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. 

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. 

Growing Pains

With the Edmonton Oilers mere days away from starting their 2015-16 schedule, the organization finally pulled the plug on the Nikita Nikitin experiment. While you can bet management was hoping the veteran blueliner would rebound from what was a disastrous first season in Oilers silks, Peter Chiarelli and company wasted little time in recognizing the situation for what it was.

Square Peg For A Round Hole

It is no secret that the Edmonton Oilers need to add at least one veteran defenceman capable of playing top four minutes along their blueline. Be it via trade or the unrestricted free agent market, Peter Chiarelli is going to have his work cut out for him when it comes to upgrading his backend.

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. 

Preparing For A Rough Ride

After losing their eleventh straight game, the Toronto Maple Leafs had to have been licking their chops at the chance of facing the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre. As bad as the Leafs have been over the last six or so weeks, it was always just a matter of time before they would stumble in to a victory. 

All Things Considered....

Isn’t funny how a couple of wins against the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks can seemingly change the perception of what the Edmonton Oilers are. Apparently knocking off a pair of Western Conference powerhouses is supposed to mean Todd Nelson’s side should have next to no trouble with a team “like” the Florida Panthers. 

Positives

It may not have been the fashion in which the Edmonton Oilers were hoping to end 2014 but in a sense, it was the perfect finish to what has truly been a year to forget for all of Oilers Nation.

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. 

Simple Question....Why?

With the Edmonton Oilers in the midst of a three game losing skid, it appears as though Dallas Eakins has decided to push the panic button heading into tonight’s matchup against the Boston Bruins. 

An Unjust Result

As far as an evening of hockey goes, Saturday was one that both the Edmonton Oilers and their fans would love to forget. As if dropping a third consecutive decision to the Vancouver Canucks in their first eleven outings of 2014-15 wasn’t already bad enough, the Oilers managed to also lose the services of Taylor Hall during yesterday’s 3-2 loss at Rexall Place. 

Darnell Nurse earns his shot

After completing their pre-season schedule with 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers were left with some rather difficult decisions to make prior to the start of their 2014-15 schedule. 

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. 

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.

Is signing Nikitin to a long term deal the way to go?

When news broke of the Edmonton Oilers obtaining the rights of Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Nikita Nikitin the two words that immediately came to mind were “how long”. Clearly the Oilers have interest in signing the player but at what cost? After all, we are talking about a third pairing guy who would likely be asked to play top four minutes along Dallas Eakins’ blueline in 2014-15.

Upgrading the Blueline

With the both the NHL Entry Draft and Unrestricted Free Agency just around the corner, Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish will have some very tough decisions to make over the next couple of weeks. He will undoubtedly be trying his very best to improve this club for the upcoming 2014-15 season and you can bet his primary focus will be on the Oilers blueline.