And then we can adjust when they start trading players away, which will happen. How do I know this? There are 3 goalies for the entire pro organization, which includes Edmonton, Oklahoma City and usually 1 goalie for Stockton.
We already know a few things: the big league team has been upgraded at center and the 3rd and 4th lines shouldn't bleed as badly as one year ago. The blue will give Northern Alberta uclers shortly after the first puck drop and the goaltending is as addled as ever. OKC will be very young--too young--and Steve Tambellini isn't done yet. With that understood, let's roll the list. OKC Barons in italics, RFA's in bold.
- G Devan Dubnyk: The #1 goalie as we head to summer.
- G Nikolai Khabibulin: May have played his last NHL game.
- G Yann Danis: This year's Gerber.
- G Olivier Roy: Solid prospect will make pro debut.
- D Ryan Whitney: Health is the big concern, he's quality when he can play.
- D Tom Gilbert: A fine NHL defensemen, wish we had two.
- D Ladislav Smid: Improved this past season and was healthy too.
- D Cam Barker: The Oilers saw him real good. Let's hope they're right.
- D Andy Sutton: Enforcer on the blue.
- D They Peckham: Tough defender, his NHL spot secure.
- D Jeff Petry: He's a bubble player currently, but a quality prospect.
- D Taylor Chorney: Likely to be slotted in the AHL this fall, could be lost to waivers.
- D Colten Teubert: Probably slotted in as AHL regular and possible callup.
- D Corey Potter: AHL defender will see lots of work.
- D Alex Plante: Tough defender likely an AHL player for 11-12.
- D Taylor Fedun: RH NCAA defender with skill and size. New pro this fall.
- D Martin Marincin: Signed pro contract, could still play junior. Highly touted.
- D Johan Motin: Falling well down the depth chart, could disappear over summer.
- C Shawn Horcoff: Still has the most complete skill set at C.
- C Sam Gagner: The best offensive C on the team, but for how long?
- C Eric Belanger: He'll be shocked with the standing O after faceoff wins.
- C Andrew Cogliano: Will he see Labor Day as an Oiler?
- C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: Wonderful prospect has a shot to make big club.
- C Chris VandeVelde: Will be the experienced C in OKC.
- C Anton Lander: The Oilers love him, he could fly up the depth chart.
- C Tanner House: Early returns were very good in the spring.
- C Ryan O'Marra: Picking up his contract was curious based on this list.
- C Milan Kytnar: He's a decent prospect, but buried.
- L Taylor Hall: The franchise.
- L Ryan Smyth: The returning warrior.
- L Magnus Paajarvi: Tremendous skills.
- L Ben Eager: Agitator and a solid 4th line player.
- L Darcy Hordichuk: Enforcer can take and make a pass.
- L Teemu Hartikainen: Big, skilled and has some grit. Quality prospect.
- L Lennert Petrell: Veteran Euro will be relied on.
- L Josh Green: OKC signing will be veteran leader.
- L Hunter Tremblay: College scorer will get his chance.
- L Curtis Hamilton: A nice range of skills.
- L Phil Cornet: Like Motin, he's losing traction.
- R Ales Hemsky: Wonderful skill player.
- R Jordan Eberle: One of the key kids on the team.
- R Linus Omark: Exciting and useful player.
- R Ryan Jones: Will be relied on for energy and goals.
- R Gilbert Brule: At a crossroads, possible LTIR candidate.
- R Ryan Keller: Newly signed AHL sniper.
- R Antti Tyrvainen: Interesting player, has some possibilities.
- R Mark Arcobello: Quality AHL season. Can he do it again?
- R Toni Rajala: Finnish skill winger is a solid prospect.
- R Tyler Pitlick: Gritty winger with skill.
- R Cameron Abney: Enforcer probably headed for Stockton.
I wonder why Martindale hasn't got a contract yet?
ReplyDeleteNot that the Oilers need another one right now so close to the 50 man limit.
So does Abney still count on the 50 man if he's playing in Stockton?
Post 2006 this team had good D and not more than 3-4 good players playing up front.
I remember lamenting that the D had no one to pass to.
Fast forward 4-5 years and there are a pile of forwards and the NHL level D are thin.
This team still doesn't know balance.
"Boy we have a lot of forwards"
-Kevin Lowe
Woodguy: It really is galling. And then to make matters worse many in the fanbase want to run Gilbert out of town. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteMartindale's situation is interesting. I believe he's eligible for the AHL in the fall, too.
The oilers are going to need atleast 2 goalies for OKC. I don't see Roy starting in OKC, could head to Stockton for some seasoning before coming back to OKC.
ReplyDeleteheatley traded to minnesota for Havlat. Crazy stuff
ReplyDeleteDo RNH and Marincin count against the 50 contract limit if they return to Junior?
ReplyDeleteThey got another year to sign him.
ReplyDeleteHe already has 4 full years in the OHL, don't see why the Oilers would want him to play a 5th.
Maybe they can't come to terms and he'll get thrown into the Gagner/Cogliano trade that seems to be brewing.
1 NHL caliber RH Dman and fans hate him. *sigh*
TO has a lot of D and there was some smoke on twitter today from 4th period and others about Cogs getting discussed in a trade with TO.
Would love to see Gunnarsson come this way. (even though he's another LH Dman)
The Gilbert hate is mystifying. Why do people want an entire team of knuckle-draggers? This isn't a small town Junior B squad we're building here.
ReplyDeletespOILer,
ReplyDeleteWell its a small junior B kinda town.
Blogger Woodguy said...
ReplyDeleteThey got another year to sign him.
He already has 4 full years in the OHL, don't see why the Oilers would want him to play a 5th.
Maybe they can't come to terms and he'll get thrown into the Gagner/Cogliano trade that seems to be brewing.
1 NHL caliber RH Dman and fans hate him. *sigh*
TO has a lot of D and there was some smoke on twitter today from 4th period and others about Cogs getting discussed in a trade with TO.
Would love to see Gunnarsson come this way. (even though he's another LH Dman)
The only D that will come out of Toronto is Komisarek.
He would likely be second pairing on the Oilers.
You playing?
Komisarek's price tag and term are too dear. The more I think about it, maybe they should just run Gilbert, Petry and Barker out there as RD and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteLD of Whitney, Smid, Peckham and Sutton and let it bleed.
Smyth leaves, Souray comes in, Smyth comes back, Souray leaves. This team sure does like to chase its tail. Much like the team on the ice, mgmt just can't seem to stabilize things long enough to make it work.
ReplyDeleteUmm, Smyth asked to come here himself, not the team after him, and there's no chance of Souray ever returning.
ReplyDeletePetry has shown flashes of being a Top 4 Defender last year. They can always ride it out for preseason and the first 9 games. If it's too much for Petry and RNH is rocking, they can keep RNH and trade Cogs or Gagner as part of a package for a D. If Petry is holding his own, maybe they get off lucky. If RNH and Petry are overwhelmed but Lander is rocking... etc etc.
ReplyDeleteMy point is... this isn't necessarily an issue that needs to be forced in the offseason if a reasonable trade isn't available. If Tambo really has advanced to 4.0, he can address the issue early in the season once he sees what he's got... maybe that's the true test of whether he's 4.0 or still 3.1.
I'm just talking in general...we never had the net presence and the cannon at the same time, and its a shame.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that teams don't trade much if at all during that time of the season. Time was teams did deal during the year, but now it's draft, July 1 week and trade deadline.
ReplyDeleteGotcha, DM, I totally misread that.
ReplyDeleteBarker and Petry look like the shots from the point right now and we sure could use an upgrade. Barker is probably a step up from Foster, but that's not saying much.
Well it's indeed a crazy summer.
ReplyDeleteSo Burns + Havlat for Setoguchi + Heatley. Huh.
LT: Some trades occur at that time, saw Mike Ribeiro fly away for Niinima (God awful).
DSF: Gunnarsson was benched at some times.
As for Komisarek himself, it'S a no fucking way. The guy is so poor offensively it just corrupts his defense. Just can't get out when pressured.
QC: (5th on D)
QT: (5th on D)
+-ON/60 : -0,61 (5th on D, near Lupul)
PDO: 1000
Corsi REL: -6,6
Corsi ON: -10,0
High priced guy who can't handle the dregs.
I would think long and hard about Komisarek, but it's really one year too long. I'd still think real hard about it though. Getting rid of that last year shouldn't be that big of a problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure he's a good fit right now though. He seems more like the player you add when you're already a strong playoff team and are looking to make sure you have lots of big strong experienced D. Sutton and Smid do much of the same for less money.
I think Hall and Petry playing pitch and catch on the power play is something I'm hoping the coaching staff will visit this year. They both have excellant one-timers, just have wire them up to not be afraid to use it.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing Petry will have to learn this year is how to make himself useful on the power play. I think he'll get a good look there this year as it stands.
Oiler fans have an awful habit of not differentiating what a particular player does well from what they are critical of. Find a quality they don't like (doesn't hit) and that one dislike blinds them to any of the good qualities.
ReplyDeleteThings I think Gilbert does well:
- can retrieve a puck if he is first into the corner against 1 or 2 forecheckers and make the short pass to the C to move it out quickly. Other D (other than Whitney) in this scenario just end up tossing it around the boards in a hail mary
- blocks shots and gets in the lanes, subtle flip passes to the wingers
- sneak-in to the slot on the offensive (* haven't seen this as much as in first campaign, must be system - because he does not activate and they don't throw the pass out here anymore)
Things I don't think Gilbert is well suited to, these are the things that create the blind rage from oil fans:
- PP puck retriever, not a hard enough stick against opposing PK, doesn't move the puck at the pace he does at EV
- cycle breaking, if he doesn't succeed at puck retrieval (see description above), he isn't great at breaking the cycle. Still does a fairly decent job of keeping the play to the outside, but pursuits can get drawn out.
That's how my eyes see it. I'd much rather have the finesse retrieval -- because I fear the number of times the "around the boards" becomes "fire drill." I'd like to count how many times this skill results in a break-out versus getting trapped in the D zone.
Ideal scenarios - top 2 in EVTOI, mid pair in PKTOI, and low in PPTOI.
That's a top 4 D, by definition.
LT what do you think the oilers would have to give up to get Holtby from Wash? Would a 2nd round pick be enough...would Cogs have any value to them?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of trying Hall on the PP point too.
ReplyDeleteWe have to find a way to get all these kids PP time and that's one way to do it. This means they can use Smyth and Hall on the same PP.
I do think Hall and Petry would be givin up a few shorties though.
CM: I'm not sure. Holtby would be a very interesting pickup for the Oilers, though.
ReplyDeleteCogliano is a difficult player to value imo. At the draft the Oilers were asking for a 1st rd pick, and imo that would have been high.
WAS didn't have a pick in the first rd, so maybe they'd prefer a longer range prospect.
You could have an umbrella type setup where Whitney is the tip of the umbrealla and Petry and Hall would be the corners of the setup, have Smyth setup in front, have a good down low passer and you got yourself a power play.
ReplyDeleteThat way you get a lot of side to side flow and the shot could come from anywhere quickly.
The problem is, right now, Horc is the only option for taking PP draws or we plan on doing a bunch of puck retrieval. Again.
ReplyDeleteUnless RNH stays up and can handle the FO role at this level. If he can, it guarantees he stays.
No way on Komisarek.
ReplyDeleteSouray just left, why bring a lesser version of him?
I'd rather run
5,77
6,58
49,Barker
Than bring in that dog of a contract.
The Oilers are running out of cap room and Komisarek is a black hole for his hit.
belanger can play some PP. He did OK in his time in phoenix and other stops. he wins draws, and would probably be fine heading to front of net territory, since we don't exactly have anyone on the roster who is willing to do it with the exception of Mr. Smyth. I wonder if Renney will run 3 PP units, and just keep the top 3 lines together.
ReplyDeleteSince Whitney's job (like pronger before him) is to babysit anyone who is struggling, it makes the most sense to have Barker with him to start the year. Let Petry start as a 3rd pairing easier minutes player, have Sutton as your vet fill in (if Barker or Peckham or Petry struggles). He can learn a lot by only having to play 60 games, although with our injury history he'll probably play 80 anyways, but feed him easier minutes and let him gain confidence.
ReplyDeleteIf Barker gains confidence playing with Whitney (who will make up for a lot of his mistakes) and Petry learns in a safer spot in the lineup (also allowing us o have him play 2nd PP unit with Gilbert or one of the forwards on the point) our young D can hopefully take a leap forward.
now on to goaltending. Sad.
3 power play units is overkill. Any team should have 2 PP units and 2 PK units and a certain amount of players that can flip between the 2 (ie. Horcoff, Paajarvi, Belanger)
ReplyDeleteUnless the player taking the faceoff us Belanger or Horcoff, you're probably losing the faceoff anyway. So you'd have to decide between winning the faceoff or losing the one man advantage and try to essentially score 4 on 4.
Isn't Pitlick a Centerman.
ReplyDeleteI don't think WSH would like Cogliano. Neither would like 90% of the teams.
ReplyDeleteApart from Johansson who's 5''11 they have no one who's under 6''1.
LT: Where did you get that? Brouwer got traded for a 1st round pick, who exactly do they think will be crazy enough to pull a 1st rounder on an undersized underperformer?
I mean, last time I checked you got guys like Tanguay who came off an 80 point season for a 1st pick.
Dan:
ReplyDeletePitlick is a centerman who hasn't played center in a long time. He's probably a RW in the pros.
I thought Pitlick was moved to wing one year ago by his junior team.
ReplyDeleteWoodguy:
ReplyDeleteI'm not certain why the Oilers haven't signed Martindale, or Davidson, yet, but I would guess it has something to do with perceived readiness and the 50 contracts limit.
I'd have to re-read the CBA section, but my current understanding tells me that if the Oilers sign Martindale or Davidson now, and decide to send them back to junior, they still burn the first year of their ELC. So maybe the idea is to wait until camp and see how they perform before signing them if ready. And if they aren't wait until after next season and sign them then so their ELC starts for 2012/13 season instead of this upcoming season?
Penner on 60 point seasons brought a 1st and 1st round prospect and a conditional pick.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the Oil probably didn't want to trade Cogs at the deadline, so he was put up for a high asking price in case there was a team out there that would overpay a late 1st.
Question is will they now find a team willing to pay a second. There will be hope that teams that didn't get their needs filled during the FA Frenzy might be willing. He's young and cheap and fast, they just might.
spOILer how do you think that RNH can take a FO on the PP, when he didn't take them in RD. Byron Froese was pair with RNH on the PP in RD and he was the one that took all the FO's. Looking at this you could say that the RD coach didn't trust RNH FO ability.
ReplyDeleteAs to Pitlick, he played the wing because MH already two good centers, and they wanted him to learn the WHL game without having to worry about FO's and the defensive aspect of playing center. You'll see him plying center this year.
Unless RNH stays up and can handle the FO role at this level. If he can, it guarantees he stays.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a pretty conditional statement to me.
That said, if he stays up, he will get PP time; if he gets PP time, he will take draws.
I looked at last year said to myself. Are there any Dmen ouy there that faced the best Comp ( Top pairing .16 or better) and had terrible teamates ( bottom pair -.41 or worse) and were better than the league average for GA.
ReplyDeleteHere is the list: in order of best GA
NICKLAS GROSSMAN
ROB SCUDERI
RYAN WHITNEY
MARC STAAL
ANSSI SALMELA
JOSH GORGES
MARC METHOT
ERIC BREWER
DAN GIRARDI
ROBYN REGEHR
HAL GILL
BRENT SEABROOK
P.K. SUBBAN
THEO PECKHAM
Yes folks! Face the best have the worst and better than average. Whitney and Peckham.
Whitney 3rd best GA and 1st +/-.
Sutton had the shitiest teamates in the league. Top 15 worst start at -.132, sutton had -.313 Like com on. He had 2.14EVGA/60 and even.
Can he take 2nd pair who knows.
Our #3 center was the #1 point center in PHX.
I am feeling a little better.
Another question is who is going to crash the net for the Oilers during the power play, right now they only have Hartikainen and VV with the size and ability. Or is it going to be like last year were the opposing team will keep the Oilers to the outside and not worry about anyone in front of the net because the Oilers have no one. I know we had Penner, but you didn't know when he would show up and now there is no one now with size to take the punishment to stand in front of the net and screen the goalie.
ReplyDeleteArchie said...
ReplyDeleteAnother question is who is going to crash the net for the Oilers during the power play,
You've seen Ryan Smyth play, right?
I'm curious about Komisarek. I agree LT that the contract and term are too much at this point, but what happened between Montreal and Toronto?
ReplyDeleteGranted, he was never the All-Star defenceman fan balloting made him, but looking at his advanced stats, he went from holding his own against the toughs for his final two years in MTL, to holding his own against the soft parade his first year in TO, to holding his own jock strap last year. His only significant injury was a hand injury in 2008. Is it possible that he's been made to look considerably worse by coaching or a different style of play in Toronto?
Again, I don't want him for the Oilers, but does anyone have a read on why this guy got so much worse by going to Toronto?
spOILer said...
ReplyDeleteYou've seen Ryan Smyth play, right?
Thanks for that, always nice to start the morning with a good chuckle =).
For what it's worth on that crowded pro contract list, a few players at least won't likely be vying for OKC ice-time.
Pitlick is likely to start in the WHL again (hopefully moving to centre and absolutely crushing it now that he has traction).
Rajala from the hub-bub is likely to spend at least one more season in the SM-Liiga. His clock starts ticking next season though, so I don't know what the Oilers would like for him. He's only 20, so I don't see a huge rush. Remember, Omark didn't break out till he was 22.
I'm just talking in general...we never had the net presence and the cannon at the same time, and its a shame.
ReplyDeleteProbably good for Smytty's long term health, anyways. Can't imagine getting nailed with a Souray bomb would feel very good.
ingshok: comes out of retirement and signs a 4-year, $15m deal with the Oilers
The problem with the D is that if Ryan Whitney goes down, which is a very high probability, then you top 3 LD are Smid, Peckham and Sutton. This is exactly what killed them last year. The whole thing revolves around Whitney staying healthy to eat up minutes. Not a great bet. Oh, and by the way, the left side is the strong side!
ReplyDeleteI think a package consisting of some combination of Cogliano, Brule, Peckham, Plante, Martindale and picks #2-7 are probably in play for Tambellini right now. The question is, will that secure a top 4 defenceman with a contract that doesn't cripple Edmonton's cap flexibility?
ReplyDeleteIf not, I'm okay with sticking with what we have currently. Unlike LT, I'm quite comfortable with Petry in the NHL for the year. He was successful in a part-time role last year so it's time to see what he does with a full year. Moreover, while another top 4 D is certainly an important acquisition, the rise and fall of this time will be almost entirely dependent upon improvement amongst the youth. If Hall stalls, all the Fransons in the world won't save us.
As I've mentioned before, it's strange for players of Martindale's or Davidson's caliber to be sent back to junior for their overage season. Davidson's lack of experience at the junior level means it might make a little more sense for him though.
ReplyDeleteOf note, Davidson will be attending the development camp this week but Martindale will not. Unless there's some injury I haven't heard about, there's clearly something going on there. It's possible the Oilers have been trying to sign him and haven't been successful and so he's been advised by his agent to skip the camp. Or if the Oilers are planning to send him back to junior because of a contract crunch, he might not be as on board with it.
Ben, Martindale has tonsilitis.
ReplyDeleteYes, I just read that elsewhere, so conspiracy theories averted. I still think it's strange they haven't signed him yet.
ReplyDeleteFor a team that's getting close to the cap I still see a bottom 5 team for this year.
ReplyDeleteWhy exactly was this pro contract limit agreed to in the last CBA? It is rather silly.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most "complete" team the Oilers have iced since 2006.
ReplyDeleteWhile the D is a bit suspect, the forwards are going to kick ass.
This team is not going to be winning many games 1-0 or 2-1 folks, time to welcome the return of fire wagon hockey. They will score 6 and let in 5 when they win.
Plus they actually have some depth now, so they might be able to make it past their usual Christmas slide.
They'll be fine if they don't wear out their old guys in the first 40 games.
Clarkenstein: Agreed. I expect this is still a lottery team.
ReplyDeleteI think people see what they want to see. Compounding things is the consecutive last place finishes, which now color everything the team does. It's easy to look at something and find the negative, but when you do that too often that's all you see.
ReplyDeleteI don't see them as a lottery team, but I also don't see them in playoff contention. They're floating in the lower middle of the pack right now. Higher if goaltending is fixed.
I think a package consisting of some combination of Cogliano, Brule, Peckham, Plante, Martindale and picks #2-7 are probably in play for Tambellini right now.
ReplyDeleteNot a lot of value in your list.
To get a true top pairing D, you have to give up more.
If they just add another 3rd pairing guy, then some of that stuff might work.
Woodguy: agreed, that's what I was implying with that list. If the Oilers aren't willing to part with Gagner or Hemsky (and they shouldn't be) then I believe we need to get used to the D as it going forward.
ReplyDeleteLT: I'm really looking forward to your reasonable expectations series to see where you come down in this sea of variance that is the 2011-12 Oilers. With the number of youth and stars with injury issues, I think that this could be anything from a bottom 3 squad (stalled development, lots of injuries) to a lower end playoff team (Hemsky, Whitney etc stay healthy, Hall takes a Stamkos step forward, other youth improve).
There is great potential for both success and failure this year.
Clarkenstein: Agreed. I expect this is still a lottery team.
ReplyDeleteI want to see the final roster first, but as is, its close.
D and G are such an unholy mess that I don't want to prognosticate until the final roster is set.
They will lose more close games with this roster, but I'm not sure they win enough to pull them out of the lottery.
Remember that if DD's pts% last year (.484) was applied to the whole year (pretend Khabby never played), they still finish 26th in the league.
Let's not forget special teams.
The Oilers PP% was 14.5% (27th in the league) and PK was 77% (29th)
Smyth and Belanger can help, but ST is scheme and coach dependent more than anything else.
They improved the PK, but I have no reason to expect more from the PP as of today. (again Smyth might help....)
Woodguy: Agree w/you on the PK, it will be better in part because of the addition's of Belanger and Smyth and in part by ditching the triangle. Marginal improvement there makes us better overall.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I see lottery. We're still in the danger zone with a lack of NHL capable d-men and having to rely on reKhabibulin in goal.
Find it interesting the talk about RNH getting a 9 game trial. Could see them doing that before sending him back to Red Deer and the World Jr's. You could then call up Lander (if Cogs is traded).
Would still prefer seeing RNH in the WHL and Lander in OKC so both can tear the cover off the ball and arrive in 2012-13.
Just the improvement on the dot should move the PK and PP in the right direction. Last year's numbers were brutal!
ReplyDeleteCogs: 41.6% on 1108 FOs
Gagner: 43.8% on 935 FOs
Horcoff: 48.3% on 813 FOs
Fraser: 44.6 on 552 FOs
vs.
Eric Belanger: 55.3% on 1297 FOs
The puck should be moving in the right direction faster and more often.
Oilers tweet...
ReplyDeleteOilers agree to terms with defenceman Theo Peckham on a one-year contract... Details to follow.
Adding Smyth and Belanger make the top nine forwards pretty reasonable. If Hemsky and Horcoff can stay healthy (big if I know) then they look pretty good up front. Hartikainen to come up to fill in on the top nine when needed. Jones to move up to do the same.
ReplyDeleteIf the fourth centre could win draws and PK (here I am presuming Cogliano is a goner) then I'd be happier but not so bad up front.
D and goalkeeping remains an unholy mess. Their best bet is to try and pry a top four Dman out of one of the teams that is cap strapped - Philly, Buffalo, Washington - they'd want little coming back, they just need the cap relief. Note the Leafs' trade yesterday as an example.
If they can do that and replace Khabibulin then we can talk about them making a leap out of lottery territory but until then ...
Probably good for Smytty's long term health, anyways.
ReplyDeleteBoris Mironov says hi =).
I'm down with a fail for Nail.
Peckham signs a 1 year deal, as per Oilers twitter.
ReplyDeleteHow is goalie such a terrible mess?
ReplyDeleteDubnyk played league average last year, likely to go up, and get more games.
If Khabibulin can have an ''average'' 25-30 games, it's going to look like a very standard duo.
BD,
ReplyDeleteYou hit it right on the head there. Now V.031 needs to pry a real d-man out of one of those cash strapped teams. I guess anyone is available for the right price but who do you think the best fit for the Oil would be?
FPB,
ReplyDeleteI like the way the Dubnyk played last season but he hasn't proved that he can handle a 60+ game workload yet and since the only other guy we have in the pipes is Khabibulin and he's been terrible....
We might have a real keep in Dubnyk but he needs to prove it.
Not an Oilers signing, but apparently the Barons have signed Andrew Lord to an AHL Contract.
ReplyDeleteA little surprising really. Figured they would end up pursuing bigger prizes. Helmer seemed like a no-brainer to bring back. Figured he'd be the first guy signed.
Of the players that the Oilers have already signed, who amongst them would count towards the veteran player limit of an AHL team? Will the Euro's years played overseas count towards that?
Jordan Leopold or ANdrej Sekera.
ReplyDeleteThe Sabres have 1M$ to resign Gragnani, Sekera, Weber and Enroth.
Was at the first half of the development camp this morning...a few highlights (for me, at least)...Kyle Bigos is HUGE and easily has the liveliest shot among the guys on the ice (defense and forwards were on different surfaces to start) and Tambi taking a call while in the stands and quickly making his way to presumably somewhere more private. That may have coincided with the Peckham signing or else something could be cooking. I left at 10:40 and he still hadn't returned...probably about 20 minutes or so.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to catch more of the camp as the week goes on as I work close by...and I'll be sure to post any comments that maybe of interest.
Johnnyshaka:
ReplyDeleteHow does the Nuge look?
FPB: The thing that worries me is how not-high the Oilers sound on Dubnyk. Sounds like there's some heat on Double-D about his conditioning, and that's why they seem to be backing the older, drunker horse to start next year.
ReplyDeletePlus you have mouth pieces like Bob Stauffer completely neglecting to talk about Dubnyk at all when discussing the position.
I wouldn't be surprised if Abney returns as an overager to the Oil Kings. He was used in a bigger role than your typical "fighter" and I think they have a hole open for a 20+.
ReplyDeleteIt's a young, skilled team and it's a little small even by junior standards. They could use someone to skate around looking tough while Wruck, St Croix, Lazar and company do the scoring.
Ewanyk will be a little preoccupied with hockey.
How does the Nuge look?
ReplyDeleteWith the focus mainly on that rink (obviously because of the Nuge) I found it easier to peer over at the other rink with the D-men...where the brain trust had their focus as well.
Anyway, the particular drill I did see the forwards doing (essentially taking a pass on the wing and streaking in from the boards) he looked just fine but did notice he had a hard time taking the passes as the coaches were firing bullets at them. Nerves, bad ice (scraped shortly after that drill), bad passes, or a bit everything all mixed together. He wasn't the only one mishandling the puck, but with all eyes on him I'm sure fans noticed it more so with him than with others.
I'd have to say that Lander had issues keeping the puck on his stick, as well...but again, I may have watched that rink for a total of 5 minutes...small sample size alert.
Bruce McCurdy of CnB and CoH is attending the Prospects camp and is tweeting his observations. Has some good lines!
ReplyDeleteI don't see lottery with this team.
ReplyDeleteRyan Smyth and the rest of the additions and year two of Taylor Hall will see the team compete hard this year.
The team is trying to win again and unless the injury bug is spiteful the team should be more successful.
Smarmy, you may have just invoked the wrath of the Hockey Gods.
ReplyDeleteThe god of capricious injuries in particular seems to have a burning hatred for all Gretzky's former teams, no doubt due to his ongoing feud with the god of championship dynasties.
FPB, besides the fact that Dubbie hasn't has a full season of 50-60 games before, there's a good chance Khabi implodes again as nothing suggests he can return to even NHL backup level, and don't forget OKC still needs a goaler.
Uni: Well if they act like mildly intelligent fellows, they'l sign someone who's had backup NHL history and success in the AHL, so if Nikolai implodes again we can swap.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dubba-Dubby, last year he already played 10+ more games than expected. I don't think 45-50 would be exaggerated.
Injuries are less if than when. You can find many small arrows which if fully aligned could even have people muttering "contention" at xmas. Or you can subtract *one* key player from this roster and they switch to "contending" for DFL threepeat.
ReplyDeleteI think Oiler management is engaged in a scorched earth policy on western conference rungs 9-12. This team would have to perform at the top end of reasonable expectations from the first week of the season all the way through xmas before management severs the magnificent boat anchor.
Seriously, anyone out there advocating the tuple (Whitney, babysit, playoff contention) is smoking the drapes.
If we added Shea Weber tomorrow, I'd give this team a confident thumbs up for 2012.
Only way the Oilers are a bottom 5 team this is if injuries run rampant again. Especially if they happen on the back end. Otherwise I feel we can compete.
ReplyDeletePeckham money, per Rishaug....
ReplyDelete1 year 1.075 deal for rfa Theo Peckham
"Beware the Slump" is about all I'd say about this teams playoff chances.
ReplyDeleteWill you be attending any of the prospect camp this week LT?
ReplyDeleteI was looking around for you today.
I doubt the team is one key injury from being 30th. Maybe Ryan Whitney would fit that bill as it stands.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the guys who shut it down last year did so because there was nothing to play for anyways. So while guys will take their lumps you are less likely to be aware of it as they'll keep playing.
Smyth is a huge acquisition for out top six. We have so much more balance to attack teams and handle their matchups on the road.
Horcoff should be better if only because he has another center in Belanger that can do some heavy lifting in the dot. I kind of look to see him have a decent year this year.
Taylor Hall is the kind of player that could put up a 40 goal pace next season. I think he's that good.
With the team in front better. I think the goalies will look better by extension. Mind you. I don't necessarily believe Khabby will stick with the club this year.
Gret99zky: No, I'll be working at my day job all week.
ReplyDeleteOnce these kids are through high school, college and leave home my time will be my own!
2030? Sounds about right. :-)
"Beware the Slump" is about all I'd say about this teams playoff chances.
ReplyDeleteI would go with "Defense = Porridge" but am glad to see others are open to the possibility of Edmonton not making the playoffs. I think the moves ST made do improve the team in some key areas but there are too many holes on the back end IMO for anyone to be calling playoffs a safe bet today.
Smarmy:
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that Smyth is replacing Penner, who did play 62 games for EDM last year and score 21 goals.
If you are GM of a team like the Oilers you have to keep your expectations low.
ReplyDeleteYou have to plan for a lottery team. If the youngsters pull this team out of the depths, great.
But the real mistake would be to figure that Smyth, Barker, Belanger, and 3 pluggers are going to make the huge difference needed to make the playoffs. If you start dealing picks and prospects on this assumption, you just wind up like St Louis.
From last yr you have Smyth replacing Penner (probably not as well stats wise), Sutton replacing Foster, and Eager/ Hordichuk replacing Reddox/ Stortini/ JFJ/ SMac.
Not a lot of difference. Perhaps even a drop off. The value of these new guys is what they can do to assist the young players in their development.
The only real upgrade is with Belanger (over Fraser) and perhaps with Barker. Even if they succeed, the upgrade is not going to be near enough to make up much the ground to get out of the lottery.
The real upgrade will have to come from health and the development of the young guys. The jury has to be out on both those counts.
As per Stauffer: within 24 hours, a tender with NHL experience might be coming to town. Names?
ReplyDeleteFor me...the talk of Holtby is intriguing.
I'm not talking playoffs maybe someone else is.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe they're a lottery team.
I also didn't forget Penner. Smyth's intangibles slaughter Penner.
Oilers close to signing a goalie per Panties.
ReplyDeleteLeclaire or Emery?
That's all that's left that would have any hope of being a legitmate help...
Yann Danis, per Stauffer
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ReplyDeleteWas hoping for Khudobin. Always liked that guy.
ReplyDeleteDucey, I don't think there is a drop off, stats-wise, between Penner and Smyth...so long as Smyth can be as durable as Penner has been, of course. How the lines are configured could find him scoring a bit less (playing the toughs with Horc and Hemmer, for example) but creating more favorable opps for the kid phenoms which might, overall, make the team that much better. I also think Smyth is a better PP producer than Penner and that could prove to be a big bonus to offset any perceived "drop off" between the two.
ReplyDeleteI think Sutton replaces Struds, not Foster, as I think Barker is Foster's replacement. Sutton as number 7 certainly has to be better than Struds and Barker looks to have more upside than Foster at the moment. Ideally, though, a newly acquired top 4 D-man pushes Barker to the bottom pairing.
Eager is definitely an upgrade over JFJ and Stortini while Hordichuk is good enough to play a regular shift AND be an intimidator while SMAC couldn't even get on the ice.
I might be a super optimist, but a lot of people seem to not factor in the progress of the youth.
ReplyDeleteI think our upgrades are clearly better
And then we factor in that Ebs, Hall, MPS should all progress, and at that age it's in leap and bounces.
Yann Danis had ,923 Sv% in his last NHL trip.
It's really weird how some goalies just can't get to have a job.
Allegedly, Danis was signed for OKC.
ReplyDeleteTo see Bikini Girl without the Bikini...Google "Emma O'Neil"
ReplyDeleteToo good to be true...
Ribs
ReplyDeleteI admire your dedication to the level of research that must have taken. I'm sure it must have been difficult and quite boring.
ingshok: comes out of retirement and signs a 4-year, $15m deal with the Oilers
ReplyDeleteI love you.