30 teams in 30 days: Edmonton Oilers
Finished: 11th western conference
Leading scorers: Ales Hemsky 66, Sheldon Souray 53, Shawn Horcoff 53, Tom Gilbert 45
Who did they add?: Nikolai Khapibulin
Who did they lose?: Ales Kotalik, Dwayne Roloson
Overview: Since losing to Canes in the 06’ Stanley Cup finals, things aren’t so bright in oil country. The Oilers are best described as underachievers, a bunch of big money, talented guys that just don’t seem to produce up to par year in and year out. The forward group is led by Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff and Dustin Penner. These guys should be able to put up more than the 66, 53 and 37 points the put up, respectively. Penner was even the center of a scandal involving the Anaheim Ducks where he was signed to an offer sheet by them, but then the Oilers secretly signed him to an offer sheet that Penner signed. Many expected Penner to be a BIG producer in Edmonton, but he has yet to show this. The rest of Edmonton’s forwards are young and talented, great in a few years. The defense is led my Sheldon Souray, who is infamous for his big shot, not his defensive play. Behind him is Denis Grebeshkov, Ladislav Smid, Tom Gilbert, Steve Staios and Lubomir Visnovski. This is a solid group that is tough and able to produce points. The goaltending is solid, with Nikolai Khapibulin taking over the starting duties, backed up by Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, the young phenom. Edmonton can be a great team, if everyone produces like they should and they will make the playoffs, if everyone produces like they should. If not, then look for them to finish bottom 6 in the west and miss the playoffs yet again.
Winners or losers?: The Oilers are losers this offseason. They haven’t yet added a veteran forward to replace Ryan Smyth, who’s loss has really taken its toll. They need a veteran presence to lead all their young forwards. They are also rumored to be in on the Dany Heatley sweepstakes, which in my opinion makes them losers. Yes, Heatley is a 50 goal scorer and what Edmonton is looking for, but giving up Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid and Dustin Penner seems like too big a price to pay for a guy who stands in front of the net and waits for a pass, the whole game.
