Two and a half days remaining. It's all the Edmonton Oilers have left in terms of time to make up their minds about the futures of some of the players on their roster.

Kovalev, Sturm, Neal, Stewart, Versteeg, Fisher and others are all names that have already been moved. Ales Hemsky, Dustin Penner and to a less extent Sam Gagner remain some of the few viable forward options for some twenty teams that are buying at this years deadline. The Kings, Coyotes, Wild, Capitals, Rangers and Predators are the names most commonly associated with Edmonton these past couple days.

The question becomes what does Steve Tambellini do? Reactions in Edmonton are mixed. There are plenty of fans who don't want either Hemsky or Penner to go. There are others who'd be fine with a move. The common denominator seems to be that if a move were to occur, the return should be an overpayment.

For teams like L.A. that means Brayden Schenn. In Phoenix, it's Oliver Ekman-Larrson or Kyle Turris. In Minnesota its Cam Barker. Two of those three I'd do. The other, as I would with many of the other supposed options available to Edmonton, would have me waiting for next year or this years draft to re-open conversations.

The only real guarantee, is that Edmonton is now a prime target for most of the NHL teams. Some teams have made their moves, but plenty remain. Yes, there are a few surprise trades that have happened like the Blues/Avs deal, which means there are others out there that likely few of us will guess are coming. But with so many teams looking at Penner, Hemsky and Smid among others that might be available, Tambellini is looking at a busy day whether he pulls the trigger or not.

But are we? For us fans, we might not ever see just how busy the Oilers get on Monday. To know for sure, we'll have to wait until the Oil Change TSN special at the end of March and even then we'll see if from a somewhat distorted and pro-Oilers point of view. We could be left at the end of Monday saying to ourselves "what happened to all the deals that were out there?"

Just because Tambellini is fielding calls, doesn't mean we'll see any trades. I predicted in a previous article that Hemsky or Penner being moved is a lock. I still feel that way. But one deal, may be all that we do if I'm right -- which I may not be.

Would you consider it a let down if nothing happened? If after all this talk, the Oilers stood pat and waited to the draft to grab another top three pick and trade some spare parts to fill in missing holes?

As fans, we watch games like the last five where the Oilers stood out as a team of the future. Then the 5-0 loss to St. Louis reminds us of how far we actually are. Do we really want to trade the only mildly reliable offence we have? I can see why the reaction is mixed.

What's your thought? Would you be upset if the Oilers did nothing? Would you be more upset if they did and you didn't like the return?

There is always lots of speculation in this final week leading up to the NHL trade deadline. Some of it's so far out there you wonder how it gained any steam. Some of it more on par to a trade two GM's might actually be working on. Here is what seems to be floating around currently in respect to the Edmonton Oilers.

L.A. Kings --

The newest rumor links the Kings to Oilers with Brayden Schenn coming to Edmonton for Ales Hemsky. There might be some smaller bits and pieces rounding out a deal like this, but those two components are the focal points. Dean Lombardi is actively seeking a top end scorer and is starting to feel the pressure to get something done as one of the many teams tied for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. He's always had his eye on Hemsky and if another team isn't in the picture, Penner is his backup plan which makes Edmonton a strong potential trading partner.

The chances the Oilers trade both Penner and Hemsky is not likely so what Tambellini will likely do is first make sure any offers are more than fair and likely an overpayment for either player. Since Tambellini has no real pressure to move either, he's got time to dictate the pace here. Once he's determined if an overpayment(s) exist, Tambellini should take the best offer on one player.

If the Kings are willing to part with Schenn for Hemsky the Oilers should sign off on that trade right away. As much as Oiler fans might want to keep Hemsky, sources like Bob McKenzie from TSN have it right that no way do the Kings move Brayden Schenn. He's a true gold mine of a player and should be ready if not next year, by 2013 to make a major impact in the NHL.

The argument here is that because the Kings need to win now and not in 2013, it's being greatly debated that the Kings might in fact be willing to move Schenn now if they were to ever consider it. They'd rather not, but if it means getting into the playoffs versus not, who knows.

For the Edmonton Oilers, the key is that any deal helps the not too distant future for this young inexperienced team. Tambellini doesn't want to wait too long for any return for Hemsky or Penner and Schenn is ready to make a jump to the NHL. He has size, hockey smarts and has been tearing up the WHL. He's the type of prospect Hemsky should be traded for if he's traded.

There are many who will argue and I agree that this is a massive stretch. That Schenn is of far greater value than Hemsky. In almost all circumstances this is true but one -- pure desparation on the part of Lombardi. If he gets needy enough, strange things could happen. Most feel the Dallas/Pittsburg deal is one-sided and it seems to be. Yet it still happened.

More realistic might be the Wayne Simmonds plus pick(s) for Hemsky option that might or might not exist. Again many will tell you that Lombardi in no way wants to trade Simmonds. Those people are probably correct. But want to and need to in order for deal to happen might be two different things.

There could always be Colten Tuebert or Thomas Hickey, but I don't think either prospect gives the Oilers enough return to move Hemsky at this point. While the Oilers defence is weak in the NHL today, their prospects look promising. Obtain more promise from the Kings doesn't really help Edmonton in the next two years which is a key number for the Oilers.

Edmonton is well aware that they need immediate help on the blueline and they need size and grit who can play. Simmonds fills one of those needs. Schenn doesn't but he's a top centre prospect that one shouldn't be willing to pass up on.

I still think one of Hemsky or Penner get moved, but my guess is that despite the popularity of the rumors it happens with the Kings, someone else is the ending destination for either forward.

While few can confirm it, I'm here to tell you that it is a lock that one of Edmonton's Ales Hemsky or Dustin Penner will be traded by the Feb 28th NHL trade deadline.

How could I possibly know this you ask? Especially considering there has been nothing but non-detailed rumors on the possible trades actually happening? The answer is simple. It is a sellers market in the NHL.

In fact, like no other year that I can recall, this year in the NHL more teams are on the cusp of getting into the NHL playoffs than ever before. More teams stand a chance than don't and there are few teams, namely Edmonton, Ottawa and the Islanders that are the only clear sellers in the market.

Teams like Toronto, New Jersey, St. Louis, Florida and others who should probably also be selling and out of the playoff picture, have gone on record having not thrown in the towel. Toronto sold assets like Versteeg, Beauchemin and Kaberle, but are currently looking to buy for a final run. New Jersey and Calgary who at the start of the year looked hopeless, are now all of sudden either in the playoff picture or making a run so strong that it doesn't seem out of the realm of possible they squeeze in.

What does this mean? It means that more teams than ever before are buying. The law of supply a demand is dictating the overpayments some teams are making and it's why so many major deals have already happened.

Teams are jumping to get ahead of the market knowing that in general NHL teams who buy specifically on deadline day overpay. There are far too many teams who will still feel they have a chance at the playoffs or need that one final piece to get in that they'll be making the same calls to the same three teams. With so many teams buying, the overpayments are bound to be massive. Not good news for many NHL teams who will find themselves on the outs if they don't have moveable assets.

Enter the Edmonton Oilers.

You'll find many fans who won't want to see Edmonton trade either Hemsky or Penner (especially if either has indicated they'd like to remain Oilers for a fair price past their current contracts), but Oilers Steve Tambellini may be faced with offers far too good to pass up.

Both Hemsky and Penner are pieces the Oilers can include in their rebuild should they choose to stay in Edmonton. Both are useful talents and the Oilers likely don't want to move either one. Tambellini simply may not have a choice if the longer term future of the team is more important.

In recent years and as is often done by fans of any NHL team, players tend to be overvalued and overrated. Locals fall in love with their teams rosters and don't place a realistic value of what that player might receive on the open market. This years trade deadline might actually provide the real dreamers with a realistic idea of what a return might be.

Let's take Mike Fisher who was traded from the Senators (a team almost sold out of what it is looking to be selling). He's realistically a good third line player. On some teams a 2nd line center. In years past, he might not get the return of a first round pick. This year he did and a conditional 2nd or 3rd rounder.

So did Kris Versteeg. In fact, Versteeg is overpaid yet still got Toronto a first round and a third round pick.

There are other examples but the key here is that all deals were done well before the actual deadline for players of good but not overwhelming talent. At the deadline, it is reasonable to expect the return could have been higher when multiple teams might have wanted to outbid each other and the trades really get out of hand.

It's why the Oilers are waiting on offers for both Penner and Hemsky and why they gambled on someone having some interest in a rusty, massively overpaid and out of shape Sheldon Souray. The gamble didn't work, but the logic behind it is and was sound.

While Souray is still an Oiler, Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner are not however Sheldon Souray.

Both Oiler forwards have value for other NHL teams. Perhaps Hemsky moreso than Penner, but both players have gathered some interest and both players can only be traded by the Oilers to one team of some fifteen that might be in the market. Both have fair dollar values attracted to their contracts and while neither are really rentals, both only have one year remaining after this at a reasonable cap hit.

Yes, there are players like Alex Kovalev, David Booth, Jason Arnott, Jackub Voracek, Milan Hejduk, who might be in play. Some however are on teams that aren't throwing in the towel and even two wins leading up the 28th could make them buyers and not sellers.

What would or should Tambellini do if a team like L.A. felt that adding an Ales Hemsky would put them in the hunt and give them a legit shot? Would they part with Wayne Simmonds or Brayden Schenn? Not normally. But if they felt they had to do something and it came down to a bidding war, they might.

What would the Oilers do if a team in need of a 2nd line and possibly first line power forward like Penner came calling? If they offered a first and 2nd round pick like they did for Versteeg? What if they had to outbid someone else and threw in a faceoff 3rd or 4th liner? Would you do it? Tambellini might and who could blame him?

What if a team like Atlanta who might not be selling or buying today, but could be in five days offered up Zach Bogosian for a proven scorer like Hemsky? Would Tambellini do it? I might.

I'm the first to admit that at any other time this might be an over value of both Hemsky and Penner. But this is not any other time. It's the last minute hour of trade deadline in a year that almost everyone but the Oilers and Senators feel they have a shot. The Senators have sold a lot of what they are selling. The Oilers have yet to sell anything. What would teams do to obtain the assets the Oilers might willingly give up for the right price?

I'm willing to bet someone is going to offer the sun, moon and stars and Tambellini will take it at least once. I'm also willing to bet that names like Sam Gagner, Ladislav Smid, Kurtis Foster, Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Jones get a good look from other teams and the Oilers find themselves making some interesting decisions.

There's a few things I'm eagerly anticipating for tonights (or at least this later afternoons) game against the Red Wings. In fact so much so, that in my absence from posting on this site due to the hustle and bustle of real life hitting me like a dump truck, I took a few mintues to share my thoughts.

Tonights game will tell me a lot about the new make-up of this team...

Which Penner Will We Get?

Dustin Penner by all accounts (if you're not a huge Oiler fan and watching every game) based on his numbers is having an alright season so far. In only 13 games played, Penner is on pace for 31 goals in an 82 game season and 44 points. The points category is shy, but 31 goals isn't something most fans would complain about.

The problem and the cause for some complaint amongst Oiler fans and media is Dustin's overall compete level from game to game. So much so, that trade talks have come up and teams like the Ottawa Senators have been rumored to have some interest.

With Shawn Horcoff still not ready to return, this is a chance for Dustin Penner to step-up his game. To be seen as a leader on this team with a lot of young rookies and show them that when one man -- an important one like your team captain -- goes down, the rest of the team needs to find another gear and get the job done.

That certainly didn't happen in Carolina.

Speaking of Young Guys

I'm extremely curious to watch how players like Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle come out of the gate tonight. I've yet to question Hall's compete level. He's made rookies mistakes and often tried to do too much, but he's also often been the most dangerous Oiler even when not getting his name added to the score sheet.

The benching by coach Tom Renney can't be sitting well with a player of Hall's compete level. I expect the first few minutes of the game for both Hall and Eberle to be quite interesting. I think as rookies, they'll be out to prove a point.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that neither like the idea of Jeff Skinner in Carolina being looked at as the leading candidate for the Calder trophy. Skinner right now is running away with the race, but it's early.

Break-out game?

We've yet to see a break-out game by any Oiler. Last season, while players weren't necessarily consistently getting on the scoreboard every game, it appeared that way because players like Gagner, Penner and Hemsky had 4 point nights in some games. That's yet to happen this season.

I'm not suggesting that of all the teams for which to break-out, we can expect it to happen against Detroit, but someone might need to get themselves rolling. Could there finally be a game that sees one line earn 12-13 points in one game? That would be nice.

Why is it when you're around and trying to come up with things to talk about, nothing happens? Of course, when you leave for a few days there is all sorts of news to share.

The Oilers followed five straight road wins with seven straight losses. How nice.

The Olympic team for Canada and the rest of the world gets set, and there is big rumblings from all sorts of people that something big is coming for the Oilers.

First off, what about the dreary Oilers? Is it me, or when you finally needed your team to plummet to the bottom of the NHL, thus almost solidifying a decent draft pick, the draft is thinner than in years past? Imagine last year, had the Oilers finished bottom three (which it looks might be a lock the way they're are playing), Edmonton could be home to Tavares, Doughty or Duschene.

One of those players just made the Olympic team and is argueably the single biggest reason the LA Kings are a competitive squad.

Instead, the Oilers pick a year where the biggest name in the draft is Taylor Hall, and he'll likely be grabbed by the Carolina Hurricanes who somehow, are hands done worse than Edmonton.

Add to that players like Dustin Penner who were incredibly hot and now not even at a point-per-game pace and with Hemsky, Comrie, and Khabibulin out, and for the forseeable future, the Oilers are going to get much worse before they get better.

They play Toronto tonight, which normally would be good news, but Toronto has been a decent team and are clicking far better than an Oilers group who can't seem to find any chemistry.

Olympics

Team Canada was named and there were major surprises. Of four Flames rumoured, only one made the cut, that being Jarome Iginla who has been named as an Assistant captain. Bouwmeester, Phaneuf and Robyn Regher all were absent from the list.

Not surprisingly, Dustin Penner, who had once been given some consideration is not on the list. That said, how can you put Penner on, but keep Lecavalier, St. Louis, Jeff Carter and others off?

For the rest of the Olympics, Visnovsky, Grebeshokov were named to their respective Slovak and Russian sqauds. One deserves to be there and I'm sure you can guess who I think that is.

Tom Gilbert and Patrick O'Sullivan have a chance of making Team U.S.A, but my guess is based on their play, not a very good one.

Of course, amidst all of this is the rumours surrounding some big trades coming in the NHL as teams hit the half-way mark of the season and some injuries have occured on teams in serious contention.

The Oilers who will need a small miracle to make the playoffs, are sure to be sellers at the deadline and trades are already making the rounds including moving Ethan Moreau, Patrick O'Sullivan and Andrew Cogliano.

At this point, and has been noted by even the most patient of writers (ie. Robin Brownlee) die-hard fans all over are suggesting a blowing up of the team and if Tambellini can pull it off, moving over 75% of the team.

Brownlee even goes so far as to suggest that should Tambellini not pull it off, that he, Kevin Lowe and others in management say goodbye or be told to leave allowing Pat Quinn the opportunity to run things.

I'm not totally against it as I find Quinn's approach to how he'd like to build this team much more appealing than I do Tambellini who seems to be a lot of talk and no action. Even his talk has changed from where the season started.

Edmonton plays on PPV tonight and the way this team has played, I'd sit back and let others order it while I find a more constructive way to spend my money. However, Christmas brought our household full HD everything, and I'm interested to watch the Oilers in higher quality.

I'm sure it will out-do the quality of the play on the ice, but hey, it's the last game before New Year's...maybe the Oilers will surprise me.

I cannot say for certain what it is, but something is different about the Oilers these days. Even though they lost the Kings’ game, I didn’t despair. I don’t know what it is, but I think they are playing better. I think the goalie pulled a “Quick one” (I know – cheap) on them and stole the game, actually – as goalies sometimes do.

The Oilers played up tempo most of the night and perhaps the only glaring difference between the Oilers’ play and the Kings’ play was that the Oil didn’t seem as willing to throw the puck on the net from anywhere as the Kings did. They actually waited to have shots, which I am starting to think is not that wise a tactic. When someone scores the winning goal after being blanked for almost 160 games, you know lightning can strike. I half wanted Smid to score the tying goal – but, of course, he didn’t.

Here is what I saw. Cogliano was a water bug – everywhere. Nilsson looked as if he is a threat every shift he is on the ice. Souray can shoot – which is hardly news. Penner is a bull – so much stronger than anyone else I have seen. In his almost dust-up with long-time friend Matt Greene, he made Greene look tiny. And Gagner, while he needs to get stronger – he barely squeezed through the sideboards with the puck in the Third Period, can play. He looks like he is one smart kid. Brule and Penner really do have some chemistry – how many times did they “just miss?” And, Deslauriers seems to be gaining confidence every game. I am not that concerned if Khabibulin doesn’t come back – although I don’t want anyone to have a bad back, the money is an issue, and I suppose Deslauriers has to rest sometime.

Anyway, it was one of those games when you saw the Oilers dominating, but somehow just knew a goofy goal would decide it. And, Quick was really the difference.

Although I never played hockey myself, and can hardly serve as an expert, I seem to be seeing more lucky bounces score goals than I have ever seen before. Perhaps, this has always been the case – but, being an Oilers’ fan suggests that I watch mainly Oilers’ games. One difference I see between the Oil this year and last is that they are scoring more close-in goals – more shots that seem to not be as much set up by good plays as the result of lucky, untimely bounces for the other team. Certainly, that was true of Potulny’s goal.

I am thinking that perhaps the kids should start beating the puck to death towards the net – every time they can. If the average scoring percentage is 10% (actually it is 10.3 %) ten more shots per game will score one more goal per game. The puck has to bounce off someone for Cogliano one of these times. I hope it is twice or even three times the next game.

Here’s a daring prediction – Cogliano with at least 35 points. Right now, the season is almost half over and he has 8. Anyone else believe that Cogliano will end up with 15 goals this year?

In keeping with the festive season, I felt the need to do something "Christmasy". I attempted the mall to pick up some gifts, but got side-tracked in the local "Sports Closet" store while my son and daughter sat on Santa's lap and my daughter told Mr. Claus how she wanted a new book for Christmas. She's only two and can't read yet, but that kid loves books. (not sure where she gets it from cause the last thing I read was the front page of Star magazine and Tiger Woods latest fling.) * Special Note * mentioning Tiger Woods affairs or sex scandal is a sure fire boost for internet traffic... Tiger Woods.

So, because I won't be posting on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (that is, unless my family drives me nuts and I need to vent), I figured starting today Dec 12, 2009 would get us right down to the wire for the 12 Days of Christmas.

As an Oiler fan, I'll be posting my twelve wishes for this team to lead them into the Christmas season. Each day will consist of the items I think this team or its players need to continue to be successful as they head into the Olympic break and look to make ground in the Western Conference and a possible playoff spot. Today, we start with the 12th day.

On the 12th Day of Christmas, my Oilers gave to me...

12 more points for Dustin Penner

Dustin Penner sits at a terrific 36 points in 32 games. With 18 goals and 18 assists, he's a team leading (along with Ladislav Smid) plus/minus +13. As such, has been added to the short list of candidates for Canada's Olympic team.

With no All-Star Game this year, it's tough to really recognize Penner's achievements unless he's asked to the Olympics and I think the only way he gets there, is with at least 12 more points before Christmas.

Sure, Penner will have a small window to earn more points before the Dec 31st deadline, but if Penner can put together 48 points in 37 games, (a 2.4 ppg pace) it will be hard for Yzerman and company to ignore what he's done. Especially if of those points, six or seven are goals.

Penner would bring a fairly unique element to Team Canada beyond just his point totals. His combination of speed, and hands for a big man at power forward position would be something that attracts Penner to the Canadian group. He's willing to stand infront of the net and he's a very solid two-way forward.

At this point, Penner is a long shot. But with every game, including his four point performance against the Blues on Friday, Penner has to be gaining more and more consideration. He's doing everything he needs to oustide of knocking out another candidate that may be slipping in consideration due to poor play. Should Penner be around the 50 point mark by the deadline, he will be hard to ignore.

At this stage, there are only two players from Canada with more points -- that being Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby. Add Dany Heatley to that list and those are the only three players who have more goals to date than Penner.

So for the first of my 12 Days Of Christmas, I would like 12 more points for Penner before the 25th of December.
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You can't go far on the Oilers blogosphere these days without reading about the impending moves that must be coming to an Edmonton Oilers team that has struggled.

Pulling off their first shut-out of the season last night against the Coyotes, the critics might be silent for a couple of days, maybe even a week; but it won't take long before the rumors once again begin to swirl.

With that in mind, if a big trade is coming, which members of this team above all others should stay?

In any trade negotiation, there are players that a GM might deem "untouchable". Many might argue that the Oilers don't have any of those players. Some might argue only Ales Hemsky. Others might now add Dustin Penner to that list, even though last year fans prayed at night to see him moved.

I'm of the impression, that while this Oilers team needs a lot of work, there are some key pieces I would be very sad to see go:

Ales Hemsky

I selected Hemsky for two reasons. Despite how frustrating it can be to watch him fiddle around and act as if he'd rather be playing cards than hockey, he's still the most skilled forward the Oilers have. In fact on many NHL teams, he'd be the most skilled player.

He's not yet hit his peak in terms of point production and this could be the year we see the first real signs of what Hemsky could be for this team. With coaches like Renney and Quinn, I think this is the right place for Hemsky to push past that hump he's yet to reach, developiong a more overall game.

I also love his contract and how it's one of the few on the team that actually helps a salary cap situation. You don't give that away without a tremendous return. Hemsky is complete value for his dollar and that doesn't often happen in todays NHL.

Dustin Penner

Despite how fairweather this sounds, I've liked Dustin Penner since he came to Edmonton. Like many of you, I've been frustrated with his lack of production, but I saw it more as a mental issue and the wrong environment as opposed to Penner lacking the skill-set needed to be effective.

I believed that Penner would struggle at first as a player who'd been told he wasn't worth the contract he was given by almost everyone. He was under immense pressure in one of the most crazy hockey markets in the NHL and on a team that badly needed him to contribute. It was a recipe for disaster.

This year, he seems to have put the expectations behind him (being that no one really expected much) and he's playing like the player people thought he was when offered that big time contract.

He's a big body with great hands. He's faster than people give him credit for and he's willing to go to the hard areas (not too many people willingly stand infront of a Souray slap shot 5 or 6 times a game). He's been a strong two-way presence even when his offensive numbers were lower and when told to add elements to his game like penalty killing and faceoffs, he's done it... and successfully.

This year, Penner has added a play-making side to his game few knew he had. He's quickly making the statements Kevin Lowe said when he obtained him accurate. "We feel we're paying in part for potential with Dustin. He might not be fair value this year at $4 million, but we see him as a great deal in the next couple of years and worth more than we're paying him towards the end of his contract." (or something along those lines...)

Who'd have thunk that might actually have turned out to be a fair statement.



Lubomir Visnovsky

This was one of the better trades the Oilers made in the last few seasons. Saying that, I'm a fan of both Jarrett Stoll and Matt Greene.

Visnovsky is a fantastic all-around defenceman. He moves the puck well and while not a stay-at-home type, he's sound positionally on the defensive side. He's possesses a canon of a shot and the best part is, knows when to fire it.

Visnovsky has been about a dozen points shy of a point per game pace in a few seasons and this year, coming off shoulder surgery, he's poised to do it again.

He's a veteran presence, that makes the power-play and five-on-five situations better, but he also works hard to be a good teammate and leader with a great attitude.

He's paid well, but when he's on, the Oilers are a much better team. When he's not in the lineup, they can be outright lousy. That makes him worth his paycheck any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Gilbert Brule

Gilbert Brule has the potential to turn into one of the best trades the Oilers have made in a decade,when you consider what was given up to obtain him. Moved for Raffi Torres, it was a trade in which both teams involved had somewhat given up on the players they moved. Torres had proven and shown what he could do. Brule was a diamond in the rough, but somewhat of a gamble.

It's gamble that is starting to pay off for Edmonton as Brule is doing the things most players won't, but contributing on the offensive side as well. When it comes to physical play, he's third on the team in hits with 37. In terms of players who have taken more than 100 faceoffs this season, he's the team leader at 51.2%. He's not a minus hockey player, he has 13 points with 6 goals and he's getting stronger and stronger every night.

Brule has a tendency, as many young players do, to lapse in judgement which can lead to turnovers. With that comes his insatiable willingness to make up for it by doing two positive things for every negative.

For some reason, he's yet to convince the coaching staff that he's that go-to-guy, but it won't take long.

JF Jacques

You can't say enough about a player that knows his role and does everything in his power to exceed expectations in that role. Jacques leads the team in hits with 62 (amazing considering he's only played 17 games).

He's got better hands than people think, but he knows he's not a scorer. He's willing to throw down with almost anyone and his presence can change the course of a game, despite the fact that he's not a heavyweight.

I get the impression that JF Jacques is one of the few players on this team that would resign for less than he's worth, but I think the Oilers will find he has great worth and will make him a priority even though it shouldn't take a lot to get it done.

Of course, past experience with players like Glencross and Reasoner suggest otherwise, but perhaps this time, the Oilers get it right.

Ladislav Smid

This kid is going to be a great defencemen. He's got the potential to make the Pronger trade not look like a total disaster. That along side his reasonable salary put him on this list.

Sheldon Souray

This should be Edmonton's team captain. He's not, because the Oilers don't know how to remove it respectfully from Ethan Moreau while he's still an Oiler.

Sheldon Souray should be a lock for 50 points every year and while he's older, here's to hoping his injuries are behind him. Fans consider his salary to be up there in terms of money spent on defence, but when you consider or compare the elements he brings to an Edmonton roster, like a Chara in Boston would or a Pronger in Philadelphia does, he's up there.

No, he's not on the same level as those two defencemen are. What he is though, is as valueable to Edmonton as those players are to their teams. He's just a whole lot less expensive in the grand scheme of things.

Outside of those players, the Oilers can move anyone on this team and I wouldn't mind. Granted, it would be nice if the return justified the moves, but if a shake-up is coming, some players will be moved just to move them.

I'm not holding onto the urgency to get Gagner, Cogliano or Grebeshkov to long terms deals because I feel, in todays NHL, there will be contracts out there every year that are bargains. Each of those contracts should be able to match the production those names will bring the Oilers..

It's pretty standard from what I've noticed for the NHL blogosphere to do a quarter of the way through the season team review on each respective team for which they write. They examine player by player to see how each is doing, his contribution to the team, and so forth.

We'll be doing that as well, just a bit differently. I'll be breaking each article into groups of five players, not only giving grades, but going through my earlier predictions and seeing how off base I was or whether I was on the right track.

First, let me preface this with, it's hard to judge a number of the players on this team due strictly to how injured and ill they've been. With somewhere close to 100 man games missed in just 20 games total for the team, how can we fairly suggest that each player will be getting a fair review?

All that said, let's give it a shot anyways.

We'll start with the only five players to have actually played all 20 Oiler games this season. Stortini, Gilbert, Cogliano, O'Sullivan and Penner.

Penner is an easy one. While we were pretty confident that he'd have a bounce back year (our first ever article on this site was actually about Penner breaking out), we can't lie and suggest we expected the level to which Penner has kicked off this season.

Penner leads the Oilers in a ton of categories and even when his production is limited to one goal in a contest, Penner has been the best player on the ice for both teams. A far cry from watching him last season.

Penner's pace of play has come back to reality a tad bit, but he's still highly ranked in the NHL (tied for 6th) for points, plus/minus, goals scored, and he's playing in all important situations for the Oilers. He's currently tied with Dany Heatley for points, which if you'd have predicted that before the first 20 games of the season and right after the trade was veto'd, you should have bought a lottery ticket.

Penner needs another multi-point effort here in the next couple games to hope to stay ahead of Heatley, but I don't think Oiler fans need him to out-point San Jose's 50 goal scorer to be happy with Penner's performance. 35 goals and 30-35 assists would be great. 65 points at just over $4 million would make Penner a good contract for the first time since coming to Edmonton.

Penner has been the one consistent Oiler in an otherwise very inconsistent season.

Dustin Penner -- A+

Andrew Cogliano is another piece of that Heatley puzzle who seems to be doing whatCogliano normally does, just at a slower pace (we don't mean speed, as he's still one of the fastest players in the NHL). He's on track to get about 13 goals and 33 points, which for what Oiler fans and management had expected isn't great, especially in a contract year.

The problem is, it's not all Cogliano's fault. He's been on the fourth line almost all season in more of a grinder type role. Playing with Ethan Moreau and Zack Stortini night in and night out, even in the face of injuries, either means that Pat Quinn has little confidence in Cogliano to play a bigger role or he just doesn't know where else to put him.

Once again his faceoff win percentage is awful at 39% and while he's the speediest forward the Oilers have, speed won't be enough.

Fans can expect a contract issue at the end of the season, as I expect Cogliano to feel he's worth more than he'll be offered. If things look iffy, expect Cogliano to be part of a group of players moved in a trade for something a bit more proven and productive. People wondered why his name was a part of the Heatley trade. His numbers make for an obvious answer.

All that said, I do like how Cogliano has become a much more efficient penalty killer on a team that needed some assistance in that area and he looks like a threat on any given night. He just doesn't have the linemates to assist him.

Andrew Cogliano -- C+

Tom Gilbert has been bad. I'd love to say it another way, but with a plus/minus - 4 and 4 points with only 1 goal, he's not contributed in the main area he's been paid $4 million per season to contribute.

Granted, with Souray, Visnovsky and Smid out of the lineup, Gilbert was asked to play more defensive hockey. Still, Gilbert has been so unproductive, that any trade value he had to start the season has all but vanished.

That's not good news for the Oilers who are now looking at another few years at his salary. Fans can only hope that his 45 points last season (almost all second assists) wasn't just a fluke, nor is his only 4 points this season. On pace for about 16 points, Gilbert needs to pick it up, or the albatross contract that people like to peg Horcoff with, will look like small potatoes compared to Gilbert.

Tom Gilbert -- D-

Zack Stortini hasn't really been Zack Stortini. For a while, he was surprisingly effective and it looked like my season starting prediction of 10 goals was going to happen.

After the Nasvhille game however, Stortini hasn't done a lot in the role he's expected to play to give energy to an often lazy Oilers team. One has to wonder if all of a sudden Stortini figured he'd be more of an offensive threat and forgot why he's on the team.

The good, is that Stortini is second in the team in hits with 34. The bad, is that he's supposed to be the team agitator. He's not doing it at nearly the same pace as last season and often times, the 3rd line (a line with AHL'ers and Gilbert Brule) has out-agitated the Stortini line.

For a guy known as a scrapper (so much so, he was the NHL 2K9 consultant on fighting), his fighting this season is down. Now I'm not so much about having a player that leads the league in fights like Stortini did last season. I'm more about a player finding the right time to lift the spirits of his team with a good tilt. There has been plenty of opporuntity for that this year and Stortini just hasn't been there.

Stortini has been part of one of the more consistent lines for the Oilers, so that is a good thing. I just wonder if that speaks more about the fourth line, or the lack of production from the other three lines.

Zack Stortini -- C +

Patrick O'Sullivan has the quietest 12 points I can remember an Oiler having in a while. Brought to the team as a goal scorer and on fire during pre-season, O'Sullivan his disappeared as a sniper, showing only signs of getting 20 goals for the Oilers during things like shoot-outs and 5 on 3 powerplays.

O'Sullivan does shoot. He's tied for the team in shots with Dustin Penner at 61, however; unlike Penner who has an extremely generous shooting percentage of 19.7%, O'Sullivan is finding the net at a whopping 4.9% which is good for 242 out of 276 players. This isn't counting games where he has point blank chances and missed the net completely. Last night against Atlanta was a perfect example.

As a coach you have to wonder what direction is best for a player like O'Sullivan. Is he snake bitten? If so, despite how often he shoots, you probably have to tell him to keep shooting and maybe more often. If he's just not what you thought he'd be, you have to wonder what you do over the next couple of games if the pace continues.

I still like what O'Sullivan brings. He's grittier than I thought he'd be, he's a couple goals away from having a pretty good run going, and seems to be the type of player who can add three goals to his total in one game. We're just still waiting to see that game. His effort seems to be there.

Patrick O'Sullivan -- B-

In our next quater poll rankings we'll look at the top stars of this team. At least by definition based on their salaries, those who are supposed to be top stars. Think hard enough, you can probably guess who'll we'll be talking about.

This is Steve Staios. For a while he played right wing with the Atlanta Thrashers. In Edmonton, he's known as a stay-at-home defenseman. Pretty soon, he might be known as a goalie.

Should the injury situation in Edmonton get so bad, that the Oilers find a few man games go missing between their goalies, suit Staios up, he's definitely ready.

In a heartbreaking loss to the Ottawa Senators, Staios was amazing. Outside of the fact he was an amazing plus/minus -+3 in a 3 goals for effort, he had two assists and blocked an amazing 5 shots (have I said he was amazing enough yet?).

In the second period, Oilers goalie Jeff Deslaurier made 5 saves. I can't recall the last time a player had as many or more saves in one stretch than his goalie did.

The crazy part is, Staios wasn't alone in the "I can't believe they were so good" category.

Simply put, Dustin Penner dominated. Astonishingly, he didn't have more to show for it than one goal. Remember, how it wasn't that long ago, Oilers fans were ready to send Penner packing because he could never seem to score that "one goal"?

In all of last season Penner had 17 goals. This year, in 18 games, he has 11. That's on pace for a 50 goal season and only 6 goals shy of last year. It would be unreal to think he won't hit that mark, even if he slows to a snails pace.

To Penner's credit, there seem to be no signs of slowing. When Penner had the puck last night, and often even when he didn't, he was making things happen. He's been the one shining light in the Oilers many shut-out losses and he just seems to be getting better and sees this as his time to be a great hockey player.

If the Oilers can get two more seasons out of him similar to what this season is shaping up to be, we'll all owe Kevin Lowe a big glass of "what were we smokin' to have doubted you" juice. It's still early, but a huge base of fans have never been more happy to be wrong.

Even more, considering the Oilers had a crop of AHL'ers in Oiler uniforms last night, they did what a good road team needed to do to get the win. Despite the fact that Edmonton lost, it's about the most positive type of loss a team can have, kicking off this five game road trip with 3 out of a possible 4 points.

If the Oilers missing players start popping back into place, tough decisions might be coming. Furthermore, if the Oilers are lucky, Edmonton will have earned enough points to have kept themselves in contention. Great news for a team just itching to actually play the roster it had planned to ice from the start of the year.

Of course if the latest play of Liam Reddox, Ryan Potulny and Taylor Chorney have anything to say about it, that opening roster might be a tad different than what was expected.

Going into the Edmonton Oilers vs Detroit Red Wings game, I would have been excited if the Oilers had escaped with one point.

Edmonton was sick, getting sicker, and injured, while Detroit sans Johan Franzen was relatively healthy and posed ready for a break-out game. It would have taken a total Oilers team effort to escape alive.

So when Edmonton hopped out to an early 5-1 lead, excitement to escape the game with a point, became enthusiasm for a possible offensive spanking. That would have been exactly what the Oilers had needed to break a seven period scoreless funk.

Shawn Horcoff had a goal and two assists (up to the Detroit game, he'd been horrid offensively), Ales Hemsky was terrific with two goals and a helper, and Dustin Penner was his reliable (never thought I'd use that word coming into this season) self, with another multi-point night, netting a goal and three assists.

The Oilers were looking good like a team should. Not to be outdone and also like a team, the Oilers became the Oilers.

Missing Lubomir Visnovsky and still without Sheldon Souray and Steve Staois, the young blueline got tired and panicked. The first line stopped producing and any depth that might have existed, disappeared.

Detroit jumped all over it and within a twenty minute time period, had clawed all the way back to tie the game at 5 goals a piece. In short, despite Edmonton's 6-5 win, the Oilers got whipped for a good 35 minutes.

Hopefully the entire Oilers team learned a lesson.

Is it true, that Dustin Penner is third in the NHL for points with 19? Yes. Is Hemsky fifth in the NHL for assists with 11? Yes. Is Ladislav Smid quickly making a case the that Pronger trade was not a total disaster? Perhaps.

Let's take it a step further.

Taylor Chorney is auditioning for a permanent job on the blueline and he may have earned it. Gilbert Brule is posed to become a reliable NHL forward and he's earned that too. All the while, Jacques continues to rank high in the NHL in terms of hits at 4th. I can't remember the last time an Oiler did that.

Are these things enough? No.

For the Oilers to do more than escape with a win, they'll need to figure a way to piece some individual success stories together to make a total solid team effort. They'll need to leave the zone together, retrieve the puck together and win together. Relying on 10 point nights from your top line won't cut it.

If they don't, the Oilers will continue to be out-shot, out-scored and out-played.

They also won't keep winning.

The Oilers have a history of trade transactions and signings that come under fire. In the past few years, Edmonton has been at the forefront of the hockey world, thanks to players like Dany Heatley, Michael Nylander, and Chris Pronger...all of whom have all painted Edmonton with a negative brush.


First, Chris Pronger came within one game of winning the Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 2006 only to demand a trade mere hours afterwards for reasons that still irk Oiler fans. Amidst other rumors and speculation, Pronger publicly condemned the city as unlivable.

Second was Michael Nylander, who had apparently signed a lucrative UFA contract with the Oilers, but simultaneously signed with the Capitals sighting that his family would prefer to live in Washington over Edmonton. He has since publicly commented positively about Edmonton and the team, but at the time his actions stung Edmontonians.

Finally, this past summer, Dany Heatley just wouldn't seem to go away. After asking for a trade from Ottawa, Heatley was unofficially traded to the Oilers. Edmonton waited and waited, only to find out that Heatley never had intentions of accepting the trade, knowing he'd rather finish his career in a city that hated him than in Edmonton.

As a result, Oiler fans have wondered for years, just what the Oilers would need to do to be attractive to NHL players.

After Thursday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, fans in Edmonton are starting to sing a different tune.

The Oilers looked all but finished after the first 30 minutes of Thursdays game, until; as if on cue, Dustin Penner, who has been directly and indirectly linked to Nylander, Pronger, and Heatley, decided to take over.

With a five point night, Penner and his new No. 1 linemates, Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky, single handedly gave new life to Edmonton, resulting in a 6-4 Oilers win and a whale of a contest.

Penner left that game tied for fourth in NHL points (14) and goals scored (7), as well as tied for third in the plus/minus ranking with a plus 9. Not bad for a guy who is only in Edmonton, because the Oilers had no other choice.

After Pronger exited the Oilers, Edmonton was desperate to make a statement to the fan base who had become deathly afraid that their Stanley Cup run was a once in a blue moon event.

Failing to sign their first option (Michael Nylander), then failing to yank from Buffalo their second option (Tomas Vanek), the Oilers tendered an RFA offer to Dustin Penner who's time in Edmonton fell under harsh criticism.

It's funny how things change.

While critics thought maybe the three players in the Heatley trade could out-score the 50 goal sniper, Penner is doing it by himself.

In San Jose, Heatley has since been moved to the second line and their second unit powerplay (a reason he requested a trade from Ottawa).

Michael Nylander, who was supposed to be Edmonton's number No. 1 center, can't even get a job on the team that signed him, while Sam Gagner has strung up four goals and four assists at almost a point per game pace.

And Pronger?... well Pronger is still one hell of a defenceman. Luckily for Edmonton, it's looking like so is Ladislav Smid (also part of the Heatley trade) who is second overall in NHL plus/minus with a plus-10.

As an added bonus, after a combined 13 points against Columbus, Ales Hemsky seems to have finally found his No. 1 linemates to play with.

The Oilers lack a true superstar. Hemsky, while close, simply isn't that guy. In addition, Edmonton's No. 1 centre is Shawn Horcoff, who spends most of his time attempting to win defensive zone faceoffs and killing penalties, while keeping whoever plays on that first line with him responsible enough to keep the line at a positive plus/minus.

The left wing is a constant rotation of players who can't quite seem to find the right chemistry to make the top line trio dangerous enough on any given night that an opponent should worry.

As a result, Pat Quinn and Tom Renney have been given no choice but to roll four skilled, but somewhat gritty, lines to even things out and spread the offense through the entire team. To date, it seems to be working.

With another five goals in Friday's PPV win over the Minnesota Wild, the Oilers are tied for second in the league with 28 goals for. Without a true sniper, somehow, the Edmonton Oilers have managed to score more goals than 28 other NHL teams and in five-on-five situations, the Oilers top the standings.

In years past, the Oilers have had trouble out-scoring other teams. Traditionally, the Oilers, like most teams would try to stack their top two lines. They use the others as energy or checking lines, but also unlike those other teams, saw little to no success.

Their strengths simply couldn't out perform teams that had the Crosby/Malkin, Zetterberg/Datsyuk or Heatley/Spezza's of the NHL. Even teams with combinations like Iginla/Jokinen, who have had respectively poor starts to this NHL season simply scored more than the Oilers could.

This year, the Oilers have decided that every line needs enough offensive skill that against the opposition, no matter which line is on the ice, the Oilers have the potential to score. Without any intention to match lines or stack skill against skill, the Oilers have found a combination, that to this point is paying off in a 4-2-1 record.

If every line can score once, and the goalie can make the saves that need to be made, the Oilers should score four goals a game and keep the puck out of the net just enough to pull out victories. The result seems to be a lot of contests where the Oilers are out-shot, but coming out on top against teams that seem to have higher top end skill.

Where this plan will fall apart and fast is if both Nikolai Khabibulin or Jeff Deslauriers start to have poor games or make costly mistakes. The Oilers are hoping that doesn't happen.

Helping this strategy is the surprising play of Oilers like Dustin Penner and Gilbert Brule. Penner was in the doghouse almost all of last year with Craig MacTavish, who due to his inability to get the most from his players seemed on his way out of Edmonton at the start of last year.

Penner became the excuse MacTavish would use to explain the Oilers poor record, and for Penner, it affected his play.

With renewed confidence under new coaching, Penner isn't on the top line this year and is exceeding expectations early on. With nine points and five goals in seven games, Penner is tied for 11th for points in the NHL, and seventh for goals scored, along side players like Dany Heatley and Ryan Smyth (ironically both players to which many comparisons have been made with their somewhat controversial connection to the Oilers).

So, too, Gilbert Brule, who spent most of last season in the minors and who by many was considered a salary dump trade by Edmonton when the Oilers moved Raffi Torres to Columbus, is also playing a larger role with Quinn's group and coming out on top.

With four goals and three assists in seven games, Brule has already topped last seasons totals and looks like a player who'll pick up 20 goals quite easily.

All around, the Oilers have 13 players with at least a goal in seven games. Of the eight players without, six are defencemen and many of those have played three or less games so far this year. Outside of possibly the Calgary Flames, who are tied for first in the Western Conference with 11 points; the balance shown among the roster for Edmonton is exactly what a team without a superstar needs to stay among the contending playoff teams in the NHL.
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Here's a list of some of the veterans who have become available and either caught fans interest or been slightly rumored possible future Oiler: (average stats over the last 3 years are provided as well)

Nikolai Zherdev : 78 games 19 goals 30 assists for 50 points
Vaclav Prospal: 81 games 22 goals 35 assists for 57 points
Alex Tanguay: 69 games 18 goals 41 assists for 60 points
Manny Malhotra: 76 games 10 goals 19 assists for 29 points

Here's a list of the forwards the Oilers are working with that have been the discussion of trade, waiver or demotion: (I've tried to list them in a similar skill order, or at least according to their role on the team)

Dustin Penner: 80 games 23 goals 20 assists for 43 points
Patrick O'Sullivan: 69 games 14 goals 24 assists for 38 points
Robert Nilsson: (only count 2 seasons since one was only a total of 4 games) 67 games 9.5 goals 25.5 assists for 35 points
Andrew Cogliano: (only played 2 seasons) 82 games 18 goals 23.5 assists for 41 points

What does this tell us?

Of these four veteran UFA's, all of them with the exception of Andrew Cogliano over Manny Malhotra would have been an improvement offensively and proven bet for the Oilers versus what Pat Quinn has at his disposal now.

All four of these UFA's are still available, and all four of them can probably be had for a decent price. So too, even though Tambellini says this is a contracts going out vs those coming in issue, all four of the players on our current list of available forwards can be moved to make space if it was required and doing so would create enough cap room to add three if not all four of those listed UFA's.

Intangibles

Each list of four players brings a few elements that are different to their style of play and should be accounted for if we're going to make this kind of comparison. Malhotra can win you face-offs, but Cogliano can't. Penner is a big body in front of the net on the power play whose purpose is to score goals not get assists. Tanguay and Zherdev are more assist men than anything else and don't really bring that physical presence.

Furthermore, all of the players on the Oiler's list are younger than the age of 26 while all of the players on the UFA list are over the age of 25. (I actually thought when I first started making this comparison that the age variation would be greater. Only Prospal brings with him a question of age). You can take this age factor and draw your own conclusion. Obviously if you're of the feeling that youth gets better, you'll like the Oilers age. If you'd rather haven proven career numbers to work with, all of the players on the UFA list have the experience the Oilers could use. So too, most of those players have had better seasons one of the years outside the three year average I used.

What Do I Think?

If the Oilers want us to believe we are rebuilding, stick with the youth. Unfortunately, they never actually come out and say that. They always contend we're a playoff team and do crazy things like grab a 36 year old goalie or offer up three of their up and coming stars for Dany Heatley.

The Oilers actions suggest they want to win and now. To do so means going with a roster far more proven than the inconsistent group we currently watch 82 times a year. Surprisingly, only Dustin Penner actually has showed his ability to maintain somewhat of a offensive pace, with Andrew Cogliano on his way there too. O'Sullivan's numbers were hurt by a first season average that saw him play only half a season so maybe a rush to judgement there would be unfair, but if I want to win now, Prospal, Zherdev and Tanguay all seem to make more sense.

What we can't measure are whether or not these players have interest in coming to Edmonton or the results that bringing in players with this experience and track record would do for the other players on this team namely the Fernando Pisani's, Ethan Moreau's Ales Hemsky's and Shawn Horcoff's. Whenever you bring in players who have shown that despite the teams and players they've played with over a longer career, you can almost bet that in some ways the numbers of your current players working with rookies and unproven talent would have to improve.

When you don't, you count of reliable two-way players to play a much more defensive, scrambly style of play to make up for rookie mistakes. That took a lot out of a player like Horcoff last year.

What Do You Think?

With the percentages getting higher and higher that the Oilers stand pat and do very little more to upgrade their current roster for the upcoming 2009/2010 season, one has to wonder where the production will come from in respect to the Oilers current line-up.

The Oilers traditionally lacked that superstar player who can change a game. Some might argue Ales Hemsky's ability to do so and a case can be made there as every game Hemsky was able to obtain at least two or more points, the Oilers won all but one (Maple Leafs on Nov 13, 2008). The problem for the Oilers is that Hemsky doesn't have that consistency needed to be a sole reason for the Oilers to win games: 27 games he played in, he didn't get on the board at all and when he did score he only had two game winning goals all season for a guy considered to be the Oilers best player.

Furthermore, if Hemsky were to "break out" what would the difference be in his totals? I've listed his current stats since 2005, with a projection of what 2009/10 might look like:

2005/06: 77 points in 81 games
2006/07: 53 points in 64 games
2007/08: 71 points in 74 games
2008/09: 66 points in 72 games
2009/10: 85 points in 80 games (four game winners)

That would be nice, but not something the Oilers could rely on to get them into the playoffs. We'd be kind to suggest he gets 5 more goals and 5 more assists than his closest totals in 2005.

What Edmonton will need, is a player who can take that next big step and go from a player who produced a little to someone who exploded offensively (we'll exclude defensman in this conversation). Since we likely don't have that superstar on our roster, who would be the logical choice to be the next Oilers difference maker?

Here's possibly one option.

Dustin Penner

If Penner finds himself an Oiler come the start of the season, he should have the ability to bust-out as an offensive threat and a go-to guy for Pat Quinn and co. Penner has new coaching, which he badly needed. He's got an almost completely clean slate (no one ever totally ignores a players reputation and previous statistics) and according to Edmonton Oilers strength and conditioning consultant Simon Bennet, Penner's in the best shape of any off-season in his NHL career so far. Knowing that, what could Dustin Penner do if he were to break-out (and I'm not talking acne here folks)?

I'm not one to blame the previous coaching for the Oiler woes, but if there ever was a case to be made for a player who saw a direct correlation between his performance and what happened with the coaching staff, it was Dustin Penner. In 2008/2009, Penner spent a lot of games as a bottom six forward when he shouldn't have. MacTavish chose to use Penner as an example (in some cases perhaps rightfully so) and with every change MacTavish made, Penner's production dropped. That was a mistake.

Unfortunately for MacTavish, the numbers didn't suggest that such moves would improve or help increase Penner's production and in hindsight likely should have kept Penner in the top six, resulting undoubtedly in a better year.

Why? Despite Penner's ability to play ok with almost all of his linemates, having gotten points with every line he was on, I truly believe a lot of his inconsistency last year had to do with the constant movement from line to line and new mates every night. When it was showed Cole wouldn't mix, Penner was moved. When the kid line didn't have a similar start like it ended the previous season or other lines didn't mesh despite the first line playing alright, Penner was moved. If Penner had a bad game or looked sheepish, Penner was moved. All in all, Penner was moved a lot. Sure, the rest of the roster was too, but it greatly affected Penner's game.

With all that, Penner had a lot of positives. He had five game winning goals which was an increase over his previous year and tied his career best in Anaheim, despite not being put on the ice in last minute pressure situations towards the end of the year.

In many cases he was effective on the man advantage yet was moved the second unit and as a result, his production suffered. In 2008/2009 he finished the year with 13 power-play goals. Last year he had 5. Granted the man advantage was not very kind to the Oil last year, but perhaps some of that could be attributed to the lack of net presence that Penner effectively provides.

He ranked 6th on the team in ice time above only Robert Nilsson who is arguabely a top six forward, clocking in at 17:12 in 2007/08 to last years 15:22. So too, he ranked seventh in shots on net with 137 where as the year before and in Anaheim he showed he was not shy about shooting letting it go 201 and 200 times respectively.

There are two things we should know by looking at Penner's history. He plays well with excellent linemates. In 13 minutes a game but with Cory Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, Penner netted 29 goals. When he played with Hemsky in 2007/2008 he hit the back of twine 23 times. Not bad considering it can be argued the Oilers don't have talent on the team that resembles either Getzlaf or Perry. When he played with lesser mates as would most players, his numbers dropped. When he wasn't with the best the Oilers had to offer, they really did.

Also, when Penner is played effectively on the powerplay and in pressure situations, he seems to shine. Last year, he wasn't there nearly enough and the numbers reflected it.

Penner has become a much better two-way player in his three years, leading the Oilers in plus/minus at plus -7. This number despite the fact he was in position more often to see those numbers get worse. That's a good sign and something Pat Quinn is a fan of knowing how little he likes to line match.

It's safe to assume that in every category Penner will see an increase in production as a direct result of the opportunities to improve given by Pat Quinn and Tom Renney. What will be interesting, is whether or not Penner can improve to the level we consider him a game changer or break-out performer. Let's hope so, because like Hemsky, when Penner has a multiple point game, the Oilers win. They did so in every game last year that it happened.

I had earlier disputed the idea of Penner getting 30 goals when suggested by my co-writer here. The more I look at the numbers and how I see Quinn and Penner as a much better match, 30, even 35 isn't out of the question.

Tuesday it was learned that the Tampa Bay Lightning had bought out the remaining three years on the contract of Vaclav Prospal as a way to save on the salary cap and do what a lot of speculators are guessing -- add another forward to their line-up -- perhaps Alex Tanguay.

It was seemingly a quick decision and has sparked some debate; but no where more than Edmonton, where the Oilers badly need an upgrade at the first line LW position. Could Prospoal be the answer? I'd normally say no the way the Oilers have to overspend to attract certain players, but at the right price, I'd consider it.

The Upside:

Prospal has been an 80 point player twice. (Well almost... in 2002/2003 with the Tampa Bay Lightning and playing with players like Lecavalier and St. Louis he scored 79 points.) Add to that he's been a 20 goal scorer four times and hit the 19 goal mark twice, including last year when everyone in Tampa seemed to have a poor year. Despite his streaky play, Prospal is an offensive threat a power play guy and versatile foward and always has been. A player who likes to shoot, Prospal would have ranked in the Oilers top 3 forwards in shots taken each of the last few years. No forward on the roster for Edmonton even comes close to what Prospal has done and I included Hemsky in that list.

At 6' and 195 lbs, he does have a tendency to play a somewhat physical game because he's not a small forward like the Oilers seem to have an abundance of and he stays extremely healthy having played 80 plus games in all of his last 7 seasons. Furthermore, despite the knock that he disappears in the playoffs, that argument doesn't seem to hold true. In 2007/08 with the Flyers he had 13 points in 17 games, in 2006/07 he had 5 points in 6 games with Tampa and in 2002/03 a modest 6 points in 11 games.

Here's the stat I like. His face off percentage is fantastic. Last season 53%, 2007/08 he was 55.7% and in 2006/07 he was 52.4% from the dot with 2005/06 being the only blip since the lock-out at just over 45%.

These are all elements the Oilers have been looking for.

The Downside:

Prospal is no spring chicken. At 34, it can be argued he's starting the down-slope of his career. This argument though can really only be based on his last season in which his totals were down and he was very poor plus/minus - 20. So too, he's not really ever been considered first line material and that is what the Oilers seem to need. Sure, it can be argued the Oilers don't have the offensive depth that Tampa and Philly had, keeping Prospal on the 2nd line on those two teams, but this is a perfect example of why the Oilers have been in the Heatley sweepstakes so long -- first line dominant offensive LW players don't grow on trees.

Prospals +/- rating has always been somewhat low with the exception of the few games he played with the Flyers in 07/08 after his move at the trade deadline, but very few players in Tampa were plus players last year; which should be no surprise to anyone.

The Verdict

I'd like to see the Oilers make a call and express some interest if Prospal can be had for the right price. After the 24 hours Prospal has to either accept the buyout from the team, or choose to go through waivers he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

If Prospal chooses the buy-out, he'll be paid $1.167 for the next six seasons. This could lead to a pretty good deal for the next team he plays with, since he'll be getting more than one paycheck as long as he seemingly continues to play hockey in the NHL and may not require a big contract from his new squad.

To me, the right price is $2.5 million. For that, he can be tried as first line LW if no other solution presents itself before Oiler camp opens. If it does, then that price is respectable for a guy on the 2nd line. Should that not work, he can play center and if his offensive numbers are down, at least he can win you face offs. $2.5 is high for a third line center, but not one that also has the ability to play first line LW and on your power play.

Anything more I think is too high a price tag for a couple reasons. First, the ability to sign a temporary but strong offensive player still exists in free agency (although it's somewhat down to slim pickin's) and the Oilers have Dustin Penner and Patrick O'Sullivan, both who deservedly should be on your top two lines.

What would you do?

While the Oilers examine their ability to fill a need at the top 3 left wing forward position, a few viable options exist within Edmonton's roster. Obviously the Oilers would like to improve on what is currently available, but should they not be able to; Tambellini, Quinn and Renney may have already discussed who might be playing along side Hemksy and Horcoff to start the season.

Tambellini saw something at the trade deadline last year he liked -- that being Patrick O'Sullivan. Drafted in the second round of the 2003 NHL entry draft at 56th overall by the Wild, O'Sullivan played his first season for their AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros. He had a great season, scoring 47 goals, with a total of 93 points, breaking all Houston Aeros' rookie records. A nice start and strong showing of character for a youngster growing up with the shadow of an abusive father hanging over him.

Seemingly able to put all of that behind him, he began the 2006/2007 season with the Kings when he made his NHL debut on October 6, 2006, and became the first person from North Carolina to play in the NHL. O'Sullivan didn't really break out in L.A. until 2007/2008 until he played all 82 games, scored 22 goals and 31 helpers for 53 points. He played in all situations and showed his willingness to shoot the puck, leading the Kings with 220 shots taken that year.

Edmonton saw their first taste of him as an Oiler, when on March 4, 2009, O'Sullivan was traded by the Kings with Calgary's second-round pick to the Hurricanes for Justin Williams, then was traded by the Hurricanes along with a second-round pick to the Oilers for Erik Cole and a fifth-round pick. Cole being a UFA at the end of that year; the Oilers needed to move Cole for risk of losing him in the summer for nothing. By most accounts, it was a win trade for Edmonton as O'Sullivan was argueably the best player to change hands.

Before coming here from L.A. that year, O'Sullivan looked to be on pace for another good season, however; seemed to hit a block as tended to be the case for a lot of offensive minded players under Craig MacTavish. O'Sullivan did little to spark the team and they nose-dived out of a playoff spot as both he and the rest of the team struggled.

That said, I don't want to write him off just yet. O'Sullivan likes to shoot. A lot. He finished last season with 259 shots, which was 39 higher than the year before and 51 more times than anyone on the current Oilers roster that year. Shooting the puck has not exactly been the Oilers strong suit.

Hemsky is a known passer and play-maker and Horcoff, more known for his passing and two-way style than ability to finish plays will both require someone who can keep up, (O'Sullivan is a good skater), who can finish (he knows how to put the puck in the net), and more so than anything is willing to try to score. Even more, O'Sullivan may be a spark for a Shawn Horcoff, who at times was so heavily relied upon last year to be defensively responsible for his linemates, that his offense took a massive hit.

O'Sullivan is a well rounded forward, not afraid to play defense and get back into the play. His plus minus hasn't been stellar over his NHL career, but much of that can be contributed to his career being played in L.A, where goals against was a regularity.

Should the Oilers not be able to make a move this summer, look for a debate between Penner and O'Sullivan as starting LW. I expect to see Penner, but my vote goes to O'Sullivan. He makes more sense in his style of play and Penner fits well on the 2nd line, but first unit power play where I wouldn't expect his numbers to drop.

I waited. Well at least as long as was possible and with little else left to talk about before I decided it not a bad idea to make some bold predictions about the upcoming season.

I suppose I could have talked about the rediculous attempt by the Edmonton Oilers to woo one Dany Heatley from his summer home in Kelowna with a DVD/Video about the complete awesomeness of Edmonton and what it's like to be a player here. I've reserved doing that for the time being, because I just don't feel the need to keep piling the poop on top of an already crappy situation.

Instead, the "Prof" who writes for us on a regular basis and I decided we'd compare some bold predictions. I'll let him make his, I'll comment and then finish with some of my own. We welcome you to agree or disagree.

Prof's Prediction #1 : Dustin Penner will have his highest goal-scoring season. He will score at least 30 goals and have 25 assists as a plus hockey player. Penner scored 29 goals with the Ducks, but he will top that this season. Perhaps, he will not be an Oiler – but wherever he goes, here or away, he will score at least 30 goals.

Oilers Insider Prediction #1: Penner will score more goals this year than he has yet as an Oiler but won't reach 30. He won't be relegated to the fourth line as a punishment for looking lazy or disinterested, in fact he'll come out to a strong start with a new attitude under new coaching and be a go to guy for Quinn. The trade rumours won't bother him. He's dealt with worse from the fans already.

Prof's Prediction #2: Robert Nilsson is another young player who is ready to explode. Nilsson will have a break out season under the new coaching staff – and will have at least 50 points. He will be the scorer that he has shown signs of being and, while he will not be a vocal leader, he will be one of the Oilers’ scoring leaders.

Oilers Insider Prediction #2:Nilsson won't be an Oiler if the team is able to make a trade prior to opening night. Whether he's traded for a forward who fits better in the depth charts that he does who knows; but Nilsson finds himself the odd man out when Cogliano is discovered as the new wonder kid on the wing.

Prof's Prediction #3: Ryan Smyth will be back with the Oilers for the playoff run. He will be picked up at the trade deadline and will finish his season off with the Oilers. He will go on to play at least three more seasons and will have his number retired as an Oiler. He will become the next Oiler captain after Ethan Moreau who, sadly, will have another injury-plagued season.

Oilers Insider Predicition #3: That is some out of the box thinking, possibly wishful thinking, but a real stretch. With the trade to L.A. I think Ryan Smyth has found the home for which he will retire. It is my guess that Smyth has the injury plagued season and that while the Oilers could use a player of his style, they'll be glad they didn't spend $6 million plus to bring him back. Ryan Smyth will do wonders for a young team in L.A. as a leader even if he's hurt.

Prof's Prediction #4: The Oiler goaltending will take an unexpected turn, but will turn out better than expected at the present. This is a holding year, but one of the Oiler youngsters – and I am thinking it will be Devan Dubnyk – who will turn out to be one of the great NHL
goalies. Khababulin will be strong this year, and his play will keep the Oilers in games, but will give way to Deslauries toward the end of the season. Khababulin will turn out to be more of a leader than expected – and will show himself to have a great sense of humor. Roloson will labor in obscurity in New York and will himself move again at the trade deadline.

Oilers Insider Prediction #4: The best part about the Prof's above prediction here is that he made it prior to the Biron trade. He's bang on about Roloson, although I think Biron is the one who gets traded. I'll reserve judgement on Devan Dubnyk until next season when I think he gets his chance. It won't happen this year. Khabibulin will play well.

Prof's Prediction #5: Dany Heatley will NOT become an Oiler. In a fit of pique, Murray won’t trade Heatley until after the start of the season. Then, Ottawa will almost give him away after the season starts. With Heatley no longer in the picture, the Oilers will go with a youth movement, which will give many of the young players time to play. They will start off the season quickly, will fall on hard times, but will make a run and squeak into the playoffs.

Oilers Prediction #5: I agree that Heatley stays in Ottawa. I don't see how if they don't trade him to Edmonton, they can find another home for him -- especially in San Jose where he wants to play. I think Ottawa keeps him, he plays with Kovalev, gets 45 goals and all is forgotten in Senator's world. I do think the Oilers trade for a forward who once again isn't necessarily a top 3 (Zherdev) and he's moved in and out of that role.

Prof's Prediction #6: Oilers’ hockey – which has been more speed than skill – will be re-defined. The new coaching staff will put more priority on skill, which will allow some players who might have not yet shown themselves yet – say Lubomir Visnovsky or Tom Gilbert – to take different roles. Other players who will have much better seasons include Patrick O’Sullivan (who will come out of last year’s shell and will end up a fixture on the Oilers’ second line), Zack Stortini (who will become a fan favorite), Fernando Pisani (who will score 20 goals), and Gilbert Brule (who will score at least 12 goals and will start off the season strong).

Oilers Prediction #6: I think we too see some surprising performances from Oilers we didn't expect. O'Sullivan will lead the team in shots taken (assuming there is no Dany Heatley) and score 23 - 25 goals. Pisani, who is playing for another contract will stay healthy and score 20 and Visnovsky, playing the whole season will have 50 points plus. I say look for big things from Stortini, maybe as many as 12-15 garbage style goals and tons of penalty minutes.

Prof's Prediction #7: Robbie Schremp and Jordan Eberle will also make the big team. Eberle will struggle, ala Sam Gagner has for two years, but Schremp will be reborn under new coaching and will become a leader on the Power Play – which will improve dramatically. This will be Steve Staios’ last season as an Oiler. He will retire after this year – if he makes the year – and become an Oiler scout.

Oilers Insider Prediction #7: Schremp does alright, but not here. He'll not be re-signed and get moved as part of a package deal to another team where he will play, but never to the potential everyone was expecting. Eberle is one more year from making the team and we'll know more where he fits once Gagner's and Cogliano's contracts are either completed or they are moved. I agree regarding Staois, and will be surprised if he's not traded part way through the season to clear cap space.