Here is a list of player that I see as not here in 2011 - 2012 season for the Edmonton Oilers. These are in no particular order.
Jason Strudwick
J.F. Jaques
Colin Fraser
Steve McIntyre
Kurtis Foster
The following is a list of guys that I think might not be here for next season.
Jim Vandermeer
Andrew Cogliano
Dustin Penner
Ales Hemsky
Gilbert Brule
That leaves the following on the team moving forward...
Taylor Hall
Jordan Eberle
Magnus Paajarvi
Linus Omark
Shawn Horcoff
Ryan Whitney
Ryan Jones
Nikolai Khabibulin
Theo Peckham (aka Teddy Peckman)
Devan Dubnyk
Sam Gagner
Tom Gilbert
Liam Reddox
Why am I telling you this? Well...if the list of guys I think will be here turns out to be true, 10 guys will be gone from this roster and our team will have an entirely different look next year good or bad. In the rebuild situation we are in right now, the trade deadline on the horizon at the end of the month, and obvious contract / cap issues this team is facing...it's going to be a really interesting 8 months before training camp next year.
In my mind (and probably everyone else's) we need 3 things going forward. 1) Veteran tough defenseman. 2) Two-way center that can win a face-off and play on your third line. 3) Specialty teams upgrade, whether that be on the PP or the PK or both.
If Taylor Hall can be your first line center moving forward, then your draft / trade strategy looks alot different than it does today. The Oilers really need to figure this out before the draft. If Horcoff can be your Two-way center on the third line, then this also changes your draft / trade strategy. Tom Renney should try him there for several games to see how he handles the "demotion."
The issue is the special teams upgrade...what do you do? when we're as bad as we are? The PP needs a shakeup now. Let the young skilled players run with it from here on in as you have nothing left to lose (stats or games) and see what happens. If there is no significant change, then maybe you make a deal or draft something specifically for that in mind.
As I am not a coach, nor am I player...you might think I'm just talking out of my ass. But I do listen, watch and wonder what this team will look like in a year or two.
Trade Rumors...
I tend to agree with Robin Brownlee who obviously knows a lot more about this kind of thing than I do. He wrote an article that discuss how difficult it is to predict a deal. And, how hard it is to cover everyone involved to confirm rumors.
I personally don't believe any of this stuff regarding Penner & Hemsky that we've been hearing and reading here in Oil Country lately. I have watched this team long enough to know that anything is possible. And why would Steve Tambellini make a deal right now when he's in a position of strength? He should wait until the deadline when a team will be at it's most desperate to try and maximize any return for assets he may move.
Don't forget, we have some really good players that are coming up as well, so the strategy that Tambellini has may be a lot diffrent than you and I have.
GO Oilers GO!
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