If I am the management of the Oilers....

[byronkentgraham]

have to admit, was kinda neat seeing 99\s record tied. didnt think in this post lock era that would ever be done again, and first, second, third star of the game.. thats pretty cool, way to go sammi, now get RNH back in betwen hall, and eberle

What record?

 

[storm1972]

Points scored in a single game, byron, gretz and coffey did it a long , long time ago, the league record is 10 set by Daryl Sittler, last guy to get to 8 in a game was number 66 Lemieux pre lockout

 

[storm1972]

trouble now is seeing his name still floating around in trade rumours, to trade him would be stupid imo, he is only 22, and has found out within his own game what it takes to succeed..... Cant say that or Hemmer, of Magnus. Magnus would be an amazing power forward in this league, if he would just put his heart, and legs into the game, he is very gifted and has slick hands, but he isnt using either of them, and i think this is because of the influx of other youth stealing the spot light. Look at Eberle, he has a flair for the dramatic, and scores some amazing goals and when the team needs him, Hall, well what can you say about him, give him another year and with his speed he is going to be very hard to stop, and then there is RNH, this kid sees every square inch of the ice and knows where everyone else is at all times. If management hangs on to these three, and brings in a proven goaltender and d-man, this team will be unstoppable in 2-3 years.

 

[S.W.A.T.]

Plug, dump him while he is still worth a dollar

 

[ridehard1212]

im a nucks fan.. but i will say oilers are an exciting up and coming team, they need alot more the "a goalie and A defence"(to be unstopable!!!lol)
but never the less.. if you guys pick up some depth for next season i really cant see u not in the playoffs.. and i would love a oilers/nucks series.. good offensive hockey!

 

[takethebounce]

I would still trade Gagner if the return was right. He is an RFA next year. He might demand the world. His value is high in the eyes of the fans right now, doesn't mean it is to the rest of the league. One good game plus a few goals doesn't make a career. Fluke? Maybe not but they have been waiting a long time for him to show up. Now do you wait another 80+ games for him to show up again?

Paajarvi is a prospect that needs to have the style of game he plays changed. I still say he is a bigger Cogliano. Fast but no hands to finish. Put some weight on him and have him go to the net rather than try to flank the D on the wing every play.

The D is just about set for next year. Whitney ( if he stays healthy) Smid, Gilbert, Sutton, Potter, and most likely Petry. Fedun is skating again. Could he be the 7th guy next year if he heals up? Likely. I can't see them signing Barker again unless they can move Petry for a good asset. Peckham, an RFA but they will swap prospects or take a late draft pick for him if they can get it in a package. Teubert just isn't good enough. Chorney and Plante might be signed again to play in OKC.

There are still some holes to fill for next year. Stuck with Horcoff, the 3 kids are good, Jones, Eager and Bellanger likely aren't going anywhere. Lander will most likely stick around for the 4th line, MPS if they don't send him down or trade him and if Smyth gets a 1 year? Deffinely lacking some scoring depth.

I see too many 3rd line players in that group. Lets say it looks like this

Ebs, RNH, Hall
Smyth, Horcoff, Hemsky(if they sign him or Omark but Omark is not a good fit with those two)
MPS, Lander, (future player to be named)
Jones, Bellanger, Eager.

meh...hard to be happy about that.

 

[storm1972]

Smitty not going anywhere before July, so the word on the street today is, i think Mags, is big enough but needs some serious tuning, same with Omark very skillful, just arent putting it to proper use, this game today is all about speed, and putting traffic in front, if your not going fast , and going to the "dirty" areas i dont care if your a re incarnated Gretzky, Kurri, and Coffey combined.. your not going to score.

 

[takethebounce]

Smitty not going anywhere before July, so the word on the street today is, i think Mags, is big enough but needs some serious tuning, same with Omark very skillful, just arent putting it to proper use, this game today is all about speed, and putting traffic in front, if your not going fast , and going to the "dirty" areas i dont care if your a re incarnated Gretzky, Kurri, and Coffey combined.. your not going to score.

Watching that game last night, Edmonton owned the Leafs in the second period, and managed to keep some momentum in the thrid. Everyone was skating and more were getting physical.

It pains me to see someone pass the puck to Horcoff. He has no hands to finish. Too many times the line changes were slow, left people with no support deep in the attack zone then causes a turn over. Way too many mistakes by Barker last night. I figure he doesn't feel he is getting resigned so he has given up. Bring up a prospect for the remainder of the season and bench Barker. Give some kids a reason to want to play hard come next training camp.

Hemsky has said he doesn't want 3rd line minutes either, last night was the first time I have seen him compete for an entire game. He didn't break in half either.

Do you keep the top line the same with :

Hall, Gagner, Eberle and maybe try
MPS, RNH, Hemsky (pending they resign him I like the idea of this line)
Smyth, Horcoff, Jones
Eager, Bellanger (insert anyone)

If so, what happens to Lander? Play him on the 4th line wing?

Or move Gagner to the wing, but that screws up your 3rd and 4th line as you need to move a center and Horcoff and Bellanger only belong on the 3rd and 4th.

I would still rather see a big top line center between Hall and Eberle, someone who can make room out there for Ebs. Still the best player on the team!

Horcoff might be a leader in the dressing room, but he doesn't show it on the ice. Get physical, win some battles.

 

[storm1972]

Watching that game last night, Edmonton owned the Leafs in the second period, and managed to keep some momentum in the thrid. Everyone was skating and more were getting physical.

It pains me to see someone pass the puck to Horcoff. He has no hands to finish. Too many times the line changes were slow, left people with no support deep in the attack zone then causes a turn over. Way too many mistakes by Barker last night. I figure he doesn't feel he is getting resigned so he has given up. Bring up a prospect for the remainder of the season and bench Barker. Give some kids a reason to want to play hard come next training camp.

Hemsky has said he doesn't want 3rd line minutes either, last night was the first time I have seen him compete for an entire game. He didn't break in half either.

Do you keep the top line the same with :

Hall, Gagner, Eberle and maybe try
MPS, RNH, Hemsky (pending they resign him I like the idea of this line)
Smyth, Horcoff, Jones
Eager, Bellanger (insert anyone)

If so, what happens to Lander? Play him on the 4th line wing?

Or move Gagner to the wing, but that screws up your 3rd and 4th line as you need to move a center and Horcoff and Bellanger only belong on the 3rd and 4th.

I would still rather see a big top line center between Hall and Eberle, someone who can make room out there for Ebs. Still the best player on the team!

Horcoff might be a leader in the dressing room, but he doesn't show it on the ice. Get physical, win some battles.

Horcoff is around because he can win a few draws, RNH is a skilled center, but is very young and still learning it at the nhl level, as far as Hemmer goes, he will be moved this year , they hesitated right to the last minutes of the deadline last year, id be very , very amazed if he isnt moved to a contender this year. Detroit is my guess, or possibly LA. He may not want 3rd line minutes, but he sure as hell isnt doing anything to earn first or second line minutes, Edmonton has waited long enough on him, IMO, he is very gifted but needs a similar gifted player to feed him constantly. ( my guess and just a hunch watch for a Pavel / Hemmer dou.

 

[takethebounce]

Who hesitated? STambo did the most signings in the opening 10 minutes of FreeTrade day last year? Or do you mean the trade deadline for this year? I can see that, yes.

I don't disagree that Hemsky deserves anything more than 3rd line minutes. He has always been a bit of a sour puss hacking and slashing at guys when he gets frustrated.

Deffinetly, move him, but its hard to move someone when they aren't performing and right now they don't want to lose him for nothing.

The only reason Horcoff is around is because they can't trade him. NTC.

There is still a rough 3 plus years ahead for this team...anything is better than the 10 plus years its going to take Calgary to build up enough young talent to do something.

 

[storm1972]

Not sure if its just a NTC, watching RNH at the beginning of the season taking draws was very woesome to say the least he was averaging 5 percent, working with horcoff a bit, shot that percentage up by a mile, so i think its a bit of the reasoning he is still here, they are playing it safe at this point and letting their youth develope at the NHL level, and not in the minors, the days of burrying your young first rounders in the minors for 2 years or so, is becoming less and less frequent., Come to camp prepared and play for your dream, after that its all uphill if you put your heart on your sleeve.Look at smitty hes a class act, goes to the dirty area every time he has the chance, and it works for him, having the youth see this regularily is going to wear off on them.