A Month has passed

Well a month has passed since my last blog. I'm sure if anyone WAS reading this they have long since given up...

But hey, I was doing this for my own pleasure right?

So since the last time I posted, the Oilers have seen a few changes. The first (and most important) is the idea that they are a playoff team. Now, I dont agree. Dont get me wrong, I'm not one of those people that think that the Oilers should sit at the bottom of the league until the prospects pile up. I think that if they are ready they should go for the gold and not look back. BUT, to think that they are a playoff team takes a special pair of kahunas...

Just as in my last post, I still think there are some changes that need to be made. I do not think the Oilers defense is nearly good enough to carry them into the promised land. I dont think that the forwards are rounded out enough to force a playoff birth. And lastly I dont think the experience is enough to battle through most of the hardships that they will face along the way. I think the Oil will see the playoffs next year. I dont think they will get much further from the bottom than they already are, and thats not such a bad thing.

Hemsky Injury. Well, change number 2 seems to be actually a good thing. The kids have really stepped it up and are showing that in the absense of Hemmer, they are still game to play.

Horcoff Injury. Change 3 hasn't been such a boon as Hemmer. So far having the captain out has shown that the team is not ready to step up in a defensive manner. Fraser is not the faceoff man they hoped they were getting and nobody else can quite take the defensive centers mins.

All in all I like the way the team is going. It is developing nicely and as the kids get stronger, the team gets stronger with them.

I am looking forward to tonights game, I hope the players are real fired up over the loss to SJS and they come out flying. They could really use a solid win tonight.

Until next time.

Fixing Some Problems Today

So, I got to thinking and I think I have a way to help this team right away. A friend of mine asked me today "what's would you do"? and it got me thinking. I think there are just a few steps to take today that will pay out over the long haul.

Step #1 Waive both Strudwick and Vandemeer. They are both relied upon too heavily and neither bring anything to the table that the Oilers need. Vandemeer was a bad choice from the get go and Strudwick may very well be a good team mate, but nothing else.

Step #2 Trade Cogliano and any combination of draft picks (Rnd 3 or later) to get a solid shutdown defender that brings a little offence. There are many teams out there with cap issues, I am fairly confident that Tambellini can find a dance partner.

Step #3 Bring up Reddox from OKC. He brings the PK ability that the team needs, he plays much bigger than he is and that kind of mentality is something this team needs. Reddox can be a servicable if not "great" shutdown winger and if the stars align he could very well be the next Pisani.

Step #4 Create lines that play together well. No more of this idea that the most "talented" players get the most time and thats IT! There has to be a balance in the lines that will give the team some identity.


My lines after the trades/waivers

Penner - Gagner - Eberle

Hall - Brule - Hemsky

Reddox - Horcoff - MPS

JFJ - Fraser - Stortini

Macintyre/Jones

Gilbert - Whitney

Smid - *PlayerX*

Peckham - Foster

Belle

I have explained my lines before, but I'll do it again.

Line #1 is a slower line stocked with talent. This line would be best served with a dump and chase type game. There is a power forward, a playmaker and a finisher, and once the chemisty was flowing it could be a very effective line.

Line#2 This is a fast line intended to score on the rush. With Hemsky already the catalyst most nights, Brule a more than capable shooter and Hall cutting his teeth this will be an amazing line in a short time. It will be a line that gets scored on a fair amount, but with the raw skill and perfect mesh of player types, it could very well outscore most teams on any given night.

Line #3 This is the defacto "shutdown" line. MPS is a little wasted here, but he has the advantage of coming from a league that is highly focused on defensive play. He has the ability to break away fron the play and make some offence happen and with horcoff and Reddox there he wont have to worry about doing it.

Line#4 This is an energy line through and through. With Macintyre and Jones ready to draw in at any time, this is a line that has alot of diversity. It can either be a bruiser line that can beat down the opposition or it can be a line that hits everything in sight and chip's in some goals.

The defense is self explanitory. Gilbert and Whitney are the main pairing out there. They can move the puck up and this will only help the forwards. Smid and *PlayerX* are what would become the "shutdown" pairing in the lineup. Smid needs a guy of higher caliber to play with, but once he has that guy he can be a real asset on the team. Peckham and Foster (Belle) this is a pairing that again has some diversity. Peckham and Belle are trying to cut their teeth in the NHL right now and Foster is really just a powerplay specialist. Renney could jig this line as he saw fit for any given game.

I think this lineup gives better powerplay AND PK options, it plays to the strengths of the individual players as well as the team as a whole. Moving Cogliano hurts a little as the Oilers have invested a fair amount of time into him, but when push comes to shove when its time to move on, its time.

Are there better options? Maybe, but I cant seem to find them. Lets face it, the Oilers are not going to make the playoffs and really the team was built to fail. But if Tambellini was smart he would build a team that is going to fail while still creating a positive place to learn. It may take a couple years before the team is good enough to call itself a playoff team, but I am still waiting to see the growth in the meantime.

Until next time.

Oil VS Chi Aftergame

So how many Oiler fans wish they could see the Oilers play The Blackhawks 82 times a year? This was a great game to watch (minus the last 2 mins where the hawks looked like they threw everything including the kitchen sink at the Oilers to try and tie it up)

Taylor Hall looked like a demon again, Cogliano has been showing a much more complete game of late and Khabibulin stood on his head on more than one occasion tonight. Gagner was a noticible piece as well tonight, he not only had the go ahead goal on a gritty effort but he seemed to be stepping up and being the leader on his line. Hemsky showed his usual flashes of insight but again I spent all night wishing he had a little more in him. (as offensive as he is he seems to give that impression nightly)

Tonights game was a real stepping stone for the fourth line as well. It was nice to see them not only generate a great forecheck but it was also nice to see them be as defensive as anyone else tonight. Jones especially impressed me on a play in the 3rd period. Regardless of how well Khabi had been doing, he actually dove bodily into the crease behind Khabi to ensure that if something squeeked past his tender there wouldnt be a goal. I am loving this kind of play from him, it is the kind of rounded out game and total buy in that Renney can use.

over all, regardless of the win i have been more impressed with the Oilers as of late. They have been showing the growth that I was hoping for this year. Playoffs? nope, said so before the season started and its getting easier to stick by that prediction as each game passes. But growth? HELL YA! players like Gagner/Cogliano/Brule etc... have been showing an ability to step up and not be left behind as the new kids make a name for themselves. The real glaring problems with the team at the moment are continuing to improve and even the weak ass Defense they are icing are getting more consistant if not overly better.

I am still waiting for the coaching staff to change up the lines so they can work to the others strengths, but slowly Renney is getting there and when he does, I think it will be a short ride before they begin to become a force in the NW division.

Renney's Choices

So the Oilers have played 8 games in the regular season now and a few things have happend. First, we saw that Eberle can be a threat at any time and he is more than ready for an NHL job. MPS is a guy that works his ass off and is slowly being rewarded for it. Hall finally got the monkey off his back and potted his first goal (I expect that he will be much more confident now) Smid seems to be slowly but surely getting better, finding a role and sticking to it. Peckham has shown that he can be a tough SOB when called upon and he doesnt take shit from nobody. There have been several positive things to see so far.

We have also seen some pretty ugly things going on. Vandermeer is horrible, and when I saw horrible I mean 3rd pairing on an AHL team kind of bad. Strudwick may be a good "teammate" but he is a very lacking defenseman.The defense in general is weak. Then there has been a real lack of role definition in the forward lineup. It makes it much harder for guys to get into a groove when they dont even understand what they have to do night in and night out. Hemsky has been looking like he lost interest right after the interview where he said he was "energized" and if there is no Hemmer going it is going to be hard to generate offence. Like it or not he is still the catalyst most nights.

Something that bothers me more than the ugly though, is the fact that Renney seems to be trusting his kids less that (IMO) he should be. Take the shootout for instance. IMO if you want to give guys like Hall and MPS some confidence, thats a great place to start. They both have the hands for it, and especially Hall where until last night he was looking for his first goal putting him as the first shooter doesnt add too much pressure but it does allow him to gain some confidence. Defaulting to Brule last night was a bad choice in my opinion. sure he has a great shot, but how often is he dangling around defenders??? How bout Penner the other night? That was stupid, he is 1/6 in the shootout. He doesnt deke goalies out of their shorts. He is a crash/bang kind of goal scorer. NOT viable for the shootout.

I think that if the kids are going to be succesful, the coach has to give them every opportunity to be so. If he wants to use Eberle in a PK role thats fine. But put him on the first PK unit and leave it like that. Hall and MPS should not be on the PK, so they should be given first PP time. I know it sounds a little crazy but really, those guys need to know that they are going to be relied upon based on the skills that they bring rather than the time that they have put in. Horcoff should not be on the PP at all! Hell, neither should Cogliano. There are more than enough guys to make a solid PP lineup and the kids should lead the way. Are the Oilers going to have a top rated PP this year?? probably not, but until they try the kids you cant know what they will bring.

I agree that Renney needs to find the balance that will best bring the kids along. But he also has to understand that they are all capable of handling pressure and until he challenges them they are not going to elevate their games. There are still 74 games to go, and maybe its MY patience that needs to relax a bit. But I dont think the Oilers are going to be great this year, nor would I expect it. What I do expect is progress, and 6 losses in a row is not very good progress IMHO.


until next time.

Oilers VS Flames 3

Tuesday October 26th.

Oilers face the flames again after a sound backyard beating by the Sharks. I`m thinking that the Oilers are going to have a hell of a game. They have lost 4 in a row and cannot be happy about it.

Once again I saw that Renney had juggled the lines a bit, looking for that elusive spark. And once again he couldnt find it. Thing is, I`m not convinced that the forwards are the problem. The defence is an absolute discrace right now. Tambi needs to find a `something for nothing trade`to try and help them out a bit. Vandermeer is horrible, Strudwick showed once again why he cannot be a regular on the team, and with no Peckham, there was no toughness at all out of the ``D``.

I`m at the point where I think a good deal would be to trade Cogliano, Plante and a pick to bring in someone that can help to calm down a game. I know Plante is a guy that the Oilers have invested some time into and they would probably rather wait to bring him up for themselves, but the way I see it there is nothing for Tambi to work with. Sometimes there has to be sacrifices to have some gain. I think Cogliano is a piece that can be moved along safely, there are options to be able to replace him like Omark and it could help both the Oilers and Coggs in the long run.

Either way, I think that something has to be done if the Oilers arent planning on another lottery pick. Then again if they are looking to sink to the bottom they are following the line of logic to a tee.

Until next time.

Oilers VS Sharks

 

Its Saturday and it’s GAME NIGHT!!

Tonight the Oilers face the San Jose Sharks for the first meeting this year. This is going to be a very interesting game. Don’t get me wrong, this is probably going to be a good old fashion school yard whooping. The Sharks are going to school the young Oilers on what it really means to be a good team. BUT, there are always things worth watching for. For instance, Taylor Hall looked like the beast was starting to emerge last game and I am curious to see if it carries through to this game. The Oilers have not had many days off this time so I am hoping that the intensity they showed in the last two periods of the last game also carries over. I want to see if Khabibulin can keep the Oilers in it again and make it an interesting game.

 

I am looking for the OIlers to come out fast and hard. I can actually see the Sharks underestimating them and the Oil may get up a goal or two before SJS takes the game over. I’m sure Renney is begging the team to stay out of the box, and now that he is seeing his system start to take shape with the players I am sure he is looking to see if his team can accept the challenge that SJS presents and run with it.

Not much of a story here except that I hope the Oilers at least make a game of it. There is very little reason to believe that the Oilers will win, but if they can make a game of it it will show that they are continuing along the path towards greatness.

 

until next time.

Defensive Breakdown

So I have been having some very animated conversations lately with a friend of mine about the defense. We are both in agreement that there are obvious deficiencies in the back end. And we both agree that they would do well to have a solid puck carrier back there. One thing we disagree on is the viability of Smid, another is the need for more offence from the last pairing and if Foster is truly worth keeping on the team if he is going to be simply a Power play specialist.




For Smid, I keep preaching the patience. I like the direction he has been going in. I like the fact that he has continued to get better (even if he is not what the Oilers brass claimed he was going to be) and although he really does seem to rely on his partner a lot, it’s not like some younger “D” that need their partner to cover mistakes. Smid seems to need a partner that is going to bring offence while he is a stay at home type. On a properly built defense this is not a problem at all, you pair him with a Visnovsky type player and away he goes. On THIS team it’s hard to watch as there isn’t a partner that compliments him so well. I also think that if he was allowed to properly develop in the minors instead of being rushed up so the fans wouldn’t cry about losing Pronger, it would have made quite a bit of difference. I like Smid and until his arrows head in the wrong direction I think he is a valuable piece to keep. He will be worth his weight soon enough.



Now the “offence from the last pairing” ties into Smid as well because I think one of the good things the Oilers can do right now is pair Smid and Peckham on the last pairing and simply limit their mins if they are struggling. The argument I keep getting myself into is that if the Oilers pair those two together, they will not bring more offence than they give up. Now I agree that this is true, but I think that over all it wont be such a huge issue. I think that they would come out of the year as minus players, but I also think that they would have the capability to shutdown a whole lot more than they gave up. True, the offence wouldn’t come from them but as long as it is made up for in other areas it really doesn’t matter. What I want to see is a true shutdown and TOUGH pairing. They are both tough so that’s a plus, and Smid has the defense first mentality that starts breeding a shutdown pairing.



And then there is Foster. Foster was a pretty decent offensive defenseman last season and the Oilers seem to have figured they could use him to replace Souray’s shot. Personally I don’t think there is room for a power play specialist on this team right now. I think he would be best used a 5-6 defenseman, or an idea that really struck me as an idea that might work, is putting him on the 4th line and use him as a specialist. I have little care for keeping him or anyone else “happy”. I prefer to build a team that will have a lasting winning mentality, and whatever moves that will make the team better over all is a plus to me.

until next time.

Oilers VS Wild (a bit late)

So here we are again. Game day has arrived and I’m wondering if the time off between games is going to start to pay off.




The other day on Stauffers show it was said that there was going to be a line change up. They were going to jig things around and we were going to see a Penner – Gagner – Eberle line. I was ecstatic, finally I get to see if one of my “preferred” lines can make some noise. The very next day they were apparently scrapping that line and the only change we are going to see is a flip of Hall and MPS. Lol, and then today in the SUN newspaper things were changed again. So tonight is going to be up in the air.



Regardless of the lineup I would hope that having this many days off starts to pay off. Although I would expect that the first period after any layoff like that would be a bit sluggish, I hope to see a systems play that is gaining some cohesion, and some confidence gained with the kids. Small steps as long as they are in the right direction are better than nothing.



Until Next Time.

Oilers VS Flames 2.0

Well the game against the Wild was a disapointment to say the least. More sloppy play and an ineffective special teams was the killer. More than anything I am worried that the lack of confidence is going to show up in this game. Confidence is going to be the driving force both for the wins and for development of the youngsters. The game tonight could be a saving force. They learned early what it was going to take to beat the Flames and if they can use the confidence they earned against them on the 7th to help propel them back into a winning mode.

I expect to see Macintyre back in the lineup tonight, I hate to say it because I really do like the guy but Stortini is really not the nuke they need to open up some room on the ice. If they are going to win tonight they are going to have to match the toughness of Calgary and Big Mac is the best option for them.  

I am still waiting to see two things. The first is for Renney to change up the lines. (yes I will harp on this until I get to see the line jigged so the players are played to their strengths.) and second I would like to see some consistancy. It is my belief that the team will have a hard time growing until they are consistant. Once they have nailed down their style and system, then they can start working on the little things to get better.

Well, lets see how the game goes. Time to head out to the beer store, call/txt/email/smoke signal your buddies and get ready to settle in for another edition of the Battle of Alberta.

until next time.

Oilers VS Minny GDB

Thursday October 14th. Edmonton is in Minnesota to take on the Wild. The last meeting between these teams on March 16 2010 ended in yet another disappointment that was just another notch in the year full of disappointment. The game ended 4-2 and as usual the Oil were unable to answer a determined forecheck, they shrunk away from any physicality and mailed in one more game.

My hope for tonight is redemption. I would like to see the Oilers showcase their young talent, but more than that I want to see some solid systems play. I want to see well timed breakouts and a killer instinct. And of course a fight or two to show that they wont be pushed around anymore would be nice. I would expect the systems play should be better than we saw the other night against Florida. They have had 3 days off to practice and I would imagine Renney was not happy with the performance his team choked up last time.

So we shall see if running drills and tweaking the plays will have any effect on how things go. I suspect they will.

Now, last GDB I predicted that Hall was going to have his break out game. I think I jinxed him (and yet he still managed an assist in such a horrible game) and who would have known that the Panthers of all teams was going to take the play to the Oilers as hard as they had? So for tonight I'm not making any predictions. I'm going to sit back and simply see who (if anyone) impresses me. I'm looking forward to it.

until next time.

10/10/10 aganist panthers

Well that was a horrible display of hockey. Outshot, out played, out muscled yet the Oilers manage to pull out a win.

The first period was a snoozer at best. After being outshot 11-3 one would think that the team would have come out with fire in their bellies and turned things up. Instead they were out shot and the game basicly went the same as the first period did. Yes they managed to get three goals in that time. (one that could have easily been called back) but overall they didnt seem to generate much.

I am going to chalk this up to growing pains. It was well expected that the team was going to take time before they could play consistantly solid hockey. One note, I noticed that Hall was all over the ice again. Is this because he is trying to do too much again? Or is this a product of not understanding his role in the system? Renney really needs to get them to regroup and he has to define some roles for these guys.

The 3rd period was a bit of a weird one. Why did the 4th line recieve so much extra time? the Mantra of the team has to be "get another goal" not "sit back and try to hold onto a lead" yet thats exactly what it seemed they tried to do.

I hope they come out alot more crip in the next game. There is no room for baby steps on this team, they have to make strides to ensure they are competing all year long.


until next time.

Oilers VS Panthers GDB

So the Florida Panthers are in town for game #2. This should be an interesting game to watch. Both Hall and MPS had a hard time making things happen the other night against the Flames and I am thinking that they are going to try for some fireworks tonight. My predictions tonight are that Hall gets one goal and two assists while MPS looks dangerous all night.

I am still hoping they jigg up the lines and change a few things. I wrote a while back what I thought the prefered line structures should be. To elaborate, I would prefer to see a playmaker, shooter, and a power forward type on every line. Yes even the shutdown/energy lines should be built this way. It helps with development and allows for the turnover model. In any case, what I would like to see for the top three lines are as follows.

Eberle - Gagner - Penner
Hall - Brule - Hemsky
MPS - Horcoff - Cogliano

This allows for the playmaker/shooter/power forward style. it also allows the two most defensive forwards they have to play together and HOPEFULLY bring Cogliano along so he can finally turn into the defensive forward that the Oilers need. If he doesnt "come along" like they would hope, it would be time to move him for a 3rd line specialist. Someone with speed and the ability to drive the net.

I like the combination of abilities, the speed that can be generated and if the third line was to embrace a defensive role, they can use their speed to capitalize on turnovers night after night. Hall will be paired with the best playmaker on this team which in my opinion will allow him much more opportunity to have success.

I will try to put up a post after the game, but I will be tweeting the highlights as the game goes.

until next time. 

Well well well. After a VERY long summer, draft talk that damn near split the city directly down the middle debating Taylor vs Tyler, a Souray story that just wont die already... ooo and a DUI convictoin.... lemme see, oh ya! its time for some LEGIT hockey. The debate was finished, Taylor it is, Souray is probably the highest paid AHL player of all time, and Khabi wont see a jail cell for at least a couple of months. Now that all the drama is out of the way, its time to start evaluating the team again on a game by game basis.




Can you feel it? The city is abuzz with excitement over this new crop of Oilers. Can you hear it? Whispers of great things to come. There is a noticable vibration going on, and if you want to feel it, just go and ask ANY fan in Edmonton right now what he/she thinks of the Oilers. IF your ear isnt talked off, you will come to realize a level of excitement not seen in these parts in years. Most fans are resigned to understanding there will most likely be no playoffs, or if there IS an appearance it will be a short one. But just ask and you will hear many many MANY reasons for a fan to look to the future and smile.



Oh it is so very nice to have hockey back.



Game #1 @ home against Calgary:



Moment of truth, lay the cards on the table, for all the marbles... whatever you wanted to call it, THIS ones for real. And i'll freely admit it, I was a little scared for the Oilers on opening night. I had visions of Hall, MPS, and Eberle getting exposed. I had visions of a weak defense being unable to clear the zone. Heck at one point in a conversation we were talking about the odds that Khabi's back would go out on game 1.



Well I have never been so happy to be proven wrong. In my opinion, the Oilers learned exactly what it is going to take for a young and inexperienced team to win. The first period was a bit of a stalemate. To me, Calgary forced them to slow down and play "smart" hockey in which case they hoped that they could expose the kids and youth on the Oilers. Yes the Oil came out ahead by a goal, but really it was a scary period to watch, I had the feeling for 20 mins that Calg was going to pounce at any moment and show the kids who's boss.(didnt happen) 2nd period comes around, and all of a sudden the Flames were being physical. Banging bodies, stiring shit and generally making life hard on the Oil. Again I thought to myself "here we go, another episode of The Shrinking Violets". NOPE wrong again... yes the team looked shaky playing a game like that, but the players that needed to, stepped up and answered the bell. Suddenly there was no worry that Hemmer, Gagner or ANY of the small skilled forwards were going to pay in blood anymore. 2nd period ended much like the first, but you could see just a hint of an identity creeping through. 3rd period comes around, and I think the lights turned on. Everyone realized that speed was the true advantage with this team. And with speed, its much more likely that you will draw a power play for your team. This team should in theory be a hell of a PP team, and I cannot think of another team that has as much downright speed 3 lines deep. If the Oilers play to their strengths like they did the other night, they will win some very exciting games this year. I have no illusions that there wont be growing pains, and I still doubt a playoff spot is in the cards... but it's finally time to be proud again. Proud to be here to see this, proud to be one of the few that stuck with the team even when it hurt just flipping the channel to the next game. PROUD TO BE AN OILER FAN!



It would have been a hell of a game at any time, and it made for a great home opener. I cant wait to see whats next.



until next time.

Liunus Omark

Linus Omark. What can I say? the guys wasnt supposed to be making the team this year. By most accounts he was going to benifit from a year in OKC and ~maybe~ make the team next year. We were supposed to be talking about the "big 3" in Hall, Eberle and MPS. Now Omark is making it VERY hard for him to be sent down. How exactly do you explain to a guy that there is no room for him when he is performing that well?

So this lends me to think that the Oilers may actually be better off by employing 3 scoring lines and attempting to win every game 8-2 like they did against the Nucks tonight. It wont be a perfect year, not by a long shot. But it WILL be an exciting year. And it will allow the kids to grow and once they are ready to be legit NHL players night after night, then the Oilers can make the decisions on who to trade away to create a good shutdown line. Then again, 3 scoring lines may very well be able to work for them if guys line Hall and Hemsky can actually continue to kill penalties and Horcoff and Eberle can continue to face off against the top lines in the league and still put up more offence than they give up.

In any case, the game tonight was a very nice taste of what is to come with the Oilers over the next few years. Goals will be much easier to come by and excitement will not be in short supply. I just hope the Defence shapes up to be as solid as the forwards seem to be.


until next time.

Solid Effort, Solid Win

Yesterday the Oilers took on the Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre season matchup. Throwing all kinds of young talent at them, they showed the hometown crowd exactly what they are looking forward to. Taylor Hall scored what was probably his easiest goal of all time and MPS looked like a demon out there. 3 goals and an assist to lead the team to an easy victory.

The one thing that stood out for me right away was that this was a game they were SUPPOSED to win, and they did. Too many times over the last couple seasons they matched up against opponents that should have been easy prey and then they fell short by a goal or two. This was the kind of effort they are going to have to display through the entire season if they plan on doing anything other than finishing last again. (although a finish like that would result in a great draft pick again)

Renney seems to have really employed a system that the players can buy into. There were more than a few people that didnt like the idea that there was more of a "practice" feel to the early start of camp, but it seems to have paid off in spades. Spending all that time teaching the system rather than hoping they got it during scrimmage was the route that seems to have worked.

I also enjoyed seeing both Gagner and Hemsky on the PK a couple times last night. I'm not sure if this was due to the fact that it seemed there were more penalties than fans in the stands, or not. But it was nice to see them contribute to more than just the offence. (although both looked completely lost out there) It was also good to see Cogliano on the PK. I've said it before, this is a role he MUST embrace if he is going to find himself with a roster spot. The Oilers need a speedy guy like him that can check and PK on a regular basis.

I'm excited to see what this team looked like on the next outting. Once some of the cuts are made and they can solidify more of the roster I'm thinking that they can actually build a decent team. No, I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid... I dont think they are suddenly contenders. But I do think that they will have a great opportunity to grow and become a very solid team much quicker than most people are predicting.

It's a great time to be a fan. The leaf has been turned over and the brass is FINALLY starting things anew. This is just the first step to something great. :~D

Until next time.

Sportsnet One.

So, Rogers has unleashed yet another channel. One that is supposed to be the savior of Oiler hockey. According to the Oilers office, and Rogers Sportsnet the new channel should be carrying 58 regular season games, meaning that there will be a total of 81 games on tv and zero on PPV.

This sounds absolutley great. EXCEPT for anyone that subscribes to Telus Optik TV. It seems that for all of us that signed up for the contract and ordered what we thought was going to be a great sports package are NOT going to get the same feed that the Shaw customers are going to enjoy.

Right at this very moment I am seething that a friend of mine is watching the first televised Oiler game of the year, while I am watching (on supposedly the same channel) MLB baseball.

I dont know who to blame here. Is Telus the idiot that didnt pick up the proper feed? or is it Rogers pulling something off? Why the distinction between an "oiler companion channel" and Sportnet One?

If this is Telus, did they really think that Edmontonians would prefer to watch baseball over hockey? Is this some sort of negotiation tactic for them to get the channel cheaper than Shaw? Or maybe Rogers didnt like the way things went with Telus reps and decided that they would offer the free preview but would not offer the full content to start with.

In either case I'm less than thrilled. I was really looking forward to writing something about the game tonight, enjoy a beer or two while watching Oiler hockey again. and now I'm relegated to MLB baseball and writing about being choked that Telus screwed me!

Until next time.....

Fernando Pisani

Well, it was announced today that Pisani has signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. It seems that it is a 1 year deal, 1 way contract worth $500,000.

Good on him to find another team that can make use of his defensive ability. I am kind of disapointed that the Oilers didnt take the opportunity to sign him first. $500k is NOT alot to pay a guy that can solidify a 3rd line. A guy that would be the proverbial "good soldier" for the team, and a perfect fit to help phase in a guy like Cogliano to be the next defensive rock on the 3rd.

I'm not sure where Tambellini is heading in regards to building a compeditive team. Sure there is skill, but any good team needs to have balance in the lines and so far there is very little on the 10/11 Oilers.

Maybe Tambi has a plan, I hope so cause I find myself saying over and over that I dont know what it is....

Downtown arena

I have tried to avoid talking about this as I not only have no experience with "public funding" or know how Katz should use his influence to move forward on this, but it continues to be a hot topic in a time of the year when there is little to no news to talk about. So here are a few things I thought would be of interest.

Here is an article from Mark Spector on the value of a new arena in town.

Katz had a website put up, dedicated to supplying information on the new district.

The Edmontonian has a great view on the arena.



The "original" concept:


Daryl Katz lays his vision out for Edmonton.


Moose has a say on the issue:


Kevin Lowe has a say too (go figure)


The people have a say:


So what is MY opinion? well first off I think there is every reason under the sun to put in a new arena. It makes sense for the Oilers, it makes sense for the city and it makes sense for Daryl Katz. This is an opportunity for the Oilers to makes some money off the revenues from more than just the games. (which by the way hasnt been that bad considering the size of the market) The downtown area needs a facelift, this is a great idea for having that done. and Katz will be able to make his investment worth more than bragging rights with his "rich" buddies.

What I dont like is the fact that the idea at the moment is that the city is supposed to pay for the area (minus $200M) but Katz wants full revenues from the arena. That idea is not a sound investment for the city at all.

There are two ways I would personally back my tax dollars going towards the arena.
#1: Considering the entire project will cost close to a Billion dolars, and Katz is offering up $200M I would assume that a 20% share in the revenues for Katz and an 80% share for the city would be in order. This would probably include free rent for life for the Oilers and the Oil Kings, among whatever perks the city offers for "katz owned" buisnesses in the area.

But we all know that Katz didnt make his fortune by simply taking what was offered. He will want those roles reversed. Katz wants to OWN this arena. He wants 100% of the revenues and you cant blame the man for thinking big.

So that brings on point #2.

A good compromise for both the city and for Katz is that the remaining $800M is nothing more than a loan. (with interest of course) The Katz group can repay this loan with a surcharge on all ticket sales, parking and whatever else deemed feesible until it is paid. This allows the city to make a sound investment and make a penny or two in the proccess. There would be the standard land taxes and the arena & surrounding area would be subject to the same fee's as any othe buisness in town. This means that Katz doesnt get a free ride, and the city can actually make this decision fly with the general public. No need to raise taxes or hurt John Q Public in any way. Katz gets what he wants, the Oilers get a new home, the downtown core gets a facelift and the people are happy. its a win win win situation.

Now there will be negotiations of course. And I doubt it will be as simple as I make it sound. I also think that Katz should reconsider his position on Northlands running the new arena. They are not only a community oriented company, but they have a good track record with keeping Rexal 1 busy all year. There must be a compromise there somewhere. The city MUST get its due, and I would like to see Katz happy with it too. Im excited to see what comes of this.

Its about time the Oilers had a new home.

Later

Home sweet home

So I have returned from an amazing trip to the BC coast (Bella Coola to be specific) I came back looking to see what the Oilers have done while I was gone, and instead I find out the Oilers were dealt a Major blow with the news that Khabibulins trial has been pushed back yet again. Now I had wrote some time back that this would be great news for the Oilers as it would give them the opportunity to get themselves out of his horrid contract. But now, since they havent signed a legit goaltender to take over just in case he ends up incarcerated long enough that he misses part of the regular season, they are hooped. They cant go forward for the season with JDD or Dubnik as the starter because neither have shown they can take the workload.

So Sept 29th is the new date. Now the Oilers are hoping he beats the rap and can make it for the regular season because if he doesnt it will be a tough first part of the season. I think right now the Oilers should be focusing on giving the new kids every opportunity to succeed and having less than top notch goaltending will be a direct ticket to sucksville.

I'm anxious to see the direction the Oilers are going to take. Are they going to sign someone and hope that Khabi goes to jail? Or are they going to take this as an opportunity to tank another season so they can make another top 5 pick before they start focusing on winning?

Whatever the decision, hopefully it is made soon. The dog days of summer have settled in and I am going completely stir crazy for some hockey news.

until next time,

Tidbits

--So Khabibulins trial starts today. Now we will soon see what becomes of our starting goalie. Ill be keeping a close eye on that. If he goes to jail for longer than the 30 days, I wonder if the Oilers wont still wash their hands of him. ***edit*** I found here that Extreme DUI in Arizona isnt as bad as originally reported. Khabi should face no more than the min 30 days if convicted.

-- The development camp started yesterday. Everyone seems excited about the young prospects coming up. And for good reason. It isnt too often that there is so many bright spots to watch for. I imagine we will see all three of Eberle, Hall, and MPS playing on the big club next season. Who knows there may be a possibility of one or two more.

-- There is reason to believe that Bucky will no longer be behind the bench. Several people had speculated that this may be the case when the coaching staff was changed over again. I for one like the idea. True, the Oilers want some tradition there. But Bucky is not the right choice for a coach. Maybe he will make a good skate sharpener if they insist on keeping him in the fold.

-- The Oilers have yet to fill a couple more crucial holes in the lineup. Considering they still have not been able to trade Souray, maybe they open their horizons to more types of players to replace him. Understandable that they would want another top 4 D-man as a replacement, but by the looks of things it isnt going to happen. Time to find something else to help the team now.

*******************************************************************************

-- Lastly, this is the last post I will most likely be putting up before the 19th. I will be in B.C. for 10 days as of tomorrow enjoying a very long awaited vacation. I will have my laptop with me, so who knows if any major news pops up and I manage to catch wind of it I may be persuaded to put something up. But for the most part I will be doing nothing more than twitter updates.

Enjoy the summer people. I know I will.

The Bulin Wall

Ok, so we are all aware that Khabibulin is facing possible jailtime for his little *glug glug vroom vroom* incident. And we are also aware that Tambellini is looking to continue his rebuild. The Bullin wall cant possibly be an honest part of that rebuild.
But if they were to trade/buyout Khabi he would be admitting that he made a mistake. For one of the first decisions he made as the GM here, it would be a big black mark on his resume if he were to make that admission.

I personally didnt like the deal from day one. Twice the length of term the Oilers needed, to be able to phase in the young goalies they already had in the system. And twice the price a good vet like Roloson (eg) would have cost. Plainly put, it was a stab at a big fish intended to keep the new owner happy and it did absolutly nothing for the team. Guys like that are about to become a thing of the past. An honest contender isnt going to bank on a guy that oft injured, and a building team would keep him to very short terms and simply hope for the best.

So the more I think about it, I'm thinking that the Oilers are secretly hoping he DOES get some jail time. Nothing serious, I'm sure there is no animosity towards Khabi. But if he cannot make it to training camp, they have grounds to say he is breach of his contract. There is no need to buy him out or make a trade, the contract would become null and void. The Oilers can publicly say that they do not stand for drinking and driving, and they get to wash their hands with out any harm to the team. The thing that isn't great about this is the timing. With July 1 upon us, Tanbi still doesn't know what he has to work with. Is it worth signing a goalie this year? Does he take the risk of having FOUR tenders on the team? Thats an even bigger risk than signing Khabi to begin with. Now I suppose he can sign someone, and then send both JDD and Dubnik down to the minors if Khabibulin beats the rap, maybe even hoping one of them gets picked up on waivers (This way there isnt a backlog in OKC either) but it is a risk. The Oilers GM has shown some stones this offseason, but I'm curious to see if he has enough to make this particular move.

In any case, there are several goalies on the market this summer, and Tabellini may very well be thinking of taking a chance and signing (at the very least) a heck of a backup for Khabi (and at most) a new starter.

Damn, I cant wait till tomorrow.

Tyler Pitlick

So,

I've been doing alot of reading about this kid, and there is something that struck me this morning. He is going to be a heck of a third line center. Good faceoff's, decent speed, strong shot, and has some hands. He can score short handed and he has had plenty of PK time in his development. He is no where near a first line center, but if there are injuries, he could slot nicely into the second line role and he wont hurt the team. The more I think about this pick the more I am happy with it. He say's the right things, he is leaving school to continue his development in the WHL. He is everything a team wants in a good pro. I didnt much like most of the other draft picks after 31, but I think Pitlick was a hell of a choice and considering that the team has alot of skilled forwards coming in, there is little chance that Pitlick will be over valued. He will be a hell of a third line guy, and rebuilding the bottom 6 was exactly what this team needed.

Although I am aware that at the moment there is no room for him on the team,  I am very curious to see him play in training camp. He likes to throw his body around and he is a two-way center. This is one of the types of players this team is looking for. If he honestly impresses with his defensive game, throws some big hits while backing it up if nessesary and pots a few goals who know's he may actually make the team. And if he doesnt make the big club, he will be a player that will be just a phone call and a short flight away from trying again.

I am really in love with the youth movement on this team right now. And it has very little to do with the Chicago's out there. I have no illusions that the Oilers will be a contender right away. But what DOES have me a little giddy is that they are finally building an entire team out of the youngsters. Several of the needed role players for a good team have already been drafted or aquired and they now have the opportunity to grow up together. There is a good mix developing and as long as Tambi doesnt blow his wad and go sign a bunch of aging UFA's they will have the makings of a solid, long term team.

Jason Gregor has some great ideas on Oilersnation this morning for the types of players the Oilers should be targeting tomorrow. Very little there to disagree with. Let's hope Tambellini has the same idea and doesnt go nuts trying to land a big fish. I would like to see Souray gone in a couple day's. Wait for UFA season to cool a little bit and see what teams out there are still looking for his type of player. Then make a direct trade for another D-Man.

I'm getting excited. By this time tomorrow I will be hovering around my TV, computer, twitter and the radio waiting to see how the final roster will shape up. If draft day was like christmas, tomorrow is like New Years Eve.

I'm sure I will have more to come tomorrow :)

Cap Management

So in watching how teams keep getting into cap trouble I thought it would be fun to put out my idea of the "ideal" cap manament system.
It's common knowledge that every team wants to keep all their good players. And on the same token it's pretty common to see teams give up those players because they overspent. Either on that particular player or on lesser talent (like Horcoff).

So I started looking at the percentages that a team should employ to decide what they are going to spend on each line, Defense pairing and Goalies.

Considering that a team is going to ice 20 players, and 12 are going to be forwards, 6 are defense and 2 are goalies, lets look at the overal percentages.

With forwards making up 60% of the overall players, it would seem that they should have 60% of the cap spent on them. My guess is 30% on Defense and 10% on Goalies. So this means about $35.64M on the forwards, $17.82M on defense, and $5.94M on goalies.

This is approx $2.97M per player.

Now thats a HEFTY raise for a 3-4 liner and a giant haircut for a first liner so obviously there has to be some give and take.

Of course any GM is going to make things a little cheaper than what I will put up here, but assuming that, said GM is willing to go nuts tight to the cap, this in my opinion is the best averages available.

1st line------ $6.47M    --    $6.47M    --    $6.47M
2nd line ---- $2.97M     --    $2.97M    --    $2.97M
3rd line ----  $1.50M     --    $1.50M   --     $1.50M
4th line  ---- $1.00M   --      $1.00M    --    $1.00M

Defense:

1st pairing------$5.47M -----$5.47M
2nd pairing-----$2.50M------$2.50M
3rd pairing-----$1.00M------$1.00M

Goalies:

Starter--------$4.50M
Backup-------$1.50M

My idea on how a team should be run is that the 2nd and 4th line should be rookies and cheap vets. The 3rd defense pairing should be rookies and the 2nd pairing should be cheap vets. and the back up goalie should be a rookie. This is the begining of the turnover model. If a rookie is getting to the point where they can take over as a top line player, they get the pay raise, move up the line structure and the player they replace can be moved for more assets or picks. (this does require that the positions be built very similar in style so that players can be plugged into higher positions with out messing up the structure of the line) eg. If the top line center is a right handed playmaker, the goal would be to have the second line center ALSO a right handed playmaker. The same goes for defense too. The fourth line is designed to eventually take over for the 3rd line and so on and so forth.

Of course money would fluctuate a bit from player to player and having rookies in the lineup helps alot, but if the GM would recognize what the maximum salaries they can spend on each position was, there would be very little in the way of  cap problems. Lol, and of course they should really have their capologists on hand on July 1 to ensure they dont go hog wild signing guys for dollars WAY over and above what they are worth. UFA hangovers are bitch and they can last for years. If they plan on signing a second line player, they have to recognize that there is a maximum dollar value they can spend. The list goes on for all positions.

Teams are slowly figuring this out, and we are seeing more and more UFA`s not getting contracts that suit them. So they are either retiring early, or moving to other leagues like the KHL. This isnt as bad a thought as most people think. It is going to eventually drop the average salary of the middling players to respectable value and those said players will either be back, or at the very least when the new crop of middling players are ready for contracts they will be willing to get paid their proper value. Decisions on where to play will start to be made less on the dollars they will recieve and more on the structure of the team and if they will eventually have a shot at the Stanley Cup. Of course there will always be some greedy players, and certain teams will always jump at signing a player that is way over valued. But for the most part this will lend to more parity around the league and better overall product on the ice.


Until next time.

So Tambi had the brass to take the BPA

Who's going to argue that this kid isnt going to be here next year? A new face of the franchise and the perfect icing on the cake that is the young crop coming up. I for one am happy. This is a good move forward (although I guess they couldnt get much lower :P)

More to come tomorrow.

Quinn is out?!?!

So the Oilers made their news yesterday. But instead of moving a player or two for picks like I had hoped they would, instead they made the announcement that they were moving Coach Quinn into the head office as an advisor (scratch that)... SENIOR advisor.

Now it's no surprise that when a team finishes last in the league, at least "some" blame has to be put on the coach. And there were question marks in regards to Quinn staying on as a long term coach when it was clear that at his age he would be best served on a team that is in a position to win now rather than a team in a full rebuild.

But this sounded like a complete surprise to him as well as everyone else. This is two (thats right, count em TWO) coaches that Tamellini has messed with in ONE offseason. First Daum and now Quinn.

I really hate to take away from talking about Quinn, but that will be topic of every blog, radio show and newspaper by tomorrow anyway.

What I really want to talk about is how Tambellini seems to be running the team.

Not so much WHAT he has done, but HOW he has done it. Tambellini seems to be very much a man that keeps everyone out of the loop. I am of the mind that a team needs to be completely on the same page regardless of what it is about. Tambellini doesn't share this idea. So be it, but he is going to make more enemies than friends this way.

One knock on the team as of late is how the organization has handled the players. Now they are building a reputation for treating their very own staff like outsiders. I sure hope this trend doesnt continue because a team is only as good as its weakest link. If they start losing out on good staff because they no longer want to be a part of an organization that doesnt respect them, they will be left with the scraps out there and that will be worse than anything else when trying to rebuild.

I hope this GM has a solid plan up his sleeve. Because at the moment it doesnt look like he does. This move creates more questions than answers. I for one dont like it.

Twitter me this.

As of 8:37 PM Sunday 20th (Fathers day 2010) I am all set up on Twitter.

With all of the player swapping, draft choice making and the window for buyouts working its way to a close, I felt it was time to test out the Twitter waters. And with this fancy dancy new "smart phone" (how is a phone "smart" when I must to reboot it to get it running smooth again?)

I will be doing my best to keep up wth all of the current news I can. I will soon have all the links up on the blog, but in the meantime you can search me on Twitter (heazues) and see what I have to say about the goings on in the league, especially the Oilers.

Skill Sets

So I have had alot of conversations with a friend of mine that have revolved around (aside from simply the Oilers future) the skillsets of individual players. So I thought it might be fun to do a semi scouting report on the players the Oilers employ at the moment. I'll include some of the expected prospects the team ~should~ have in the lineup next year.

Now assming that the Oilers buy out or trade Nilsson, Moreau and O'Sullivan, they will still have a healthy set of players. Not spectacular. But I think there will be more than a few role players that can be used effectivly.

Starting at the top (based off my own lines I put out there a few weeks ago)

::::::Forwards::::::


Gagner: (top 3)
Pro's:
1: Better than average vision for the play. With the ability to score goals.
2: Willingness to battle. (even if being smaller means he loses most of those battles)
3: Displays leadership qualities.
Cons:
1: Faceoffs needs emense work. (mostly due to size and overall strength)
2: Footspeed is an issue.
3: Size is a big factor in winning battles, and at 5' 11" and 190lbs he isnt winning against the big defencemen out there.

********************************************************************************
Summary: I was surprised to realize just how far down the totem pole I felt our first line center stacked against the others in the league. If the faceoffs can improve and he can learn to battle more effectively, he could eventually turn into a 1st line center. As for now, he realisticly shouldnt be anywhere but the 2nd line.

Penner: (top 3)
Pro's:
1: Power forward with a natural born ability to drive to the net and stay there.
2: Foot speed is actually pretty good for a big man.
3: Very effective when digging out of the corners.
Cons:
1: For a big man, the physical play is sorely lacking.
2: Hand eye coordination in regards to tips, redirects, and picking up garbage around the net needs work.
3: Consistency is a huge factor. there isnt much of it in Penner.

********************************************************************************
Summary: Penner has alot of untapped ability yet He refuses to be the physical presence the Oilers need. With a healthy dose of toughness, Penner could be a very dominating force. Servicable first line player. Preferably 2nd line material on a good team.

Eberle: (top 3)
Pro's:
1: Premium hand eye coodination in regards to tips, redirects and picking up garbage around the net.
2: Ability to have a high compete level when faced with larger players.   (a la St Louis)
3: Neither buckles under pressure, nor backs down from challenges.
Cons:
1: Size will be an issue against the larger defencemen. The AHL may have large players, but its not the NHL.
2: Foot speed isnt great. Eberle is mobile and can find seams quickly, but the north south action needs work.
3: His ability to guard the puck is suspect.

*******************************************************************************
Summary: Eberle has a very large ceiling. he has the skill to over come many of the obstacles that face a kid moving up into the NHL. He has a bit of Ryan Smyth in him when it comes to the greasyness around the net. Has a natural ability to put the puck in the net.


Hemsky: (top 3)
Pro's:
1: Speed is a definate plus.
2: Stick handling is top notch
3: Wilingness to go into the hard/tough areas
Cons:
1: Turnovers are a consistant problem
2: Hockey sense is lacking
3: Playing on the off wing forces everyone else on his line to play a funny style that most players cannot adapt to.

********************************************************************************
Summary: Hemsky has all the makings of an all star player. He's fast, exciting, has well above average passing ability and is willing to bleed to make a play. If he was to gain a bit of hockey sense (the ability to understand when its right to put it all on the line and when he has to simply "dump it in" he could finally turn into the star the Oilers are looking for.

Hall: (top 3)
Seguin: (top 3)


player X:


MPS: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Blazing Speed
2: Choppy yet surprisingly effective stick handling ability
3: Defensively reliable
Con's
1: Unproven in the NHL
2: Must adapt to the North American sized rinks
3: Has yet to have a dominant role on his team.

********************************************************************************
Summary: MPS is ready to play. There is no question about that. He has an inate ability to cut to the net and make things happen on the fly. In theory he will bring a fair amount of the defensive qualities that were bred into him in Europe and combined with an unflinching shot and a great ability to break away from the play he will become a force over time.

Horcoff: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Has a good faceoff precentage (pre shoulder injury)
2: Defensively responsible (the speed he can achieve from a standstill helps greatly)
3: A decent shot in close to the net
Con's
1: Not enough offensive skill to be ever live up to the contract he signed.
2: Injury has kept him in the dumps for two years and counting. That shoulder needs time to heal
3: Takes too much time to adapt to a new system

********************************************************************************
Summary: Horcoff is a good soldier. He can play in any situation and he wont hurt the team, and he has decent enough skill on both offence and defense to be a worth while player on any team. His contract is much to high for what he brings and will never live up to it. But an Oiler through and through and that means alot to an organization looking to build a new identity (sp)

Pisani: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Defensivily reliable in most if not all situations.
2: PK ability really shines
3: Bleeds Copper & Blue. Willing to do what ever is asked of him to better the team
Con's
1: Colitis has been an honest issue for too long. May not be worth paying for the simple fact that he plays less and less every year.
2: Does not have enough offensive skill to live up to his contract.
3: Not quite big enough to "muck it up" during play.

********************************************************************************
Summary: Pisani is one of those players that Gm's would salivate over as a 3rd line player IF he was healthy. He can chip in goals, shut down the best in the league and he is a team player. His colitis is a damper though and if he is lucky enough to sign another contract it will be at the league min or close to it. The upside is that he is enough of a player that he can be used to help guide the new players as they come in and he doesnt seem the type to complain about his role.

Cogliano: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Speed is an asset Cogliano owns in bunches
2: Slick hands, especially in close
3: Willingness to battle along the boards.
Con's
1: Still belives he is an offensive force
2: Has yet to develop a good sense for the NHL game
3: Doesnt seem to be a very coachable player.

********************************************************************************
Summary: Great hands and poor judgement do not make a good offensive player. Cogliano has the stick work skills to be a decent Pisani clone and his speed is a huge asset. Once he embraces the idea that he is not the offensive forward he thought he was, he will eventually make a great 3rd line player.

Stortini: (top 3)
Pro's
1: More than willing to do what ever it takes to make the team better
2: A physical presense.
3: Has a little bit of Laraque in him in regards to how he can protect the puck along the boards
Con's
1: Not a true heavyweight
2: Very little offensive upside
3: Hockey sense is lacking

********************************************************************************
Summary: What can be said for a guy that has made the most with every opportunity thrown at him. Everything he lacks he tries to make up in tenacity. A big hitter when the sights are lined up. Speed is an issue but again he makes that up in his ability to forecheck hard when the puck is dumped in. Works harder than most to keep his job.


Brule: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Good accurate shot from all angles
2: Not afraid to go into open areas when finishing plays.
3: What he loses in speed and size, he makes up for in tenacity
Con's
1: A bit delayed in reaching his NHL potential
2: PP & PK are still weak points. If he wants to fit as a regular he has to hone one of those skills.
3: For a guy the "can" play center, he needs alot of work in the faceoffs

*********************************************************************************
Summary: Finally starting to come into his own. There is a bit of a shooter in this kid and he is just now realizing that his shot is just as good in the NHL as it was in junior. Speed is more than adequate for him And when keeping the game plan simple he is strong.

Player X:

::::::Defencemen::::::

Gilbert: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Above average first pass.
2: Defencively sound
3: Able to jump into a play and score goals
Con's
1: Not nearly as physical as a player of his size should be
2: Board work needs to be improved
3: Shot blocking could be better

********************************************************************************
Summary: A big minute eater that has alot of offensive upside while still staying defensively sound. Has looked great since being paired with Whitney. Big frame means that he isn't pushed around easily, but the physical play is still lacking. Top pairing defenceman on this team. and possibly on most other teams too.

Whitney: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Good head for he defensive game
2: Can eat up alot of minutes
3: Very calm under pressure
Con's
1: Outlet pass could use some work. (It's good, but with that poise a GREAT pass would help alot)
2: Not as consistantly physical as he could be
3: Offence could be improved. PP time for a BIG minute eater needs to be more effective.

*******************************************************************************
Summary: Very similar to Gilbert in the size AND aggression aspects of the game. The calmness he enjoys is something the defence has needed since Pronger left and being able to play big minutes is a huge plus. Has also looked better since being traded and once paired with Gilbert has been a top end player. Offence is ok, defence is better.

Smid: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Learning to be physical
2: defensive game is coming along nicely
3: Under rated board work
Con's
1: Foot speed is an issue
2: Hockey sense is lacking. Needs to be phyical BEFORE the play dies rather than just after the whistle
3: Very little offence. His first pass sense is sorely lacking

*******************************************************************************
Summary: Coming into town he was highly touted but being part of the Pronger trade seemed to break him down a little. Now that he is simply trying to play his game, he is doing alot better. The physical end of the game is coming along, and as long as he continues to develop his hockey sense, he will make a 3-4 pairing on any team.

Johnson: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Big body that can fill a role on a lower pairing
2: A natural inclination to jump into the play (although timing needs to be honed)
3: Has a decent shot
Con's
1: Timing when jumping into the play has left him flat footed more than a couple times
2: Not enough defensive skill to ever crack the top pairing
3: Board work could use some work

*********************************************************************************
Summary: Still new to the team, and not even a guarantee that he will stick. Has decent ability to jump into the play and with work on his overall vision he will make for a poor mans Gilbert.


Peckham: (top 3)
Pro's
1: Toughness oozes from this guy
2: Board work needs polish but the ability is there
3: Agitator style that can get under almost anyones skin
Con's
1: Not enough actual defensive quality to his game
2: Not big enough size to make the heavy weights of the league think twice
3: Foot speed is lacking

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Summary: Peckham is the epitomy of bad luck lately. He's the only prospect I can remember that has been ready to make the jump into the big league but has been hampered by this much injury. This is a bit of a worry, considering his style of play he doesnt seem to be very durable. If he can make it in training camp this year, he will be a valuable asset as he brings a lot of toughness to the back end and right now the defence REALLY needs it.


Now what Tambelini needs to figure out is what he wants his team to do. Of course "win" is high on the list, but HOW exactly is he going to accomplish that? Is he going to employ a speedy-score on the fly type team? Or maybe a grind it out, "system" based team? Or how about a boring- trap them and take advantage of the turn over type team? Maybe a - broadstreet bullies clone?

Its easy for people to say "player X" isnt worth keeping, or doesnt fill his contract. But rarely do people look at the role a specific player is supposed to fill unless its a scoring role. So hence they value players completely different than a good GM should. A good GM needs to understand how the entire system is going to work, then he needs to bring in the players needed to execute that system.

What would the Blackhawks look like if they had only a small puck moving set of D men?  Or what if Toews was just a shooter? How would the dymamic of that team change? I can guarantee they wouldnt be hoisting lord Stanley in parade after public event this year. Even on the Stanley cup championship team, there are upgrades that can be made, sure. The point is, there are role players on the team, worth a whole lot more to the overall system that the simple boxcars dictate. Yes, Toews is a great player. and based on his box scores he would be worth keeping on any team. but aside from his skill level, he fills a role on the team that helps enact a system.

Now there is a reason I left out goalies. I think that it is a bad model to base a team around the goalies. If anything, it is best to get/draft goalies that fit the style you want your team to be, rather than build the team around the goaltender. As an example, if a team has a glutton of defencemen that are good at picking up rebounds and clearing the crease, the only thing the goalie has to be good at is the first shot. (a la Roloson) If a team is good at keeping the shots to the outside, then a flopper goalie will work out good as they are more likely to be over active on the chances the puck IS close to the net. If a team has very a speedy lineup, a puck mover with a willingness to go into the open to make a play is a big bonus. Over all though, the goalie isnt what count's. A system that each player on the team fits into is what makes a good team.

Right now Tambellini needs to understand what he is going to keep based on the style he wants the team to play, and then start filling holes with players that match the same format.

Now onto my last point. I left out both Hall and Seguin aswell as two "Player X" players. These are the first decisions Tambellini has to make. Does he have a need for a playmaking cerebral center? Or a high flying goal scoring winger? Once that decision is made, make the draft choice. And then there are a couple holes to fill in the lineup in the "Player X" slots. He needs to target players that will have a specific role on the team and try to fill those positions accordingly.

Until next time.

Cogliano or Pisani? Or Both??

So I had a lively debate with another Oiler fan the other day. He is convinced that Cogliano has no place on this team and that Pisani would be a better fit on the 3rd line. We debated the merits for quite some time, and came to no solid conclusion.

For Pisani, the argument is made that he is already better suited as a shutdown forward and he can be relied upon in any situation.
Against Pisani, the argument is made that he cant be relied upon at all to be healthy, and what good is a player that ~can~ help shut a line down, when he will only play half the season?

For Cogliano, the argument is made that with his speed and stick skills he will fit along side Horcoff and MPS nicely. As long as he embraced the role as a shutdown winger, he could excel AND he has the potential to play on the top 6 if there are injuries.
Against Cogliano, the argument is made that he is NOT willing to embrace that role, and the team has to stop putting players in positions that they will not succeed.
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Now what I would do as GM, is sign them both. There is nothing better than depth on any team, especially a team that is going to have a fair bit of growing pains moving forward. I would propose that they use both Pisani AND Cogliano as a 3rd line winger. They would alternate drawing in. This could actually work well for the Oilers. Better than keeping either one of them over the other. Let me explain.

While at home, because of the matchups, the third line tends to be the defacto "shut down" line. Usually faced against the top line of the visiting team and given one job. STOP THE PLAY. Those are hard minutes to play and Pisani best fits the bill as a guy that can handle them.

However, on the road there is a different dynamic. The third line needs to chip in some goals because the top line is being matched up against the home teams checkers. This is a role best suited for a speedy Cogliano. Especially since he can ease into the role as a checker, while being able to use his ability to put some numbers up.

So what I would preferably see, is Pisani playing at home and Cogliano playing on the road. Over the course of the year, Cogliano would draw in anyway and more than likely it would be in the top 6 as there are bound to be some injuries or players that simply arent pulling their weight. So it's not like we would only see 41 games out of either of them. But the main focus for Cogliano would be the 3rd line wing position. If given a year to focus on this role, he could very well become a speedy version of Pisani. A medium level goal scorer with good positioning and stick skills, and another gear when it counts. Also a player that can be slotted into the top 6 in a pinch.

And for the Cogliano suporters out there that feel he should be slotted along side Gagner on the top 6 right now. First, he has proven nothing as of yet. And second, this is his opportunity to show that he not only can grow as a player, but that he is a team oriented guy. Something the oilers desperatly need.

I would give both players a two year deal. Pisani would be a much reduced rate, and Cogliano would get a modest raise. It would basicly amount to a washout in the "cap hit" department. Pisani should be on board with this role simply because there arent too many teams beating down the door for a guy that may or may not play the season based on how his disease is going. And Cogliano should jump on this as a way to finally prove himself. IF he really takes off he can either move up the depth chart somewhat and take a second line role, or he will finally have some leverage when going onto the free agent market. Either signing with the Oilers for another term or peddling himself as a two way winger that puts the team first.