If healthy, Oilers D could be far better than expected

Heading into what was supposed to be the 2012-2013 National Hockey League season, there were more than a few questions surrounding the Edmonton Oilers blueline. Their lack of top end talent, depth, experience and possible health issues, were all a cause for major concern. While those questions still remain, the club's blueline mix doesn't look as questionable as it once did.

Oil Notes: RNH will return with full cage, Sutton debates calling it quits

Friday was not a great day for the Edmonton Oilers organization. Not only did the Oklahoma City Barons drop their third game of the young AHL season but they also lost the services of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, after he was clipped by a high stick during first period action. Which came on the heels of Jordan Eberle leaving practice earlier in the day and being a game-time decision because of a sore ribs.

Peckham re-signing makes Potter a long shot to stick with the Oilers

Make no mistake, Theo Peckham wants to remain a member of the Edmonton Oilers and the organization would love nothing more than for the bruising defenceman to relocate his game from the 2010-2011 campaign. By agreeing to a one year contract, that will see him earn $1.075 million, it seems likely that he will get the opportunity to do just that. However, the signing of Peckham means the chances of fellow defenceman Corey Potter making the squad come 2012-2013, are highly unlikely. 

Oilers trade bait come deadline day

 

With the Edmonton Oilers no longer in playoff contention, the club will have some very interesting decisions to make, leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. This year's D-Day is Monday, February 27, 2012 at 3 pm EST and the Oilers look as though they could be a major player. With likely the most sought after UFA pending forward available being Ales Hemsky, one can expect GM Steve Tambellini will be fielding his share of phone calls leading up to the deadline. How I see it, the Oilers have five players that may interest more then a few teams that are looking to shore up their roster and make a run at a possible playoff spot or a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.

Make The Move, Acquire Tim Gleason

Edmonton sits with a 4-8-1 mark in their last thirteen games and certain deficiencies have become very apparent in their game. In their four victories, the team has scored a minimum of five goals a game but they have averaged 4.50 goals against in the eight regulation time losses. The Oilers seemed like they could do no wrong, early in the season, and it was almost impossible for the opposition to find a way to score on the Oilers netminders. Clearly, that is no longer the case and the lack of quality NHL defencemen, is starting to rear its ugly head. Edmonton has shown the ability to put the puck in the net, with regularity, but this team badly needs an upgrade on the back end. The time has come for Steve Tambellini to go out and acquire the defenceman that this team desperately needs. That is, if they still want to compete for a playoff spot.

Sutton Given Five Games For Hit

The NHL announced Tuesday afternoon, that defenceman Andy Sutton has been handed a five game suspension for his hit on Colorado rookie forward Gabriel Landeskog. The penalty seemed to be in line with what most experts were guessing Sutton would receive. Brendan Shanahan had the following to say about the hit.

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.

Game 10: Edmonton 3 Colorado 1

With Nikolai Khabibulin carrying the load the past ten days, goaltender Devan Dubnyk had been forced to sit and patiently await his next opportunity. That chance came Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche and the big netminder did not disappoint. Dubnyk stopped 40 of 41 shots, in leading the Edmonton Oilers to their fourth consecutive victory, this time by a score of 4 - 1. Ryan Smyth led the way up front with a goal and two assists and defenceman Cam Barker chipped in with his first goal in an Oilers uniform.

Ryan Whitney's Health Changes Things

 

When camp opened last weekend, word came down that the Oilers are looking at reducing Ryan Whitney's ice time to start the season. Instead of  logging his usual 25 minutes a night, the club plans on using him 18 - 20 minutes a night, in order to lighten the load on his surgically repaired ankle. With that being the case, the coaching staff will have to think long and hard as to who they decide to fill the seventh D man slot with. 

Player Profile - Theo Peckham

There was doubt as to whether or not Theo Peckham was deserving of a full time role with the Edmonton Oilers last season. Heading into last year’s training camp, most people were expecting him to take that next step and earn a shot at becoming a regular. Problem being, Peckham ended up having a very ordinary camp and did himself no favours with his performance on the ice. The club will never admit it but the reason he was allowed to start 2010-2011 in Edmonton was because of his contract status. In order for Theo to be sent down, he would have had to clear waivers and many in the organization feared they could not sneak him by the other 29 teams. That was a sound decision on the Oilers part. I have little doubt that nearly every club would have willingly taken a shot at the 6’3”, 230lb defenceman.

Team Toughness

The phrase "Team Toughness" is one that has been used by the Edmonton Oilers organization for some time now. Ever since the departure of Georges Larques following the 2005-2006 season, the idea of team toughness by committee has been the clubs mantra. The problem being, that not only did they not have a true enforcer most seasons but they compounded the issue by not having players who were willing to punish opponents night in and night out. Have a look at the 2005-2006 roster and you would see the following names:

Georges Laraque, Todd Harvey, Ethan Moreau, Raffi Torres, Brad Winchester, Chris Pronger, Matt Greene, Jason Smith & Steve Staios

Should the Edmonton Oilers Be Interested In Colin White?

When the New Jersey Devils decided to place Colin White on waivers Monday afternoon, many Oiler fans were all but ready to have Steve Tambellini’s head if he decided to not put in a claim for the veteran rear guard. Tuesday afternoon’s deadline came and went and no NHL team had put in a claim for White…which came as no surprise. It was common knowledge that New Jersey was offering up White since the midway point of last season but no team was willing to take on his $3 million salary for the 2011-2012 season. Everyone knew that if White wasn’t claimed then the Devils would buy him out. He has been a good solider over the years so there was no need to embarrass the man and bury him in the minors.