TEAM PREVIEWS: THE EDMONTON OILERS

Introduction:

The Oil are a sexy pick for the playoffs this year apparently (and here I thought I was being original stating my opinion as to how good they looked back here http://breakingthetrap.blogspot.com/search/label/Edmonton%20Oilers) and I don't dispute that. I think this team is three lines deep, has deceptively good defense and surprisingly steady goaltending from Mathieu Garon.

The Oilers are prefectly suited to the so-called NEW NHL. They are a young, fast team with some grit on D. I've said it before and I'll say it again... be excited Oiler fans.

Key Departures:

Joni Pitkanen

Raffi Torres

Jarrett Stoll

Pitkanen really never clicked here in Edmonton. The jury is out on whether he will ever find the magic he had in his rookie season with the Flyers, but early returns in Carolina are looking good.

Torres is probably the biggest loss for this club as it is unclear to me that they were able to replace his kind of gritty defensive play in free agency or from the farm system. Cole was gritty once but I fear that his long list of injuries have sort of taken that part of his game away.

Stoll was a spare part on this team. Horcoff, Cogliano and Gagner are all excellent centers, Horcoff is already better then Stoll and Cogliano and Gagner will be in a year or two. He became expendable and will not be missed if the youngsters are up to the task.

New Faces:

Erik Cole

Lubomir Visnovsky

Cole has been brought in to a) replace Torres and b) be a gritty top line winger. Cole has never scored a ton of points, but only because of constant injury troubles. Last season his point totals dipped dramatically when attempting to play a more conservative game. I like him. I think he is a good veteran addition to this team, and I'm hoping, as I'm sure he is, that he won't have to do AS MUCH on this Edmonton team as was expected of him in Carolina. He's a very exciting guy and will if nothing else sell some jerseys.

Visnovsky comes in to be Souray's foil, assuming Souray can remain healthy this season. Visnovsky will be the passing/wrist shot taking pointman to Souray's "bite your freaking head off" slapshot point man.

The Offense:

The Oilers are another tough team to peg. They have a lot of guys that are consistently injured and they have another entire group of guys that have yet to really have their "breakout moment." The potential on this team is ENORMOUS... which means I'll be doing a lot of writing. So... getting right to it:

You Should Be Happy You Drafted:

Alex Hemsky

Shawn Horcoff

Erik Cole

Hemsky was almost a point a game player for the Oilers last year. This is not unprecedented for him as he put up 77 points in 81 games in 05-06 before regressing to 53 in 64 in 06-07. Hemsky, like most of the forwards on this team, tends to miss some time consistently but when he is healthy he is good. Real good. He should be among your top options at RW.

FACT: Jaromir Jagr loves Alex Hemsky. Jagr insisted that Hemsky not only be selected to the 2006 Czech Olympic Team but that Hemsky also play on his line.

Shawn Horcoff is a dependable centerman. Though he only played 53 games last season he had 50 points over that span. Horcoff is generally not an injury prone player and has fully recovered from his season ending shoulder surgery last season. He is a fantastic playmaker and has great chemistry with Hemsky. He should be considered a solid option as your second center since his PIM and his SOG have never really been spectacular.

FACT: Shawn Horcoff has Heterochromia, meaning he has eyes whic are two different colors. One is Brown and the other is green.

Erik Cole is not a 70 point player. He's not a sure bet as he has a history of injury problems. He's not the gritty player he was when he lifted the Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. What he is is a gamer and one that is going to get you points across all categories. Oh and he's a nice util option as he will be eligible at both LW and RW in most leagues.

FACT: Erik Cole was also my niece's favorite player before he was traded to the Oilers. She cried when she heard.

You Want to Be Ready to Snag:

Dustin Penner

Sam Gagner

Andrew Cogliano

Penner is a big guy. At 6-4/240 he's not exactly the most limber guy on the ice but he can absolutely bury the puck. He has a FAT offer sheet to live up to as well so here's hoping that the Oilers start seeing some returns on that this season.
FACT: Penner led the team in goals last season with 23, a fact which is deceptive when you consider Cogliano's hot streak at the end of the year, Hemsky's 20 goals in 74 games and Horcoff's 21 in 53. See.. I'll never intentionally deceive you.

Gagner is a superstar waiting to happen... or so the Oilers would have me believe. The 6th overall pick in 2007 will have to take a step forward this season if the Oilers are to be a force in their, mosty weak, division. If he and Cogliano can really turn it on this year then this team will be very very scary indeed.

FACT: Gagner was the youngest player in the NHL last season.

Cogliano finished fourth last season in rookie goal-scoring after a 9 goal outburst over the last quarter of the season. The 25th overall pick in the 2005 entry draft will also have to improve on his 45 point rookie season if the Oilers are to be a playoff team. There is nothing saying he can't do it. He is principally known as a playmaker and has thusfar looked very good with Sam Gagner. So if you need assists Cogliano may be a great option as the season progresses.

FACT: Cogliano is money! He led the Oilers last season with 5 game winning goals.

The Defense:

Edmonton's defense is... ok. Souray and Visnovsky make a lethal offensive tandem, and Souray will get under the skin of even the most seasoned veteran on the opposition. Gilbert, Staios, Smid, Grebeshkov and Strudwick make up a formidable supporting cast but are of no fantasy concern to you this season.

You Should Be Happy You Drafted:

Sheldon Souray
Lubomir Visnovsky

Howitzer. Boom Stick. Holy crap... duck. These are the words that jump to mind when watching Souray's slap shot. Souray was always perceived as a reliable shutdown defender with a booming point shot early in his career. That is until he absolutely blew the doors off, scoring 26 goals on Montreal in 06-07. The bad news is that he will probably never do that again. The good news is that Souray is still good for over 200 shots and 100 PIM and at least 38ish points. Nice right?

FACT: Souray currently holds the single season record for powerplay goals by a defenseman (a record bound to one day be broken by Mike Green), with 19.

Bad year for Lubomir. But thats all it was. One bad year. Here are some numbers for you. 67, 58, and 41. Those are Visnovsky's point totals since the lockout. One of those kids doesn't belong and its the tiny one. I'm betting on a pretty strong step forward for Visno in 2008, particularly with Souray as his partner on the point.

FACT: Visnovsky scored 39 points in his rookie season in 01-02.

You Want to Be Ready to Snag:

Tom Gilbert

I am placing him here because he performed admirably when Souray was out last season, notching 33 points on the season. Should either of the big 2 go down Gilbert will be worth a look.

FACT: Hey Boston College fans, you may not know it but you hate this guy. He scored the game winning goal AGAINST the Eagles in the 2005-2006 NCAA championship game propelling the University of Wiconsin to a National Title.

The Powerplay:

Ales Hemsky

Shawn Horcoff

Erik Cole

Sheldon Souray

Lubomir Visnovsky

I think this unit is pretty much set in stone, though if anyone were to get the ax it would be Cole. With Visnovsky and Souray as options at the point, Cole's grittiness and nose for the net and Horcoff and Hemsky making the plays this should be a very dynamic unit on the man advantage. Expect this powerplay to give teams fits throughout the year.

The Goalie(s):

Out with the old castoff and in with the new. Mathieu Garon is the new king in Edmonton, winning the starting job from Dwayne Roloson with stellar play throughout the season, prior to an ankle injury in March. Garon has started every game for Edmonton this year and has looked good doing it. Let this be a lesson to you kids everywhere. Never give up. Some day you too could be living your dream and getting paid 1/5 of what the going market rate is for your job while being in the top 10% of the people who do it in the entire world. Or... something.

FACT: Edmonton likes their chances in overtime. Garon was a perfect 10-0 in shootouts last year!

The Verdict:

Hard not to get caught up in it right? There is nothing on this team to hate, except for maybe Sheldon Souray and their current home unis, the latter of which will be minimized by the AWESOME third jerseys. They are fast, exciting and full of players that you want to root for. Lets go Oil!

BONUS: Remember that girl who loved Erik Cole. Well here she is. Look at her Oilers fans. You made HER cry. For that I won't forgive you. ;)