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'...