Well as an Oiler fan, the season is over, sure there are 20 some odd games left to play. Playing for pride, again. But lets face it, playoffs were pretty much out of reach after the first month. Can’t help myself from pondering, well ok what about next year? Will it be a step forward? Will it be a stumbling year again like this year? As like every year I will drink the Koolaid and start getting excited for NEXT year. I will now explain why.
A couple of moves Craig MacTavish made were very subtle, getting Ben Scrivens an Viktor Fasth. Scrivens has been brilliant since coming over from LA, do not forget he was playing great there, he has steadily improved his game every year. Fasth is a bit more of a question mark. He came to the NHL and had a really good rookie season, but unfortunatly this year he has been riddled with injuries. Don’t forget he is also a 2 time winner of the Honken Trophy. If you don’t know what that is it is the award for the best goalie in the Swedish Elite league. The only goalie to win it more is a guy named Henrik Lundqvist. Not too shabby. So at the very least they have to goalies heading into their prime and they can both compete for the starting job. Remember Dubynuk and Laberbera??? Ouch. Should be much better next year. At some point they are going to have to draft a high end goalie, spend a first or secong round pick and develope him, a lot of people think Brossoit can be that guy.
So the goalies look to be improved. How about the defense? They have stockpiles of young D in Oklahoma and they also have Darnell Nurse who is still in Junior, Dillon Simpson in College. Nurse is going to be a STUD, it will be a few years, maybe not a #1 but he will be a solid #2 Dman, he is big and mean and mobile. He can also play on the PP. The rest of them will be scattered between the #3 to #7 spots in the future. BUT right now and for next year as you can’t really expect any of the young guys to step in next year( Marincin did it this year and he has been a pleasant surprise) if they do its an awesome bonus. So that leaves us Shultz, who is still learning to play D, and it is sometimes said he is as dangerous in his own zone as he his in the opponents, but he is soo gifted you are willing to put up with it and wait for him to figure it all out. Ference will be back and his is a solid Veteren, really good 2 way defenseman, on a good team, he is a #3 or #4, but in Edmonton he has to play way over his head and slots in at #1 or #2. Petry will be back and he is inconsistant and shows bits of great 2 way play, but other times he is a trainwreck and makes you wanna pull your hair out. Larsen is a RFA and i actually hope they sign him and he is kinda like Shultz lite, dangerous at both ends but not as high risk as Shultz, he could be a good #6/#7 who can work the 2nd PP unit. Fraser is a UFA and so is Belov. I hope they bring back Fraser, if he plays under control and keeps it simple and is not playing above the 3rd pairing he can be a good #6/#7 alternate with Larsen. Belov I dont see bringing back. Hoping they bring back Mike Greene as he is a UFA on July 1st.
In this condition a man can’t get a proper erection in his sexual part or when he cannot hold hardness in his penis for tadalafil uk cheap a longer enough times to finish his sexual desire then it demands for treatment. The supporting star order cheap cialis casts are Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, etc. Before the invention of generic formula, viagra on line was the only available pill that men could consume but due to its very high prices, many could not generally afford to buy it. What concerns these battered women is that they have several years of experience in free sample cialis this field. The forwards are a talented bunch, we all know what Hall and Eberle can do. Nugent-Hopkins looks to be a great 2 way player but this year his offense has dried up and he still struggles in the faceoffs. Gagner looks to get traded by July 1st, he has had his toughest season yet, broken jaw for the first half of the year and never really getting back into a groove. So will have to see what happens with him over the summer or if he is brought back in September and this drags out like Hemsky. Perron was the Crown Jewel move that MacT made last year, his is an effective aggitating winger who will score 30 this year. Yakupov is a mess this year, a huge step back, it happens alot after a rookie season. I don’t get him , he seems too selfish at time to play a team game, if they moved him for a good 2 way #2 center who is under 30 I would wecome it. Gordan, Hendricks, Gazdic(I thought he signed an extension??), Joensu should all be back for the bottom 6 forward spots, that is a pretty good group to start with and maybe if Pitlick(who looke really good before his injury) and mabye a Veteren or 2 and the bottom 6 won’t look so bad.
So hopefully MacT make a few more shrewd moves, maybe even one or 2 bold moves like he promised and next year finally becomes the actual year they turn it around and the promising future becomes the present.
Please go to WWW.Hockeytalking.com for more of my thoughts on the Edmonton Oilers and other NHL stories. Thanks for reading!
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