Monday, October 31, 2011

Oil Notes: Andy Sutton Suspension & Hemsky Update

Word out of Toronto is that defenceman Andy Sutton will have to wait until Tuesday to find out if he will be facing any further discipline for his open ice hit on Colorado rookie Gabriel Landeskog. While Sutton's hit was not an all out head shot, at least in my mind, the big blueliner did connect with the youngsters head, which is almost always a suspension in today's NHL. Jeff Petry will slide into a regular top six role while Sutton serves his sentence but if he ends up with a lengthy suspension, look for Colten Teubert to likely get the call up. Teubert has been playing well in Oklahoma City this season and the youngster has the size that Edmonton would undoubtedly be looking to add back into the mix.

Ales Hemsky took part in practice over the weekend after skating on his own over the last week. He hinted at possibly being ready to go early in the Oilers upcoming six game road trip. The shoulder sounds like it is doing well and while Hemsky is itching to get going again, he does not want to return to quickly and find himself on the sidelines once again. It will be interesting to see what the coaching staff does when # 83 returns to the starting lineup. If the kids continue to play well asa line, look for the Oilers to play the talented winger on a line with Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth or possibly Sam Gagner and Magnus Paajarvi. One would guess they would be leaning towards reuniting Hemsky with his former linemates but he may be just what Gagner and Pajaarvi need to kick start their games.

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