Some people are upset, some people are suggesting Craig MacTavish is a miracle worker. Either way, MacTavish did one of the things he'd said he was going to do in moving Shawn Horcoff out of Edmonton and onto other pastures and he did so without keeping any form of buyout or retaining any of Horcoff's salary.

So now what?

Edmonton has zero healthy centres ready to play. Nugent-Hopkins is still rehabbing a shoulder surgery, Sam Gagner is not yet signed to an extension and Eric Belanger is being bought-out. That leaves only Anton Lander, a very unproven NHL player on the Oilers depth chart down the middle. Mac-T must have another move. He can't be that blind that there isn't an Ace up his sleeve?

Mikhail Grabovski

This guy has some elite skill and he makes those he plays with better. Grabovski just finished venting his frustration at Leafs coach Randy Carlisle for mis-using his skill-set and Grabovski is free to test the market without much fear of a huge salary, since he's one year into a five-year contract for which he was just bought out by Toronto. At $3.5 million for 3 years, he's a great fit.

Stephen Weiss

This guys got game, but he's going to have a list of teams including the Leafs interested and I think he's simply not got quite enough to offer for what he'll bring. Weiss has overpayment written all over his next contract and the Oilers just rid themselves of one of those contracts in Horcoff.

Manny Malholtra

No one is talking about Manny except Manny who believes he can still be a useful player despite his injury history. Vancouver is refusing to let him play, but another team might take a chance and he could be a steal on the 3rd or 4th line if he can stay healthy.

Maxime Talbot / Sean Couturier / Brayden Schenn

The shoe's about the drop in Flyer-land. Holmgren, despite his lack of cap space keeps making moves. It's like he can't help himself. It's going to force his hand and while Braydon Coburn is the public piece that the Oilers have been talking with the Flyers about, there is a very good chance we could see a bigger scale trade, the variety of Boston/Dallas, that sends a defenseman and a centre to the Oilers in exchange for draft picks, prospects or cap relief. The Oilers could answer a number of questions in one trade if the Flyers are willing to dance.

What about Magnus Paajarvi, Nick Schultz, prospect David Musil and the Oilers first round pick in 2014 for Couturier, Coburn and a 3rd rounder? Seems like an underpayment by Edmonton, but it sheds the Flyers of almost $3 million in cap space. We hear the Flyers are after Ray Emery and Emery will command at least $2 million allotted to wherever he lands.

Boyd Gordon

Can play 4th line centre, potentiall moving up to third line centre when needed. 57% faceoff man. Sound two-way game.

No surprise: the Oilers named veteran centre Shawn Horcoff as their new team captain on Wednesday. Bit of a surprise: Horcoff looked like a great leader on Thursday, playing well and seeming to inspire the young Oilers on and off the ice.

Here’s a bit of Oilers’ history. Horcoff is the15th player to wear the “C” since the team joined the WHA (in 1972) and the NHL (in 1979). Take a pencil: how many can you name right off the? Give yourself an A if you can name 10 Oilers’ captains and an extra point for naming the three Oilers’ captains who were also Oilers’ Head Coaches. [In case you want to check, see below.]

Horcoff succeeded Ethan Moreau, claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets last June after the Oilers put him on waivers. Horcoff is 32 – old for a hockey player – but young for a leader. He is starting his 10th NHL season, after Edmonton took him in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 1998 NHL entry draft.

So, how good can Horcoff be as a leader? He strikes me as a solid guy, with many leadership characteristics – except, perhaps, his ability to put up big goals and assists numbers – a trait that seems to be popular with other hockey teams but not, obviously, with the current Oilers. It seemed fitting that one bounced off him into the net – he was right where he had to be, blocking for the kids.

The Oilers need Horcoff to be a good leader because they need great leadership specifically and leadership is really important to any successful sports. A good captain can lead his team to success and can also help a young team and younger players be better. On the other hand, weak leadership skills can hinder a team’s chances of competing and bonding successfully – something last year’s Oilers know all too well.

What do the current Oilers need? Obviously, they need to escape injury and create space for young players to grow. But, the Oilers also need a leadership that provides emotional strength and models conditioning in every sense of the word – physical and mental. Leadership will be needed when more established teams benefit from biased officiating – we all know young teams don’t get all the calls veterans do. Sure, leadership does come from coaches, but leaders also emerge from within the team itself. Ergo, selecting a good captain is crucial.

Horcoff needs to do more than wear the captain’s “C.” He must also lead by his example and passionate belief that the team is more important than the individual. How he handles conflicts that eventually rise when the team loses (is there a chance they won’t?) a few close games and comes under pressure will be crucial. We don’t yet know how the youthful Oilers will act under stress, but we do know that Horcoff’s ability to handle problems will be crucial. How does he show his own anger? How does he behave professionally and responsibly despite his own personal feelings of frustration? All keys!

Here are a couple of other areas that sometimes slip under the radar. For example, how good will he be at building relationships with other members of the team, in good times and bad? For example, when a young player gets sent to the minors? I hope Horcoff takes each player – coming or going – aside. He clearly needs to talk with those going down or welcome those young players coming up for a shot. Plus, there is an extra burden being captain while still playing. It can be difficult to inspire, motivate, and raise team morale while you are trying to raise your own spirits.

So far, Horcoff has passed the test. We know he will be dependable. We bet he will be a good listener. We hope he will be motivating and inspiring, and will remain calm and positive under pressure. If he can do these things, he will only add to the Oiler’s success – whatever it might be – this season. We can hope for a great amount – the first positive step has been taken.

Team Captains
Note: This list includes Oiler captains from both the NHL and WHA.

Al Hamilton, 1972–76
Glen Sather, 1976–77
Paul Shmyr, 1977–79
Ron Chipperfield, 1979–80
Blair MacDonald, 1980–81
Lee Fogolin, 1981–83
Wayne Gretzky, 1983–88
Mark Messier, 1988–91
Kevin Lowe, 1991–92
Craig MacTavish, 1992–94
No Captain, 1994–95 (Lockout)
Shayne Corson, 1995
Kelly Buchberger, 1995–99
Doug Weight, 1999–2001
Jason Smith, 2001–07
Ethan Moreau, 2007–10
Shawn Horcoff, 2010–present

One of our sources close to the offices of the Edmonton Oilers was able to shed a little light on some of the names involved in trade deadline talks for the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, much of that news, while some not surprising, isn't great.

First, in respect to Ethan Moreau, the Oilers have about two teams interested, but not seriously. The teams talking to Edmonton are doing two things. First, they are making it known to the Oilers, that in taking Moreau, they are simply adding a player to help the Oilers in terms of salary. The rub of course, is that the Oilers must give up a higher draft pick than they want to.

The Oilers have tried to counter with other players or prospects going both ways, but it seems the minute a team is talking anything but higher picks, they stop talking all together. To move Moreau, who it seems as though nobody wants, they have to be willing to ship a decent pick.

In fact, many teams the Oilers have talked to have brought up Moreau's rep around the league as a disturbance. I had to ask again and was shocked when it was repeated that Ethan Moreau has a rep around the NHL as a bad influence.

If it's true and the Oilers are aware of it, that doesn't bode well for a franchise who knows they have a captain no teams want, is overpaid and is actually more of a disturbance than a captain.

Speaking of impossible to move, the Oilers have tried to stir up conversations with a couple teams regarding Shawn Horcoff. Not surprisingly, not a single team, even those like Montreal who were rumoured to like Horcoff were interested at his salary vs production. The Oilers are stuck with Horcoff until he can put together a more productive season.

The problem, is that Horcoff's confidence is at an all time low. He'll need a run or a scoring streak of some sort to feel better about it. His knowing of his grossly inflated salary isn't helping and as was evident in a recent interview where he diverted blame to some fans misunderstanding of economic conditions is just an example of how he's not handling the pressure well.

On the plus side, there has been some interest in Gilbert Brule and Andrew Cogliano. Which teams and for what return, we haven't heard, but that the Oilers aren't keen on moving either. So too, the especially aren't even inviting conversations about Sam Gagner who has attracted some interest from teams around the NHL.

From what we've heard, any talks regarding Sam Gagner have been stalled as the Oilers aren't interested unless the team calling mentions a name of a star on their roster as part of any deal. No one has done so, thus conversations have been short and to the point.

Our source says the mood around the Oilers office, is that little is going to get done before deadline day.

For a franchise looking to sell, that doesn't say much.

When a player or player(s) in this case are called out, there are two ways in which they'll respond. Either taking the subject of the issue to heart and putting in the extra effort to improve, or pouting, which in turns provides the team with a less efficient player.

When Pat Quinn called seven players into a closed-door meeting on Sunday morning, the Oilers could have gone two ways. Their effort against Phoenix could have plummeted showing everyone the Oilers are a group of underachieving cry-babies, or, and was the case on Monday, the Oilers could have come out with a much better effort taking the play to the Coyotes.

This is an issue that surrounds this team in spades. The skill on the Oilers is obvious. It's the want or desire to put in a sold effort per 60-minute game. Mondays game goes a long way to showing that if nothing else, the leaders on this team give a crap.

All four goals were scored by players in that closed-door meeting. Moreau, Hemsky, Souray and Horcoff needed to show the rest of the team not part of the open forum that they were prepared to listen to their coaches.

Had they not, it would have been a horrible lesson for the rest of the team just 25 games into a still young NHL season.

Hopefully the team responds on Wednesday vs L.A. and Friday vs the Sharks where a 100% effort might be the only thing that gets the Oilers back above the .500 mark.

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.

Shawn Horcoff is questionable for tonights game. While Lubomir Visnovsky and Mike Comrie seem ready to return, Horcoff is the latest victim of the flu and did not skate with the Oilers during practice on Sunday in Long Island.

It's no secret that Shawn Horcoff has gotten off to a slow start. He's had one offensive outbreak in a 6-5 win over Detroit scoring three points as part of a ten point first line effort along side Hemsky and Penner. But, outside of that flurry, Horcoff has two points in twelve games.

Fans get quick to jump on Horcoff thanks to his high price tag and otherwise slower start. As they do, they still often can't deny the variables he brings with him. Variables, that have made him a valueable part of every game whether he scores or not. Therefore, should Horcoff not be in the lineup on Monday, the Oilers have problems and questions that require answers.

Faceoffs are not a friend of the Oilers. While some of the players have shown slight improvements, overall Edmonton has issues winning draws. This is a problem not new to the team.

In total, Horcoff has taken 299 draws in this early 2009/2010 season, second best in the NHL to only Sidney Crosby. Horcoff's closest faceoff taking teammate Sam Gagner, has taken 128. That's a big difference.

Without Horcoff, the Oilers have only Dustin Penner, Mike Comrie and Gilbert Brule at over 50%. Comrie might not even play and Penner isn't a centre, having taken only 31 draws this season.

Needless to say, what Pat Quinn decides to do should Horcoff not be available should be interesting. It's likely that the Hemsky, Penner and Gagner line will be reunited, hoping Sam Gagner has the type of game where he wins more draws than he loses.

The second line (should Comrie play), might see him at center with O'Sullivan and Jacques. Of those three, only Comrie has the ability to win a draw, but his attendance is still in question. Even if he does play, how effective will he be knowing his lack of strength is a factor thanks to his flu recovery?

The third line puts Brule with Nilsson and Pisani and the fourth with Moreau, Stortini and Cogliano.

Of course all this could change after Monday morning's skate, where the Oilers will see who's healthy and who isn't.

In no uncertain terms, the Oilers better hope Horcoff is healthy. Edmonton's struggled mightily to keep the puck out of their own zone. When they do, it often comes after Horcoff wins a key draw in the defensive zone. Without Horcoff around to do so, the Oilers could be up a creek without a paddle.

Within every Cinderella story, there is usually a wicked step-sister. With every up, their is a down. With every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Unfortunately for the Edmonton Oilers, the downside of Dustin Penner, Ales Hemsky, Gilbert Brule, Sam Gagner, Nikolai Khabibulin, and Mike Comrie having tremendous starts to the 2009/2010 season, is that Shawn Horcoff seems to be the part of the equation that hasn't fit. Not good for the Oilers most expensive forward.

This isn't to suggest that it's entirely Shawn Horcoff's fault.

Shawn Horcoff has been asked to fill roles on this team that very few Oilers, if any, can fill. Edmonton lacks a number of faceoff capable forwards, which means Horcoff is called upon to take 42 percent of them. Shawn Horcoff has taken 200 faceoffs this year, while the rest of the team has taken a total of 292 combined.

Furthermore, while Shawn Horcoff has never really been that true No. 1 center the Oilers have needed, the Oilers have been unable to find a suitable replacement, so Horcoff again was slotted into that position.

Again, not Horcoff's fault.

With all that said, Shawn Horcoff is earning $7 million dollars this season. That's an awful lot of money for a player who has two points while leading the Oilers in time on ice per game.

Before many of you go there—yes—I realize his cap hit is $5.5 million per season. Yes, I realize he spends much of that ice time killing penalties, winning draws, and playing a solid two-way game. Shawn Horcoff provides critical elements of a hockey team that are hard to replace.

But understand that it'll take one, maybe two, more games before none of that matters. If Horcoff doesn't start to produce on the offensive side of the ice, fans will quickly jump on the move Shawn Horcoff bandwagon faster than they jumped off the move Dustin Penner one.

As time goes by, it's going to get harder and harder for Horcoff to contribute where people notice it most.

He's was moved from the top line for his inability to click with Ales Hemsky and the result, was a 13-point effort between Ales Hemsky, Dustin Penner, and Horcoff's replacement, Sam Gagner. The first line likely won't put forth those kind of numbers frequently, but Thursday's game against Columbus didn't help his cause.


The second line, to which Horcoff now resides, isn't helping him much either.

Mike Comrie has been the latest Oilers casualty of the flu and is questionable against Calgary on Saturday. That leaves Horcoff, O'Sullivan and anyone that has enough strength to lace up his skates and get through a game. The most likely candidate will be Robert Nilsson or Gilbert Brule is he's feeling well enough to play.

So, what is Shawn Horcoff to do? Well that probably depends on how the next couple games go for Edmonton. Should the Oilers not find themselves in a lot of penalty trouble against both the Flames and Canucks, it provides Horcoff a chance to get out on the powerplay. A place where his opportunity to score will likely increase.

Horcoff could also use a little help from the magic produced between O'Sullivan and Comrie that existed in the preseason. If somehow those two can get things going again, Horcoff should find himself on the receiving end of some second, possibly first assists.

If Horcoff gets really fortunate, he gets the chance to finally finish on a couple of his many shorthanded chances he has yet to bury.

No matter which way you slice it, if you asked, Horcoff would probably gladly contribute some of his hefty new salary to get off the snide—a small price to pay for a kick-start in the right direction.

Thursday night as the Oilers take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, the roster and the combination in which it hits the ice will change. One has to wonder however, if these changes would be coming, if not for the flu virus that seems to have hit the Oilers like a Colby Armstrong hit on Marc Andre Bergeron.


Pat Quinn has shown a vast amount of patience when it comes to changing his lines. Unless he's had to mid-game, he simply hasn't done it, for the simple fact that he's developed a game plan and committed to sticking to it.

So when the Oilers came out at practice on Wednesday with a drastically juggled line-up, many couldn't help but wonder if these changes were permanent, or just a response to the absence of Gilbert Brule, Ladislav Smid, Sheldon Souray, Steve Staois and Ryan Stone; all of whom have been sidelined with injuries or flu like symptoms.

Gagner-Penner-Hemsky, Horcoff-Comrie-O'Sullivan, Cogliano-Moreau-Stortini and then a 4th line of Jacques-Nilsson with Kelly Buchberger skated Wednesday and all signs pointed to those being the match-ups against Columbus when the Oilers took the ice on Thursday night.

Of course, my money is on the abscence of Buchberger who was filling in due to a lack of bodies and might not be the most logical choice considering he retired about five years ago.

All joking aside, I might suggest, should the Oilers come away with at least a single point on Thursday, coach Pat Quinn give some thought to keeping these combinations to see if they spark some much needed chemistry for some players that could use a spark or two.

Sam Gagner has proven his ability thus far to get over that slow season start he's become well known for. With five points in eight games, he'll be replacing Shawn Horcoff on the first line. Horcoff, who while being relied upon to contribute in other areas, has been just plain unproductive on offense.

Mike Comrie and Patrick O'Sullivan had some amazing results in pre-season when Comrie led all NHL players with ten points. While neither has been bad so far this year, perhaps they can reproduce even some of that magic and go on another offensive tear. With a responsible Horcoff in the middle to let those two play the style of game they play well, they'll both have the foot on the gas pedal as they fly through an offensive green light.

The combination of Cogliano, Moreau and Stortini has been effective as a fourth line unit and will now get the chance to do so in a third line role. We can only assume then, that Jacques and Nilsson, along with likely MacIntyre (if Brule is still ill), will act as an energy line with some skill to boot.

9 games into the season, it will be interesting to see what the first major change of the season will bring. With a 5-2-1 record this season, it's understandable to keep things the same. That's a much different story than the previous year's in which the Oilers organization -- often referred to as the year's of the "MacTavish blender.", changed on a nightly basis.

I'm a bit concerned and I'll tell you why. While I have about as much interest in what happens with the NHLPA and the firing of Paul Kelly as executive director of the National Hockey League players association, as I do sticking a pickle up my nose, I did find it interesting that Shawn Horcoff, who is a high ranking rep and Oilers team rep in the NHLPA had some comments on the topic.

When asked during an interview about what was going on in the NHLPA, the topic switched to the Oilers and Horcoff's excitement to get the season underway. Like a good little Oiler, he answered many of the questions in a politically correct fashion with phrases like "we're eager to prove people wrong" or "wipe clean the end of last season which we were all terribly dissappointed with".

What stuck with me however was his answer to how he thought he personally could live up to his rather large pay increase and his personal excitement to get on the ice and be a more offensive player. Among other responses, Horcoff mentioned he wasn't sure what his role would be since he hadn't yet spoken to Pat Quinn. Hmmm... and this is second interview in which Horcoff has made that comment.

Does that concern anyone else but me? I'm not out here to suggest that at this stage Quinn, Renney and Horcoff speak offensive strategy, play combinations and linemates; but no contact at all? No "hello"? No "hey Shawn it's Pat Quinn, we'll talk to you at camp, but I'm looking forward to our discussions about how to improve this team?"

Pat Quinn has had months now to contact any of the players he'd like to. Whether it be an outreach to players like Penner, Smid and Cogliano to tell them he's happy they are still a part of the Oilers future plans, or to introduce himself as coach to his new captains, I can think of plenty of reasons the new coach might want to at least call one of the assistant captains. Heck, if the management team and coaching staff can fly to Kelowna to chat with a player not even on their roster, could Quinn not pick up the phone and say hello to someone who is?

Not having yet spoken to a pivotal cog in the machine known as the Oilers in Shawn Horcoff, is like moving into a new house but not looking at all the rooms because you only sleep in the master and personally have no need for the other ones. By doing so, you have an incomplete picture of what your entire house (or in this case your entire team) looks like before its time to put it to the test.

As an Oiler fan, I've come to learn never to get to overly excited about the prospects for change. I've also come to expect that as a result, the Oilers come out publicly and declare their intentions to improve this team internally because they have the peices to do so. With Horcoff meaning so many things on a team that needs, so many things, I'm surprised and any internal investigations and searching for answers are hard to buy into if the coach and his players aren't talking yet.

Being years removed from the NHL, I would like to think Pat Quinn can't wait to chat with, listen to and skate with his team, yet in two -three months, he and Horcoff have had absolutely no contact.

Maybe it's just me.

With news that the Dallas Stars would like to shed salary this upcoming season due to financial troubles, one player who comes up frequently is Brad Richards. The Stars have Mike Ribeiro, so it makes sense that they see Richards as expendable and his $7.8 million salary makes him the logical choice.

Richards has been a star player for years. On a team loaded with offensive talent in Tampa he was still able to stand out as a 2nd line centre who should have been a #1. He was moved to Dallas to fill that role, but got hurt; thus we never really got to see what he could do on the 1st line for a full season. That said, in a limited capacity, he was still able to put up 16g and 32a for 48 points in 56 games. He ranked 3rd on the team in Short handed TOI, which is impressive considering he missed 26 games and he ranked 4th in Power Play time in that same short span. This tell us he can be a weapon at both ends of the ice. He takes a ton of faceoffs with a % over 50 and since the lockout been much closer to a point a game player than our number #1 centre.

Shawn Horcoff, who when you look at how often he's used short handed and in the defensive zone brings a lot of the type features Brad Richards does. Popularly known as a first line centre on a team that lacks a true #1, it is argued Horcoff is more a #2 sometimes #3 guy. This is almost a direct opposite from Brad Richards. Sure they are both relied on for more than just offense, but Richards seems to be able to produce the offense where Horcoff can't despite being used in similar roles.

Does that mean, that a Brad Richards for Shawn Horcoff trade would make sense? I might be the only person after looking at Richard's $7.8 million salary that thinks so. Both players are overpaid, that's no secret. But let me suggest that Richard's salary is not as scary as it might sound. Horcoff is being paid $5.5 million for the next six years, while Richards gets $7.8 for the next two. Long term, that's a much bigger issue for the Oilers.

We know this years cap won't be going down, so the Oilers would be ok if they could shed a little more salary than just Horcoff by moving an excess player to a different location. It would only be 2010/2011 that creates a small concern if the cap decreases. After 2011, I'd argue that Richards would see a decrease in salary smaller than Horcoff's $5.5, which might actually benefit Edmonton and make the tight salary cap for the Oilers less of an issue. If they don't keep Richards, they've still moved Horcoff's salary and opened the door to pay Gagner to be your new #1 (by then he better be ready for it), and can fill the number two role in free agency or trade at a much less expensive rate than $5.5 million.

Richards is steady. Much more so than Horcoff. Richards brings you experience at a younger age, a Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe trophy and a much better offensive record which would likely help Hemsky which is always important in Edmonton.

I like Horcoff and I truly believe he is much better offensively than his latest numbers suggest, however; my big concern is that his role will not lessen defensively with the loss of two-way players in Edmonton. As such, the Oilers need a guy that can still put up numbers while playing short handed and taking over 1000 faceoffs a year. Richards has that quality.

I don't know that Richards would waive his no trade to come to Edmonton, but if he would, I'd argue it might be worth a conversation.

This summer for the Edmonton Oilers has been spent scouring the league for two things. One was a goaltender to take the place of the departed Dwayne Roloson. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask (see the article in The Hockey News if you're wondering what I mean), the Oilers were able to land Khabibulin on the first day of free agency.

The rest of this time has been spent seeking a first line LW. If they weren't pawning over Dany Heatley, they were making phone calls to see who, if anyone was available via trade. So far tire kicking has involved Phil Kessel from Boston, some unknowns from San Jose (which would inturn help facilitate a Heatley trade) and a couple other players who have no trade clauses. Not the most positive results are coming from that tire kicking and it's easy to understand why.

But perhaps, the Oilers have what they need in house. Hockey guys in the know, namely Jason Gregor from the Team 1260, are reporting that the top 6 forwards outside of Hemsky on 1st line RW is not even close to being a lock and that the coaches will determine who will play and where come training camp.

One player Gregor had the chance to talk to was Shawn Horcoff, who had some interesting answers to some straight to the point questions. Can Cogliano play LW? Was Horcoff's production hampered by the sheer amount of face-offs he was forced to take all season? Does Hemsky's style of play change your style? Horcoff's answers revealed, at least to me that perhaps one thing many of us haven't given thought to, is putting Horcoff on the LW with Hemmer and Gagner in the middle.

Horcoff is in an unenviable position. He has a large contract, is being relied on to be the two-way faceoff specialist, but gets chewed out by Edmonton fans if he doesn't produce 60-70 points a season. It's two distinct roles that when looking after both, means neither will be as potent as they could be. When one only has to worry about one thing (see Dany Heatley as an example) production is a whole lot easier to measure.

Horcoff did make the transtion from wing to centre and admits that move is much harder than the other way around. For Gagner, his face-off percentage isn't fantastic at 42%, but it's respectable and likely to get better. And if it doesn't, Horcoff is already there to take the odd draw or the majority of them which would still be lessen than the 1756 draws he took last year. On the second line, you can put Cogliano or O'Sullivan at centre with Penner. Now Cogs and O'Sullivan are not going to win you many draws, so you have Penner who can at 47.4% and 55% the year before share the load as those two improve. It's a much more balanced attack with room to add any of these top 6 in positions to take a critical faceoff at an important juncture in a game.

On your third line, either Pouliot or Brule have the ability to be better than average faceoff guys and of course the jury is still out on whether or not the Oilers add a piece prior to camp like a Blair Betts.

Do I believe this is what the Oilers will do? Probably not, so why would I suggest this? What this does, is give Cogliano a defined roll on the 2nd line (which I believe he needs to see his potential). It lessens the load for Horcoff to get him back on the shoot first mentality he had in 2007/08 when he was on pace for a point a game and 33 goals before his injury and it reduces the burden of one to two guys being the only players who can win faceoffs and shares the load a bit more. The Oilers went two years ago from 5-6 players over 50% in the faceoff circle to currently 1, maybe two who are even better than average (technically Brule was 80% in the his NHL faceoffs last year, but that for in an extremely limited roll and hardly worth relying upon).

The problems it causes will revolve around Gagner's ability to be the 1st line centre we're all hoping he will be, and it may be asking Penner to take a lot more faceoffs than he's used to, which may be something they need to look at if his production suffers as a result. And of course again, this moves Nilsson into no man's land. . He's not going to do well on your 3rd line if it's checking roll, but he does have a better plus/minus than people give him credit for and can be relied on defensively if it's not about being physical.

At the very least, it would be worth a look if all parties were willing and excited about the changes.