Sunday, July 07, 2013

Oilers add Jones to a suddenly overcrowded forward group


2013 was a tough year for Edmonton Oilers winger Ryan Jones. Thanks to the NHL Lockout, Jones was unable to start what would have been his third full season in Orange and Blue and final year of his contract, on time. To make matters worse, he suffered a freak eye injury in late December, delaying the start of his year even further and ultimately cost him the first month of the season.

Saturday, July 06, 2013

MacTavish starts reconstruction of Oilers roster

 
It started with the trading of captain Shawn Horcoff on Thursday evening and continued early Friday morning. Everyone was expecting Craig MacTavish to be busy on the opening day of unrestricted free agency and the Edmonton Oilers GM did not disappoint. The organization wasted little time in announcing a trio of the signings, veteran defenceman Andrew Ference, centre Boyd Gordon and goaltender Jason Labarbera.

Friday, July 05, 2013

Horcoff leaves town with head held high


Edmonton Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff will have a new home at some point on Friday morning. Word is the veteran centre has been traded to the Dallas Stars, in exchange for a 2016 seventh round pick and defenceman Philip Larsen. Not exactly a king's ransom but a return which should have been expected, considering the Stars agreed to taken on his entire $5.5 million cap hit, for the next two seasons.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Oilers should focus on finding a No. 2, not a starting netminder


There those who feel the Edmonton Oilers are set in goal with Devan Dubnyk as their starting netminder. There are others, myself included, who feel the twenty-seven year old has taken huge strides forward in recent years but still struggles to shut the door when necessary. Unfortunately for Dubnyk, his general manager appears to be part of group two, leading to speculation the Oilers might just be in the market for a new starting netminder.

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Oilers have an impressive looking trio in Klefbom, Nurse and Schultz


Over the last number of years, the Edmonton Oilers have unjustly taken heat from more than a few so-called experts, for not addressing their blueline at the NHL Entry Draft. However, had any of them taken the time to look back at look at what they actually did, they would have see the complete opposite. While the organization did use their first overall picks from 2010-2012 on Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov, they did add a fair amount of young talent to their D core since the 2010 Draft.

Monday, July 01, 2013

MacTavish played it safe and smart at the NHL Entry Draft


When Craig MacTavish took over as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, he promised fans he would make the necessary "bold moves" to improve the hockey club. In the minds of many, those moves needed to start happening at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately for them, the fireworks they were hoping to see never materialized and not a single "bold move" took place.