signed to play occasionally to spark another player? I mean, sure, when Ladislav got injured it was kind of nice to have him there. At the same time it became plainly evident as to why it is that he shouldn't hold a regular spot on the team. He is; however, one heck of a fighter.


Summary:

So, how does this all play out? Guys I'd prefer to keep: Visnovsky, Smid, Grebeshkov. Bubble guys: Gilbert. Guys I wouldn't mind see get on a plane: Staios and Souray. I think that if the team finds itself in a position where they need to shed salary they shouldn't be afraid to get a bit lighter salary-wise on the back-end. Peckham can come up, and Laddi's been rumoured to have already expressed a want for more responsibility. I think we're in a really comfortable position regarding our defense, and providing we don't gut what we've already got completely I don't think we'll screw this up going into next season.

* All contract information taken from nhlnumbers.com

What a Game Tonight, Eh?

Following the game tonight I wrote the following email to the Pittsburgh Penguins:*

Dear Pittsburgh:

Osgood sucks. How the f*** did you get shutout by him?

Better luck next time,
Becca Jane


I received the following response:**

Dear Becca Jane:

Quack Quack Quack Quack *middle flipper*

Quack,
Sidney

To which I responded:*

Dear Sidney,

You're a whiner. Perhaps you should've focused on scoring instead of slashing Zetterberg; maybe you would've gotten something done offensively that way.

P.S.: Clever with the middle flipper bit. Real clever.
Becca Jane

I'll keep you updated.

Disclaimer:
* I wrote no such emails.
** I received no such response; fictional response provided by Ontario Oilfan. I'm pretty sure Penguins don't quack, but it's funny nonetheless.
*** uck