Time For Oesterle To Sink Or Swim

These are certainly interesting days in the world of the Edmonton Oilers. With the NHL Trade Deadline a week away and Todd McLellan’s crew buried in the Western Conference basement, the organization has decided to start the yearly routine of shifting  players back and forth between the big club and their AHL affiliate. While the decision to recall Nikita Nikitin prior to Saturday’s tilt with the Colorado Avalanche was nothing more than a last-ditch effort to convince teams across the league there was some gas left in the veteran rearguard’s tank, the call-up of defenceman Jordan Oesterle is the move that should interest fans across Oilers Nation. 

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. 

An Easy Decision

While the odds may have been stacked against Darnell Nurse making the Edmonton Oilers' opening night roster against the St. Louis Blues, it really was only a matter of time before the 2013 seventh overall pick would find his way onto this blue line in 2015-16. However, no one likely expected to see him back in the fold so quickly. 

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. 

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. 

The Nikita Nikitin Mess

So here we are. On the verge of the quarter pole mark of the2013-14 National Hockey League season and the Edmonton Oilers find themselves in their usual spot at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. 
Despite having shown signs of marginal improvement in certain aspects of their game, it has essentially made zero difference when it comes to the win column. 

Another Failed Attempt In Beantown

With ten minutes to go in the third period of last night’s tilt with the Boston Bruins, it looked as though the Edmonton Oilers were about to end of couple of streaks. While Dallas Eakins’ squad came into this one on a three game losing skid, it had been almost eighteen years to the day since the Oilers last walked out of good ol’ Beantown with two points in their backpocket. 

Could That Possibly Be Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

After earning all of one point from their first five outings of the season and back-to-back games with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals next on their dance card, the Edmonton Oilers were staring at the very real possibility of starting their year off with a seven game winless streak. 

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. 

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. 

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.