Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Oilers Opening Night 06-07 VS. Current Depth Chart

I thought it might be interesting to compare the current Oilers depth chart to what the team looked like opening night 2006 (October 5, against Calgary at Rexall. 3-1 Oil win, 2 goal night for Sykora).

Although we now look back at the vaunt and cringe, opening night looked bright and the team carried just 3 rookies (Smid, Thoresen, Winchester with Matt Greene not technically a rookie). The Oilers were a team with a plan.

Based on order of appearance in that game, here were the forward lines:
  1. Stoll-Moreau-Pisani
  2. Horcoff-Smyth-Lupul
  3. Sykora-Torres-Hemsky
  4. Reasoner-Thoresen-Winchester

Making up a 4line Oilers team among the current assets might look like this:

  1. Horcoff-Sanderson-Hemsky
  2. Stoll-Torres-Pisani
  3. Pouliot-Moreau-Thoresen
  4. Reasoner-Nilsson-Brodziak

Opening night 2006 saw the Oilers blueline lineup thusly:

  1. Tjarnqvist-Smith
  2. Bergeron-Greene
  3. Smid-Staios

This season, the defense is going to look a lot different:

  1. Pitkanen-Staios
  2. Tarnstrom-Greene
  3. Smid-Grebeshkov

Roloson was in nets last fall, and will be again opening night 2007 (unless injured or traded). The Oilers open at home against the San Jose Sharks October 4th at 7PM. To quote a line from the movie JAWS, you're going to need a bigger boat.

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15 comments:

  1. uniWednesday, July 11, 2007 at 6:32:00 PM MDT

    I see 2 solid defensive lines with offensive upside, 1 decent 2-way/#1 line, and a 4th line that can be loaded up with rooks and given the soft minutes.

    Defence...well...fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. rickibearWednesday, July 11, 2007 at 8:22:00 PM MDT

    I WAS HOPING FOR A 2005/06 FINAL ROSTER VERSUS NOW.

    ReplyDelete
  3. devinWednesday, July 11, 2007 at 8:35:00 PM MDT

    Stop shouting.

    Smyth-Horcoff-Hemsky
    Samsonov-Stoll-Dvorak
    Torres-Peca-Pisani
    Moreau-Murray-Laraque
    Winchester

    Pronger-Smith
    Spacek-Staios
    Bergeron-Greene
    Tarnstrom

    Roloson
    Markannen

    Did I forget anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  4. rickibearWednesday, July 11, 2007 at 9:30:00 PM MDT

    Just Conklins great game one in the SCF.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mustafa HirjiThursday, July 12, 2007 at 12:04:00 AM MDT

    If you're writing the 2005-2006 regular season final roster, Conklin played the final game of the season so you have to sub him for one of the goalies.

    If you mean the playoff roster (i.e. the G7 roster), you should have Conklin in for Roloson (injured), Tarnstrom playing instead of Bergeron (he was pulled after G2), and I'm pretty sure Todd Harvey was playing G7 instead of Laraque.

    Of course, all these lines are pre-blending by MacT.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bank ShotThursday, July 12, 2007 at 12:13:00 AM MDT

    Having a bunch of young defensemen might not be the worst thing in the world.

    Sure they'll take some lumps this season, but 2-3 seasons down the road you can have a nice squad of good young defenders that are cheap as dirt if the RFA market for defensemen remains similiar to today.

    ReplyDelete
  7. rickibearThursday, July 12, 2007 at 1:25:00 AM MDT

    Torres, Sanderson, Pisani, and Stoll are 4/6ths of our #2 & #3 lines. The first three should be 20g 40P guys. Stoll 20g 60p. They can absorb two young players.
    Our fourth line will be one of the best in the league.
    Our concern still is 1st line LW: hope he makes the trade or we have two options. we role the dice with youth or winger by comittee. This line needs to generate goals.

    No fear of the puck not being moved this year. 5 of the 6 d should be 100-140 blocks and two of them should be in the 120 hit range. Give away versus take away
    is questionable.

    Roloson and Garon should be 55 - 27 in games played. Equal stats with potential to be better in GA.

    Playoffs? who knows? More entertaining YES.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "Steve Smith"Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 9:49:00 AM MDT

    Our fourth line will be one of the best in the league.

    I don't disagree with you, but I still think this should be the Oilers' 07/08 motto: Our Fourth Line is One of the Best in the League.

    Maybe the marketing department can work in how good we look at backup goalie, too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kent W.Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 9:58:00 AM MDT

    I don't disagree with you, but I still think this should be the Oilers' 07/08 motto: Our Fourth Line is One of the Best in the League.

    Maybe the marketing department can work in how good we look at backup goalie, too.

    Beaten to the punch.

    Nice one.

    ReplyDelete
  10. rickibearThursday, July 12, 2007 at 11:25:00 AM MDT

    Steve and Metrognome:
    Glad both of you could figure out that the only thing established in the forwards is the fourth line. Altough they could improve from 2nd to 1st in PK GA.

    Really do have a hard time seeing the Torres-Stoll-Pisani line being
    together.

    Unless you expect 20 min out of most on the first two lines.

    ReplyDelete
  11. rickibearThursday, July 12, 2007 at 12:00:00 PM MDT

    Brian Mulroney once said "I had a large majority and Kim Campbell ended up with 2 seats." This is a fact but is it the reality.

    We all read the statisctics and see the player options availible this summer. We all have our opinions at why and what. In November we will see the reality.

    Thank heaven for that!

    ReplyDelete
  12. DennisThursday, July 12, 2007 at 1:24:00 PM MDT

    I think the difference is that last year, Lowe had a chance of selling hope. Personally, I called the rebuild the day Pronger was given away and that belief was only strenghtened by the one year pact to Sykora. To me that screamed, "we're only spending just enough money to make you believe that we'd spend the rest" and that's why I never fully believed that Lowe would pick up this rental D man that he talked so much about.

    Now, looking at this year today on July 12th, I'm not saying this is the team we're going to war with but if it is, Lowe can't even sell hope this time.

    Well unless he's selling it to the point that, cue announcer voice from some furniture store, " you don't have to pay until Sept, 2009!!!"

    ReplyDelete
  13. DennisThursday, July 12, 2007 at 2:17:00 PM MDT

    This seems like as good of a place as any to dump this link. Remember when people were talking about what damage Lupul's year and contract had done to his value and how it had almost made Smith's inclusion necessary for JP to land in Edm?

    http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/SPORTS04/707120370/1002/SPORTS

    JOff Lupul, the gift that keeps on taking. We could've moved Gator somewhere else for an additional asset had Lupul now had a season for the ages. Of course it's Lowe's fault for picking him up in the first place and I think that's something that even the Babcocks of the world realize at this point;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. jon kThursday, July 12, 2007 at 2:53:00 PM MDT

    Well looks like my prediction from last season of Gilbert being trade fodder is going to come true... Souray now signed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. "Steve Smith"Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 4:11:00 PM MDT

    JOff Lupul, the gift that keeps on taking. We could've moved Gator somewhere else for an additional asset had Lupul now had a season for the ages. Of course it's Lowe's fault for picking him up in the first place and I think that's something that even the Babcocks of the world realize at this point;)

    Sure, but then we wouldn't have first line forward Geoff Sanderson.

    ReplyDelete