Season a write off...

Oh the panic has set in and everybody is calling for Lowe's head, etc, etc. I am not in the same mindset.

This is a team that was going to struggle to make the playoffs when healthy. The Oilers now have over 150 man games lost to injury. So they go from a bubble playoff team to a possible lottery pick, it really is not that surprising or shocking.
I have stopped worrying about wins or losses because frankly this team will not compete on a nightly basis. I am interested in two things.

1. Who deserts the sinking ship? What players will rise above a season of adversity and which players are going to abandon ship. Potulny, Penner, Moreau, Gagner, Brule, Jacques, Stortini are all still giving their all every night and are showing why they should continue to be on this team moving forward. Smid has made himself indespensible with his play this season. Staios? He still battles and gives it his all but you wonder if he will be dispensed with at the trade deadline as he believe he could have some value with a playoff contender.

Patrick O'Sullivan who infamously got caught avoiding a check on Hockey Night and Canada, and I saw it again last night is a player that looks like he has already bailed, Robert Nilsson bailed last year and most likely will not finish the season here. Reddox played well for a few games but quickly crashed down to earth and was sent back.

2. Which players are most likely trade bait?

Cogliano is a player that still tries but doesn't seem to have it on most nights, he skates like the wind but doesn't accomplish much. Deslauriers is looking more like a suspect that a NHL goaltender and if he doesn't recover quickly you could see the Oilers try Dubnyk. Players like O'Marra and Macdonald may start getting some more ice time. Gilbert is an offensive dman that just doesn't show enough to warrant another year here when the Oilers have many dman with the same skills sets.

Horcoff is always a common trade conversation piece but I don't see that anyone will take on his contract now or at the trade deadline.

Many fans think the Oilers will blow the whole team up. I don't see that happening either. The Oilers won't do a lot to stop the slide because in reality they are powerless to do much about. Oh, there may be some contract dumps but I don't see every high priced contact being traded. The Oilers are in a unique position to evaluate what they have because with the injuries the fans are going to accept that this team is going nowhere fast and will not put the pressure on the management to make a quick fix.

The Oilers will be smart to establish who are the players that have abandoned ship, and which players are not needed going forward. The mantra should be to dump the deadwood.

So I will watch this season but with a completely different mindset and will see if the Oilers come to the same conclusions as I do as the season wears on. Will some different players step it up? Will some different players show themselves expendable? It won't be as fun as hoping for a playoff time but fun nonetheless.

A team on the rise!

This may seem like a silly title? What the hell have you been smoking tonight would be the question many might ask me.

But bear with me. Most teams on the cusp of getting start scoring a lot of goals in spurts but blead them. Why? Because as they learning and spreading their wings offensively they forget the other end, turn the puck over in the neutral zone because they want to make that pass. They are feeling their offensive oates but sometimes forget that there are two ends of the ice.

Look at some of the players that are starting to blossom for the Oilers and their ages. Dustin Penner, age 27, Gilbert Brule, Age 22, Patrick O'Sullivan age 24. Gagner is still 19 years old and we forget that Hemsky is only 26. The young talent is here and more is on the way.

Lets look at some recent examples.

Chicago Blackhawks - In 2007-2008 they missed the playoffs but scored 235 goals, the most they had scored in six years but let in 235. The next year they went to round 3, scored 264 goals and only let in 216.

Pittsburgh Penquins - In 2005-06 they missed the playoffs but scored 244 goals, the most goals they had scored in three years, the problem was they let in 316! The next year they got better, they scored 277 goals and only let in 246 and lost in round 1. The year after 247 goals and only 216 against and lost in the final, the year they won the differential was actually less but I think we can get the picture.

We can even go back with the Penquins and illustrate it again though they were a little more slow in learning! 1987-88 the Penquins score 319 goals, the most they had scored in over 10 years but they let in 316 and missed the playoffs. They even scored more goals the next year 347 but let in 349 and lost in round 2, the next year 318 goals but a miserable 359 goals against and they missed the playoffs. Bob Johnson becomes coach they score 342 goals and only surrender 305 and win the Stanley Cup.

It is usually how it goes for teams with rising young talent that is on the cusp of turning into something good.

I get that sense in this team, the young talent is starting to score but the goals against is atrocious. The young kids are starting to blossom offensively, they will continue to improve in that aspect but more importantly they will improve defensively but it won't happen overnight. In fact this season will have more ups and downs than a teeter-totter!

This team just needs to stay the course but I believe we may have something here!

Dean Arsene plays his first game

Ok in normal circumstances this is not much of a story. Ok a rookie gets his first game, big deal.

This rookie is a little different though. He is 29, Has played 317 AHL games coming into this season, 109 ECHL games and 338 WHL games without a single sniff at the NHL.

He didn't get much ice time in his debut. 6:24 to be exact and his stat line is full of 0's. He was even in plus minus had no shots on goal. It wasn't glorious but it wasn't a disaster either. It was a fine game for his first NHL start but certainly nothing to write home about.

I just wanted to write about him because you can't help pulling for a guy like this. A guy that has paid his dues three times over and was just so excited to be in the show!

Congrats, Mr. Arsense! I will be pulling for you.

The next 10 games should give us an idea of where the Oilers really are

I submit that we really don't what this team is yet.

The first 10 games disguised some weaknesses, their shooting percentage was unsustainable and you knew that their record was better than their play.

Then the injuries and flu bug hit and the Oilers played worse than what they are.

The next 10 games are critical, the Oilers must play well to keep them in the playoff hunt and with the team being relatively healthy we should get a better idea what we have and if Quinn's coaching really is making any difference.

5 games at home, 5 games away. Seems like a fair test!

A few positives

I have been pretty negative about our Oilers lately so I am going to note the positives from the road trip.

The team didn't really get the results it wanted as they were only able to get 4 out of 10 points on the road trip but there were some encouraging signs.

You really appreciate what Sheldon Souray means to this team even though he has only been back for two games. He makes the powerplay better. His shot and the opposition's fear of that shot opens up space for the team and particularly Ales Hemsky to dangle. The opposition can not cover all the options and with Hemsky's passing ability he will find you open. It also opens up the shooting lane for Hemsky if he can't find a pass to his liking.

So it was really no coincidence that Ales Hemsky had his best game tonight and as much as there are many in Oilersnation that think trading Ales Hemsky is a good idea. As Ales Hemsky goes, so do the Edmonton Oilers.

The Emergence of Brule, Brule still gives me fits defensively but he is starting to create offence. Every time he gets the puck he creates something in the offensive zone. He looks confident. I think we start seeing more offense and production.

Dustin Penner just continues to shine. I really thought that he would slow down but I was wrong. We are now seeing the emergence of Dustin Penner as a legitimate star power forward.

Team concept. It was slow in coming but this team is starting to look more and more like a team and not a bunch of individuals.

Team Health. They Oilers are starting to get healthy again and they are still in striking distance of a playoff spot. I still think they are a playoff bubble team but perhaps we saw the beginning of what could be a productive homestand?

Time to face facts... This team is just bad.

Two years ago I argued it is not the coaching, Toe Blake couldn't coach this team. Perhaps I should have stuck with that thought!

Last year though, I thought that perhaps coaching was the difference; that if we just replaced Mactavish with another coach, things would be different somehow. I certainly was not convinced it was all coaching but I thought it would make a difference.

Oilersnation thought the same in varying degrees. Some thought that it was all coaching but that doesn't really matter.

Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on all of our parts. It was easier to blame the coaching than admit to ourselves that this team really is bad.

Certainly we all knew the team was unbalanced, too small, lacked grit but we convinced ourselves a coach would make a difference. Ah, how easy it is to fool ourselves!

Perhaps it has been all injuries and the team will improve but I fear that I am just fooling myself.

Oilers management seems to be under the same trance but if you listen to Quinn really closely I think he knows that this team doesn't have the smarts, grit and team spirit to compete!

Folks, I don't think it was coaching and I don't think it is the injuries either. This team isn't a good one and it is time for management to face those same facts!

The injuries just keep on piling up.

The Oilers injury list keeps changing but it is never for the better.

It is getting completely frustrating as a fan and I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for the Oilers. This is a team that was going to be in tough for a playoff spot and with the injuries you have to wonder if they will be in a hole that they just won't be able to dig themselves out of.

Steve Tambellini is in a bind, even if he wants to make a trade, it would almost be impossible as he doesn't have enough healthy bodies to dangle. He also has no idea what he has or doesn't have.

Coaching, has it made a difference? Who in the hell knows?

This was a team that was going to be in full battle mode just to make the playoffs with a healthy lineup! The Oilers are clearly in survival mode and all they can hope is that the playoffs are still in reach when they are healthy.

Hemsky...The new Scapegoat

Every year Oilersnation will pick a scapegoat when things are not going well.

This years target. Ales Hemsky! Unbelievable!

True, every game he will circle and make bad passes, true, every game he will deke two players and then the third and will fail. All this is true, but wait!

It is also true that every game Ales Hemsky will make plays that every other player on the Oilers can only dream about making. They simply do not have the talent, the vision or the skill to make those plays.

The play on the goal was an example of one of many Hemsky beauties. The puck bounces off Visnovsky, Hemsky finds it makes a great play at the blueline to keep the puck in and makes a perfect pass to O'Sullivan who one-times the slapper into the net! Why doesn't that happen more? Simply put, the Oilers would rather make an even prettier pass!

Hemsky will always pass more then he shoots because he has the vision and talent to do so but the problem with this team as they all feel that they should try to be Ales Hemsky!

What this teams needs is more players that want to shoot the puck! Alex Hemsky is going to create a multitude of scoring opportunities every game.

What this team needs is someone to actually take advantage of those opportunities and shoot the damn puck!!

O'Marra called up

In the latest attempt to just be able to field a lineup, O'Marra gets the call up and as long as he can make it in time for game time should play his first NHL game tonight. Nilsson is the latest injury casuality and MacIntyre got claimed by the Florida Panthers today. Chorney out, Smid in.

O'Marra has had a rocky road to make the NHL and last year got demoted to the ECHL. Whispers are that is finally getting it and understanding that his future in the NHL will be as a checker.

O'Marra's offensive numbers are not great, 2 goals and 2 assists but he could help the Oilers if he can use his size, face-off ability and show some grit. In fact he is one of the few forwards in the system that has a lot of size.

Should be interesting to see how he does tonight.

MacIntyre on waivers.

This was not unexpected.

The writing was on the wall early when Quinn gave his philosophy on players that can fight with their dukes but do not provide much else.

The writing on the wall turned into a giant neon banner when both Horcoff and Hemsky were injured and instead of MacIntyre drawing into the lineup, the Oilers called up Potulny and Reddox.

From a hockey perspective, it is not surprising or even shocking.

But, Steve MacIntyre was a gentleman, cared about the community and was one of the good ones. From a human perspective he will be missed!

Good luck, Steve. Wherever you end up I will be rooting for you unless you play the Oilers of course!