What To Do With Mark Fayne?

It was a signing that was supposed to be a turning point of sorts for the Edmonton Oilers. After years of struggling to get their hands on legitimate veteran NHL talent to play on the backend, the club signed defenceman Mark Fayne to 4-year/$14.5 million deal on July 1, 2014. Fast forward three years and unfortunately things have not played out in the fashion either the club or player had hoped.

Oilers Say Thanks But No Thanks

These are curious times for the Edmonton Oilers. With Darnell Nurse not yet ready to return to the lineup, Matt Benning headed to the IR list and Kris Russell banged up, the organization was forced into making an internal move to help address their current situation. Instead of making the obvious move of recalling veteran rearguard Mark Fayne and one of Jordan Oesterle or Griffin Reinhart, the club decided to go with the two youngsters in their time of need. So what’s up?

A Curious Decision

When word broke yesterday morning that the Edmonton Oilers had decided to place defenceman Mark Fayne on waivers, it was rather difficult to not raise an eyebrow at the move. While the former New Jersey Devil has struggled mightily over the opening two months of the 2015-16 campaign, one would think he is still good enough to slot in front of a player like Eric Gryba on an NHL roster. 

The Return of Justin Schultz

While it may be hard for a fraction of the fan base to accept, the Edmonton Oilers have actually missed not having Justin Schultz in their lineup. By the sounds of it the 25-year old is on the verge of making his return to action and if healthy, he will be a welcomed addition to this team’s backend. For the first time in ages, it looks as though the Oilers could potentially have three pairings in which there is no real black hole on their blue line. 

Andrej Sekera and the Edmonton Oilers

It’s no secret that fans of the Edmonton Oilers have had little to cheer about since watching their team reach the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. With that said, most were hoping things would take a turn for the better under the guidance of Bob Nicholson, Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan. Unfortunately, those who were hoping for a turnaround overnight have been disappointed with the start of the 2015-16 season. 

Finding The Right Role For Mark Fayne

On a night in which the Edmonton Oilers spotted the Calgary Flames multiple two-goal leads but still found a way to get themselves back into a game they really had no business being in, Cam Talbot picked the worst possible moment to cough up an absolute stinker of a game-winner. While the Flames Michael Frolik may have been the star of the show, with as ugly a three-goal effort as anyone has witnessed in some time, it was the Oilers starting netminder who ended up with the spotlight squarely on him in what was a rather disheartening 5-4 loss. 

Sending The Wrong Message

The Edmonton Oilers are now ten games into their 2015-16 schedule and find themselves with a 3-7 record. While there were those who were expecting more from this group, they have actually started to show signs of meaningful improvement. Regrettably, it has not led to more wins and much of that can be attributed to the lack of quality players on their defence. 

Trading Places

While fans of the Edmonton Oilers would love nothing more than for the organization to upgrade their roster prior to the start of the 2015-16 National Hockey League season, many would prefer if they could accomplish it without parting ways with fan favourite and former first overall pick Nail Yakupov.

Will Justin Schultz Still Be Here In 2015-16?

During his two plus years in charge of the Edmonton Oilers organization, Craig MacTavish had more than a few stumbles along the way. While the hiring of Dallas Eakins as his head coach arguably played the biggest role in his eventual dismissal as general manager, there were two comments he made during that time frame that frustrated this fan base until the very end of his tenure.

One Ugly Blueline

While it was bound to happen, it certainly did not make the trading of Jeff Petry any easier to stomach. To make matter worse, the eventual return was something which will not help the Edmonton Oilers in any way shape or form over the next few years. 

Broken

As difficult as the past eight years have been to endure for fans of the Edmonton Oilers, nothing comes close to what they have been forced to watch over the first three months of the 2014-15 National Hockey League season. As bad as things have been since their surprising run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, this is on a completely different level. 

Time To Finally Fix The D

When Craig MacTavish decided to “upgrade” his blueline during the off-season, a large portion of the Edmonton Oilers fan base bought into the illusion that this team’s backend was going to be drastically improved over the mess we saw on a nightly basis during what truly was a disastrous 2013-14 campaign. 

Oilers win another but the waters remain rather muddy

It certainly wasn’t pretty but the Edmonton Oilers found a way to send 16, 839 home from Rexall Place with a smile on their collective faces on Monday evening courtesy of a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. 

Marincin continues to make things interesting

While the Edmonton Oilers dropped their second pre-season decision in four outings on Sunday afternoon in Saskatoon, falling 5-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks “B - Squad”, their win/loss record in exhibition games doesn’t mean a damn thing. 

2014-15 Preview: Andrew Ference

By the time the dust had settled on what was a rather underwhelming 2013-14 campaign for the Edmonton Oilers, Andrew Ference had taken more than a few shots for his level of play during his debut season in Orange and Blue. From the moment general manager Craig MacTavish signed him to a four year $13 million unrestricted free agency deal, expectation for the veteran rearguard appeared to be rather unrealistic. 

Klefbom will push for regualr duty in 2014-15

There was no question that Craig MacTavish was going to upgrade his blueline during the summer and he apparently accomplished what he set out to do in signing defencemen Keith Aulie, Mark Fayne and Nikita Nikitin to free agent deals. 

The clock is likely ticking...

The Edmonton Oilers announced the signing of defenceman Jeff Petry to one year / $3.075 million deal on Monday morning and the move clearly signifies a watershed moment between the organization and player.

More depth but nothing bold

Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish wasted little time in making his mark during the opening day of the NHL’s annual Free Agent Frenzy, inking former New Jersey Devils blueliner Mark Fayne and New York Rangers winger Benoit Pouliot to long-term extensions, as well as depth defenceman Keith Aulie to a one year pact. 

MacT needs to make this summer count

With the 2014 NHL Entry Draft mere hours away from taking place, fans of the Edmonton Oilers are firmly focused on who their favourite team will ultimately select with the third overall pick.  Be it Aaron Ekblad, Leon Draisaitl, Sam Bennett or Sam Reinhart none of these kids will play a major role in helping the Oilers improve in 2014-15.