One day after being aquired by the Predators in deal that brought a 2nd round draft pick to the Oilers, Grebeshkov literally walked across the hall in Nashville to join his new team.

A player who in Edmonton spent more time at the end of a million complaints about his lack of defence and total ability to turn the puck over, Grebeshkov did what no team wants to see right after a trade -- he played a pivitol role in his former teams loss with a goal and an assist.

As it is, and will likely be tomorrow until another name is moved an occupies some of the conversation from an Oilers standpoint; those same fans who all year had terrible things to say about Grebeshkov are now set to jump all over the Edmonton Oilers for moving a player for "merely" a 2nd round draft pick, using his two point night as evidence the Oilers made a mistake.

But trust me, the Oilers didn't make a mistake.

Grebeshkov, who has been a thorn in the side of Oiler management since his arrival for Marc-Andre Bergeron, has proven to be one of Edmonton's best weapons at times from the blueline to one of the worst offenders of major collapses and sheer bonehead plays costing the Oilers victories. The same type of comparisons get made frequently to the likes of a Robert Nilsson and an Ethan Moreau, two players most Oilers fans would like to see added to the list of names headed to another NHL city on Wednesday and for nothing in return if it took that much.

If you compare the movement of players so far at this deadline since the Olympics broke, only Ponikarovsky was the target in a move by a playoff bound team, the rest being offensive minded defencemen. None of whom by the way have attracted more than a 2nd round selection. Give Tambellini credit for getting 2nd rounder of the bunch considering Nashville's standing in the NHL right now.

Add to that, Grebeshkov is a higher end cap hit, a player that the Oilers deemed expendable, with a plethora of the same style defensemen much harder to move and most importantly a contract, which if the Oilers chose to fight for next season would be forced to offer $3 million per season to keep. Grebeshkov wasn't worth $3 million when he got it this year, and he definitely isn't worth it in 2010/2011 when the Oilers can't afford to overpay any new contracts based on production, which Grebs hasn't provided.

As Oiler fans it's clear that the Edmonton Oilers have a lot of players that might be interesting to other teams if not for their contracts. Of the players to move to help the Oilers out, only a name like Fernando Pisani seems to be generating interest and he's one of the few names on the team with no contract restriction next season.

Oiler fans should be prepared for a slower day on Wednesday. One that won't likely return any fresh, new or exciting faces. Should the Oilers make moves, the odds are that 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks are what comes back.

Of course, that won't be for lack of trying on the part of Tambellini. What may shock some people are the names people aren't expecting to move that might go.. ala Dustin Penner.

I won't put any money on it, nor do I think it's a likely scenario, but I've heard a few rumblings.

In what shouldn't be a surprise by any stretch, the Oilers have begun what might be a slow process in shedding some salary from the team and moved defenseman Denis Grebeshkov to the Nashville Predators for a 2nd round pick in 2010.

To me, this is a smart move. Grebeshkov, who was overpaid for his one year of high offensive production, has really come back to reality and had a poor year for a player making more than $3 million per season.

With the Oilers need to really move salary from the back end and the arrival of players like Taylor Chorney and Theo Peckham, keeping a player who at any time could bolt to Russia and the KHL as an RFA meant getting something in return now makes sense.

Grebeshkov, who is viewed highly in Russia as a valued offensive defenseman would have been a target internationally and the Oilers could ill afford to overpay for his lack of production next year when the salary cap is bound to hit the Oilers hard.

This sounds like a broken record. How much can one team add up missing man games due to injury? The Oilers are posed to shatter records in the NHL this year if this pace continues. Here is the latest in a new string of players missing from the roster at practice.

Quinn gave the media the following news:

Mike Comrie: "has got mono. He's not going to play or practice until he's through the full phase of it."

*Oilers Insider Note: this is something that could be much worse than what fans are joking around calling the "kissing disease". Comrie hasn't been healthy since the flu thanks to complications with his asthma. This is likely just an extension of what's been ailing him and we could see Comrie miss some lengthy game action.

Ethan Moreau: "When he came this morning to the rink, our medical staff wanted him to take the day off, so he did that."

*Oilers Insider Note: Moreau will likely play on Saturday, but the staff takes no chances with head shots. It was a pretty nasty elbow that knocked Moreau from the rest of the game on Wednesday. If he makes it to practice Friday, that will tell the Oilers a lot.

Shawn Horcoff: "He tried to practice but couldn't get through it, so he left."

*Oilers Insider Note: This reminds me of the year Horcoff was on pace for 80 points and went into the All-Star game only to miss the rest of the season for shoulder surgery. Horcoff's foot and shoulder are bugging him. He's been fighting through it, but it could be a real problem.

Robert Nilsson: "He's out [with a concussion]."

*Oilers Insider Note: Nilsson has been listed as day-to-day and was ready to go a couple games ago, only to be bothered again. It's hard to give a timeline to injuries like concussions, so who knows here.

Liam Reddox: "is gone. You saw him get hit by that one shot by a player, so he's gone for an x-ray on the ankle."

*Oilers Insider Note: I've never seen a player take so much abuse since being inserted into the lineup. Reddox keeps trucking and fighting his way through games, often looking like one of the most effective Oilers. He'll fight, but if his ankle is serious, what can the Oilers do?

Lubomir Visnovsky: "needed a day. He's still suffering from being banged about four or five days ago."

*Oilers Insider Note: Visnovsky shouldn't miss any action. This is likely more a rest move with an extra day between games.

Ales Hemsky: "He's still sore from upper body stuff that's been going on with him for a while."

*Oilers Insider Note: Hemsky seems to be a one night he's fine, the next night he's hurt kind of player. He should be in the lineup, and this is a rest move again, but Hemsky has that time in every year, where he misses some important games. Let's hope this isn't it.

Sam Gagner: "went to have his hip further looked at."

*Oilers Insider Note: He should be ok and one hopes this isn't a nagging injury that eventually requires lengthy time off and/or surgery. Let's keep thinking glass half full on this one.

Denis Grebeshkov: "is still out for a period of time."

*Oilers Insider Note: Add him to the long term IR. Some possible room for the Oilers to make a move to replace his salary? Hopefull in the form of a 3rd or 4th line faceoff center.

Fernando Pisani: is also out due to issues with colitis.

*Oilers Insider Note: One can just wish the most speedy recovery possible in Pisani's case.

Taylor Chorney: continues to suffer from an ankle injury.

*Oilers Insider Note: No word on how long this is going to keep him out of the lineup, but he's quickly becoming an important piece of the Oilers team, when just weeks ago, he wasn't even technically an Oiler.

Denis Grebeshkov is out. From a report we heard, he injured his knee in the final minute of the Buffalo game and won't be with the Oilers for the final two games of this five game road trip.

When this season started, would you have ever guessed that the Oilers of all things, would be running out of viable defensemen?

It wasn't some 19 games ago that fans and media types were mocking up trades all over the place suggesting that with the Oilers so deep on NHL quality defensemen, that it only made sense to move one. Now, less than a quarter of the way through the season, Edmonton can barely find enough defensemen to play a full game.

It's been a bad season in general for the Oilers in terms of injury and illness, but c'mon, this is getting silly. Of the probably nine viable options of defense, six Edmonton Oiler blueliners have now been out of action due to injury. Of those six, Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios, Lubomir Visnovsky, and Ladislav Smid have been impact players at times for the Oil and were greatly missed.

With Grebeshkov now gone for an undisclosed amount of time, the Oilers will be thankful to hear that Sheldon Souray, who was scheduled as unlikely until late November, might play Sunday against Atlanta.

A likely return from Shawn Horcoff is also on the horizon and could happen against the Thrashers, which would put the Oilers in a position to limit any excuses. The lines might look like the following for Sundays game if all possible returns actually happen:

Horcs/Hemmer/Penner
O'Sullivan/Gagner/Comrie
Potulny/Brule/Pisani
Stortini/Cogs/Moreau

Souray/Staios
Visnovsky/Smid
Gilbert/Strudwick

This tells us that should the Oilers not be ready to earn back some of the points they lost with a lousy record over the last 9-10 games, they'll be plum out of reasons to feel good about this team and it's ability to be a playoff contender.

Taylor Chorney wasn't expected to play for the Oilers this season. Thanks to some un-timely injuries and illnesses, he's been called upon to do a lot more than just play. He's been expected to play a lot.

With the Edmonton Oilers, Chorney has been averaging over 14 minutes per game since his arrival. Before joining the club, his less than stellar plus/minus in the minors gave reason for strong concern; but he plugged himself right into the fold, playing key minutes in all situations and now sits at an extremely respectable even plus/minus. In fact, Chorney has been such a pleasant surprise, he's been asked to take criticial shifts in games where both Denis Grebeshkov and Tom Gilbert have warmed the bench.

The problem is, in the absence of Sheldon Souray, Steve Staois and Lubomir Visnovsky, the Oilers are still riding heavily on both Grebeshkov and Gilbert to play unfamiliar and more defensive roles. It's in Grebeshkov's and Gilbert's inability to be strong defensively, that the Oilers have struggled in their own zone and much like Gilbert and Grebeshkov, Chorney is more offence than defence, thus the Oilers are hanging on by a thin thread.

As Edmonton's missing veteran defencemen start to return, Grebeshokov and Gilbert will move back to more familiar duties, the Oilers will have too many defencemen, and Chorney would have naturally been sent back to Springfield to complete his season.

The key term being "would" have.

In a salary cap driven NHL, Chorney is a great weapon. He's proven to be a NHL calibre blueliner and essentially made one of Denis Grebeshkov or Tom Gilbert expendable -- especially considering their inflated salaries.

Taylor Chorney will earn, $735,000 this year, and $785,000 next season, before becoming a restricted free agent in 2011/2012. For an Edmonton Oiler team pushing the cap, contracts similar to the one Chorney has, is one that the Oilers cherish going forward. To become successful and retain the services of a Sam Gagner or to attract other often expensive free agents, the Oilers need Chorney to do what he's doing at an affordable price.

The question becomes, where do the Oilers go from here?

Denis Grebeshkov has been known for a couple things over his NHL career. He has unbelievable offensive skill and an equally unbelievable knack for turning the puck over. What has kept Grebeshkov so valueable, is the need around the NHL for offensive defencemen and his ability to provide more offensive upside than he does defensive downside.

Grebeshkov makes $3.15 million this season and becomes an RFA at seasons end. Every year the Oilers struggle to fit him into the fold at the right dollar amount and every year, the whispers of the KHL tend to get a little louder.

Grebeshkov is the type of player you can't build around (even if he has the talent to do so), because you have no idea what your future will be with a player who refuses to sign more than a 1 yr term. I don't see that as a direction the Oilers should aspire to go.

While Tom Gilbert provides much of the same skill set as a Denis Grebeshkov would, his future with the Oilers is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Edmonton knows exactly what they have for the next 5 years in Tom Gilbert. They also know exactly what they'll be paying him over that term.

Taylor Chorney's numbers compared to Gilbert's numbers, make Tom Gilbert immediate trade material if another NHL team comes knocking with a fair offer. For a defencemen who gets you 40 points a season, another team will.

Despite Gilbert's slow start, he has GM's in many cities keeping an eye on his progress and some have expressed interest. Don't be surprised if Edmonton considers a few of them. Drew Stafford from Buffalo was the latest in a series of rumours that often pop up.

One thing seems certain. When Sheldon Souray, Steve Staois and Lubomir Visnovsky return, one of Chorney, Gilbert or Grebeshkov will be leaving.

With Chorney's plus/minus, his ability to not only pass the puck from the zone, but skate effectively with it, and all under a salary that works in terms of Oiler dollars spent, it makes him what the Oilers wanted in Grebeskov and Gilbert, just at a cheaper price. Chorney's in... somebody else it out.