If you didn't catch it yesterday, a serious rebuild is underway here in Edmonton. Fan favorite and productive veteran Lubomir Visnovsky was traded and despite an earlier unanimous feeling from fans that a clearing house and shedding of salary was the smart way to go; Visnovsky was moved to a chorus of geers and vocal regrets.

I was absolutely a fan of Visnovsky. Hands down, I believed he was the best all around Oilers defenceman to play for this team in the last two seasons. But this turn from fans all of a sudden has me wondering if most understand the definition of a rebuild in the NHL.

It seems clear to me that for Visnovsky, he was getting older and the team was getting younger. He was expensive and the team was getting cheaper. He was of value and the Oilers wouldn't have been able to do much to utilize his skillset this, next or maybe even the year after next in terms of competing for the playoffs, which the Oilers likely won't do.

And for all the quick to judge the value of a trade fans who feel Tambellini got hose (and there are a great number that feel that way), Ryan Whitney isn't a bad return either. Sure, he's not Visnovsky. But who's to say he doesn't become a close comparison at what is currently $1.6 million per year less for the next few seasons. If he's able to put up 40-50 points along with the size he brings and the leadership he says he'd like to offer, the Oilers could do much much worse.
Whitney is hitting his prime as a player. He's learning how to play without the assitance of a terrific surrounding cast like he had in Pittsburg, and despite what many are geering him for, he's still an Olympian who in a bad year has twenty some points from the blueline. He's also a fraction of the cost, many years younger and his totals so far rank him tops among the Oilers by the way.

With the clear direction now in place, the question on a few minds becomes where the Oilers go from here with their blueline.

Don't for a second think that the Oilers are done moving things around. They'll have time to inquire at the draft and during the summer and if value exists for Sheldon Souray, they'll likely make a move. Souray's no trade clause ends after the final game of the season for Edmonton and to some teams, including Anaheim who had discussed Souray before injury finished Souray's season, he has value.

If not and the Oilers can't find a taker; with a corps of Souray, Ryan Whitney, Tom Gilbert, Ladislav Smid and hopefully Taylor Chorney if he continues to improve, the Oilers shipped out three big name defencemen, the money that went with them and left themselves nothing to sneeze at. It's a much less expensive and still decent start for a total retooling of their blueline.

The prospects in the system (outside of maybe Chorney) are likely not ready to make the jump, leaving the Oilers with two choices. Spend next year near the bottom of the standings, but develop and draft high, or bring in one or two more younger defensive bodies through free agency or trade that help the Oilers as they get better eventually competing in the next two to three years.

With Souray as your leader and possibly future captain should he not be traded, Whitney providing size and playoff experience, Smid a gritty and a shut down blueliner in the making and Tom Gilbert and Taylor Chroney your puck movers; the Oilers could do a whole lot worse. Assuming they can stay healthy.

But who do you add to round out your blueline?

The Oilers have for absolute love for Dan Hamhuis, who I'm sure the Oilers are aware is a UFA come the end of this season. Hamhuis will draw some attention from other teams, but the Oilers could do worse than spending some of their newly freed up money on a fair but longer term contract on what could be a top defenceman in the NHL if he progresses as the Oilers seem to think he will.

Even without Hamhuis, who I agree is a nice building block on a long term (maybe five or six year)deal, there are plenty of options available which help you round out your top six if you are the Oilers.

Players like Paul Martin from New Jersey at 28 yrs old, Denis Seidenberg who just moved to Boston at the deadline and the Bruins won't likely keep, or even an Adrian Aucoin from Phoenix, who while not a rebuilding piece, provides great leadership and a terrific shot from the point at a fraction of the cost; show that the Oilers have quite a few options and that what we see now is likely not what starts the 2010/2011 season.

Fans were waiting...and waiting... and waiting. What they got was news that came in after the deadline passed that a two players, one many fans liked for a player most Oiler fans aren't too familiar with and another a sheer salary dump have left the Oilers.

For a long time on Wednesday, fans were starting to get frustrated that the Oilers who were in massive selling mode, had been doing nothing. But much like last year, at the final moments the biggest trades of the day came and involved Edmonton.

One Olympian in Lubomir Visnovsky heads to Anaheim for another Olympian in Ryan Whitney. Visnovsky, the more proven asset of the two takes with him a high salary cap hit at $5.6 million for the next four years and his years senior in age for a 27 year old offensive defeceman with a ton of offensive potential at a lot less money.

Initial reaction seems to be a lot of dissappointment over moving out Visnovsky, but if you consider the Oilers are in what could be a three to four to year rebuild, Visnovsky at 37 wouldn't have made an impact on an improved Oiler team in 2013 or 2014, thus he'd have kept playing on a team up until then that wouldn't have won the big one. Those complaining the Oilers lost leadership and replaced it with nothing, need look no further than the player who didn't move in Sheldon Souray. So too, having to option to keep a Ryan Whitney or let him leave after his remaing four years at $4 million gives the Oilers more options in trade or free agency when it matters most.

In a separate move, the Oilers made history by trading directly with the Calgary Flames for the first time in Oilers franchise history. In what has to be a financially motivated move, Staios was on the block and Edmonton successfully moves another $2.7 million in salary for next season.

For obvious reasons, freeing up this kind of cap space gives the Oilers plenty of options and if buying out or waiving Nilsson, O'Sullivan or Moreau does happen, those are the easier of the contracts to waive and thus cost the Oilers the least in cap trouble at the time they might choose to do so.

The end result after all this salary dumping in Denis Grebeshkov, Lubomir Visnovsky and Steve Staios, is that the Oilers still employ Sheldon Souray, Tom Gilbert, Ryan Whitney, and Ladislav Smid, all of whom could help the Oilers as they clearly rebuild and could be far worse off than two or three previous and potential Allstars/Olympians on the blueline.

Is there more to come today? Doubtful, but even though the Oilers have shed loads of salary and replaced it with a decent player, they given themselves options headed towards the draft.

It's only a matter of time before players start making their way out of Edmonton to other teams. If Darren Dreger of TSN is correct, Ethan Moreau, Sheldon Souray and Lubomir Visnovsky are the most likely of options.

The reality is, even with a healthy roster, the Oilers won't be a contending team for at least two more years.

At that time, Ethan Moreau's contract would have expired, Sheldon Souray's would have too (or if the Oilers are better than they showed this season by 2011, will be on the last year of his deal), and only Visnovsky would be an Oiler long enough to really grow with whatever new nucleus is a part of this Oilers roster.

As such, all are expendable when you consider the bigger picture that exists in two to three years time. Add Steve Staios, Fernando Pisani, Patrick O'Sullivan and Mike Comrie to that list and you could see a lot of action before the deadline in March.

Then you examine the few players making some strides in different areas, but reaching RFA status at the end of this year; and you realize, the Oilers will also have to try and get Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Potulny, Denis Grebeshkov and Gilbert Brule re-signed at fair dollar value.

Edmonton won't likely keep all of them as they are of similar size and skill set, but these names are forwards I see Edmonton feeling have a place on this team down the road. They've showed effort even in the face of defeat and bring elements to this roster that the Oilers would like to use a defining image in the years to come. Only Grebeshkov to me is a question mark, but the Oilers for some reason, have grown an attachment to him.

If TSN's Darren Dreger is right, Edmonton will be in full rebuild mode and a much different team in the next one to two years.

Should they successfully clear out as much salary as TSN expects them to, which is over $12 million in cap space, they'll have plenty of room to add the RFA contracts they consider important, replace the ones that hold out with prospects in the system, and add a few key elements they've been missing through free agency at bargain prices.

It's the idea of the combination of moves that could happen that are finally bringing some excitement to Edmonton in the face of such a horrible losing skid.

Who will be the next to go? What will they bring back in return? What will prospects like Eberle, Svennson and whomever the Oilers draft do with current players ike Hemsky and Penner?

Whether these moves all happen or not, (they likely all won't), Oiler fans don't need much to perk their excitement for hockey. It's what makes Edmonton fans so unique. Win or lose, they love the Oilers. They simply want action. If Moreau, Souray, and Visnovsky all go, action is definitely what Oilers fans will receive.

There is a bit of speculation that the Oilers are currently shopping Sheldon Souray and an eastern conference team has interest.

First off, considering the source of where these rumors started, I don't put much weight behind it being true. That said, if the Oilers are in talks of any kind to trade a big name, big money defenceman; it will be Sheldon Souray who gets asked to waive his no trade clause before Visnovsky goes anywhere.

Lubomir Visnovsky is now second in Oilers scoring with 22 points. He has 7 goals, a terrfic plus/minus - + 11 rating, and he's playing over 20 minutes a game. Lubomir Visnovsky has been everything the Oilers had hoped he'd be and more when they moved Stoll and Greene to obtain him from the Kings.

Last year the Oilers felt the same way, but when Visnovsky went down to injury, the Oilers didn't get to bask in the glory of a great trade, but instead saw how quickly the team took a downward spiral when he was absent from the roster.

Add to that Visnovsky leads the Oilers in shots on net and that's no small feat considering he's picky about when he releases his canon of a shot. You can tell by his 17.9% shooting percentage that he's not just raining bombs that aren't hitting the target.

Visnovsky has found a favorable d-man pairing in Ladislav Smid and while Smid has improved leaps and bounds as a defenceman, I attribute a lot of that success to being paired with Visnovsky. You can tell these two have found chemistry and the Oilers would be silly to break that up.

Meanwhile, Souray has come back from his injury and played well. He's not been the Souray that dominates and scares the opposition on the powerplay like the Souray we know, nor the Souray fans crave for, but I have a feeling that time is coming.

The problem is, the Souray everyone is waiting for, is one dimensional. The Oilers know where they need him to contribute, and teams know where they need to be to stop him. Souray doesn't come close to having the foot speed, quick thinking, offensive talents that Visnovsky does. It makes Visnovsky much harder to contain and as a result a better overall weapon.

One thing Souray seems to have that Visnovsky might not (at least not as much) is trade value. So despite Edmonton wanting both defensemen, Souray will be the one the Oilers explore in possible trades, knowing by moving him, they stand to get the most return.

If you're Sheldon Souray, what do you do if the Oilers come asking? With a no trade clause, he has a great deal of control, but he's also been outspoken in his critiscm of coaching, fans and his teammates. His comments haven't been disrespectful or mean spirited, but represent what can only be a truth as he knows it about the situation he sees himself in.

Perhaps convincing him to waive his clause if the right deal presents itself won't be as difficult as people think.

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..

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.

We did a quick study of five players and how they've been as productive Oilers in our first edition of the quarter poll rankings yesterday. All five of those players have played all 21 Oiler games to start the season.

In this edition, we'll look at Oilers who have had a good record thus far against the Avalanche, who not coincidentally the Oilers face Wednesday on TSN.

Unfortunately, doing an examination in this way actually led me down a difficult path of deciding which five Oilers to examine as Edmonton has only scored 5 goals in the two contests against the Avs. In the first meeting, the Oilers were shut-out 3-0 and the second meeting saw the Oilers actually play a solid road game winning 5-3.

That said, I think I've come up with five viable candidates.

Thinking back, it was the first time I really noticed the effectiveness of Ryan Potulny in situations I'd never seen from him before. Potulny didn't have much time in the NHL with the Oilers under MacTavish, but when he did, it was always that fourth line, shut-down and grinder type role. I'm not so sure that role suits the type of player Potulny is.

In the last Oiler game against the Avalanche, Potulny was given some time in different situations and he capitalized. He played over 12 minutes (a lot for a call up), had two points, a powerplay goal, and was an even plus/minus on the night. Pretty good.

Since then, Potulny has been steady for the Oilers in what has to be considered a temporary position. He's only plus/minus -2 in a string of Oiler losses and he's been part of line combinations that have been good energy guys for the Oilers. He's not going to be your great offensive weapon, nor your #1 shut-down guy, but all around, he's been ok.

Ryan Potulny -- B-

I called Potulny's stop temporary because I think the one player of the two who made the leap at that time and might stick is Liam Reddox. Since coming up to the team, he's been full throttle and Quinn has to like that.

Reddox doesn't have a lot to show points wise for his efforts, but a few scoring chances and powerplay goals for the Oilers have come thanks to the hustle Reddox has provided. A real bonus since his arrival, is his averaging 3 hits per game -- an average higher than anyone on the team outside of JF Jacques who at one time was in the top three in the NHL in terms of hitting.

Reddox has killed penalties for the Oilers, he's crashed the net and he took a nasty hit that would have knocked a lot of other NHL'ers out for some serious time, yet he kept on truckin'.

Liam Reddox -- B+

Mike Comrie got a goal in the last contest versus the Avs, and ironically enough, it was the last game in which he's scored this season. Let's hope he can repeat his performance on Wednesday.

Mike Comrie is hard to assess thanks to his fight with the flu and the complications it's had with his asthma. Since going down with the flu, Comrie just hasn't been the same and his last few games haven't been at all an indication of what Oiler fans should expect.

When Comrie first came to Edmonton, he had a chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove. He started strong, was a point a game player for a while, a great faceoff guy when the team needed one, and did other little things well. This after he led all NHL players in pre-season with 10 points.

Lately, Comrie's been in and out of action and when he's in, he's been slow and weaker than usual which tells us he's still not healthy.

Should Comrie get healthy, I think he'll start to pick things up, which in turn might help a player like O'Sullivan. The Oilers need it, as does Comrie still playing for a better contract. Should things not turn around, Edmonton fans can turn just as quickly as they cheer you when you get 4 points in one night and start a fight.

Mike Comrie -- C+

As of late, Lubomir Visnovsky has played well. The last game against the Avs, Visnovsky wasn't so hot, but this season, that's been a rarity as Lubomir has been the best all-around defenseman by far for the Oilers this season.

With 13 points in 19 games, a respectable plus/minus +3 and the quarter back for a ton of Edmonton's limited offense, Visnovsky has been terrific and was greatly missed in the two games for which he wasn't in the lineup.

It's no surprise as the Oilers nose-dived last season after Visnovsky went down with a shoulder injury. One he's done well to recover from.

When Visnovsky chooses to shoot he's doing so at the right time in the right situation with a cannon. It's led to a fantastic 17.2% shooting percentage, but he's been responsible for some of Edmonton's prettiest goals of the season too.

Lubomir Visnovksy -- A

Finally, Nikolai Khabibulin who made 34 saves in Edmonton's last trip to Colorado and 31 saves in their first meeting, did what he's done all season -- keep the Oilers close in a lot of games. You can't ask for much more from your goaltender.

Khabibulin came to Edmonton in a smoke cloud of controversy. He's old, he's signed long-term and he's being paid $15 million over that time. So far, he's also made Tambellini look good, which is no small feat considering how still full of holes this Oilers roster is.

If not for Khabibulin, the Oilers would be well below a .500 hockey club. Sure, he's had moments like opening night against the Flames, but he quickly picked himself back up and has been tremendous for the Oilers as of late.

The problem for Khabibulin, isn't Khabibulin. It's the rest of the team that can't score to help him, or the defense that can't get the puck out of the zone to relieve pressure.

We're starting to see more games where the Oilers are actually out-shooting their opponents, so hopefully that bodes well for Khabibulin, who despite his good play, has a pretty bad record to show for it.

Nikolai Khabibulin -- B +

It's something all NHL teams will have to deal with. The H1N1 virus is bound to hit teams harder and harder as the season passes, the Oilers being no exception.

On Tuesday, the Oilers released confirmation that Ladislav Smid had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus after a number of other players had missed significant ice time due to flu symptoms. Gilbert Brule, Mike Comrie, Dustin Penner, Tom Gilbert, Ladislav Smid, Taylor Chorney and others were amongst just some of the players who'd admitted having issues breathing, skating, and finding the strength to play as their normal levels.


Some might take this as an excuse, but it could explain why the Oilers went from being among the league leaders in goals for, to lacking any scoring ability whatsoever. One would need to look no further than a 5-2 loss to Calgary, a 2-0 loss to Vancouver and a 2-0 loss to Colorado in the Oilers last three games.

To make matters worse, it sounds as though Lubomir Visnovsky has unofficially been listed as the latest flu victim and is questionable in the Oilers Thursday game versus the Detroit Red Wings. This is about the worst news the Oilers could be getting at a time where one win, against a suprisingly mediocre Red Wings team, could snap them out of a three game losing streak.

Despite Dustin Penner's tremendous start, Lubomir Visnovsky has been Edmonton's most valueable player. 12 games into the season, the Oilers weakness in their own zone is evident and teams are scoring goals in bunches when the Oilers fail to clear the puck from their own end. Visnovsky, seemingly the only help left in that area, now leaves the Oilers vulnerable at a time where things seem to be going from bad to worse.

The Oilers now go into that game down not only Visnovsky, but Sheldon Souray and Steve Staois, Edmonton's two other most veteran defencemen. As a result, Edmonton will look to Tom Gilbert, Denis Grebeshkov, Jason Strudwick, Taylor Chorney, Theo Peckham, and Ladislav Smid to provide the defence against a Red Wing team just looking for the right opponent to break out against. Detroit must be licking their chops at the thought of playing six blueliners, who have struggled in many ways so far this season.

In the first nine games of this young NHL season, the Oilers managed to out-score the opposition by a margin of 35-24. Not a coincidence that two if not all three missing defencemen dressed for a chunk of those games. In contrast, the Oilers last three games saw Edmonton out-scored 10-2. Visnovsky was a huge factor, having scored 8 points in 12 games.

Typically any team with forwards able to score more often than their defence and goalie lets in, will win the game. Fundamentally, it's the equation all teams go by. For the Oilers, when one significant variable is missing, thus making the equation unbalanced; somehow, another variable needs to be added to compensate.

It will be up to Pat Quinn and the remaining pieces on the Oilers otherwise depleted team to figured out what that variable is. If they can't, Oiler fans can only hope, that Detroit is hitting the same flu bug at about the same time the Oilers are. Should they get past the Red Wings, the Oilers might wish -- as sad as it is to wish illness on anyone -- they get to take on a few depleted teams to get back on the winning track.

So far we know that not much is changing. No new first line LW, no new 3rd line centre and no real moves other than the loss of a few forwards who weren't re-upped or were traded to clear roster space.

But alas, there is a bright spot that I think many of us have ignored thanks to our focus on other news consuming items. One area that hasn't changed and perhaps this is a good thing, is the Oilers defensive squad headed by Sheldon Souray, Lubomir Visnovsky, Tom Gilbert and Denis Grebeshkov. These four have been and will continue to be looked to in many ways make up for what is a glaring lack of forward top 6 depth and underachievers in terms of goal production.

With that in mind, I was curious to see how the Oilers top 4 on defense might compare to the other teams we may be fighting for a playoff spot with and how much these four might actually make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

The teams I considered are:

Columbus, Nashville, Dallas, St. Louis, Colorado, Minnesota , Los Angeles, Calgary

I suppose to be fair I should/could have added Phoenix, Vancouver and maybe Anaheim, but I just see those teams as either out for sure or in for sure regardless of how well the Oilers play.

Top 4 D-Men By Comparison

Oilers 2008/2009
168 points in an average of 71.25 games played over the regular season.

Nashville 2008/2009
136 points in 77 games average

Columbus 2008/2009
100 points in 77.75 games average

Dallas 2008/2009
99 points in 73 games average

Calgary 2008/2009
120 points in 73.75 games avg

Colorado 2008/2009
92 points in 71.25 games avg

LA Kings 2008/2009
91 points in 76 games avg

Minnesota 2008/2009
125 points in 72 games avg

St. Louis 2008/2009
83 points in 69.75 games avg

What does this mean? If we account for the fact that a few of these teams made changes this summer, the Edmonton Oilers are leaps ahead of every other on the edge playoff competitive western conference team in terms of point production. Even more so, they did it by missing more games to injury than any other team (except St. Louis, who I think would have had much different numbers if Colaiacovo had played with them all season and Erik Johnson hadn't missed the entire season in a freak golf accident.)

This is big news for the Oilers and often overlooked in an otherwise dreary summer. Edmonton hasn't lost a single aspect of that defensive squad that was hands down better offensively than any team (4 players in the top 50 for offensive defencemen) and they'll be coming back healthy to start the year.

To me, no team really compares except Calgary, who added Bouwmeester (42 points in 82 games) but lost Adrian Aucoin who was their 2nd highest scoring defenceman last year. Sure, defensively there is a big difference, but it's pretty close to a wash on the offensive side in point totals. To boot, it cost them scoring punch in Cammalleri and Bertuzzi to bring Bouwmeester into the fold who is a good $4 million more expensive per year an option.

Teams like Dallas (Sergei Zubov) and LA (Jack Johnson) had their numbers affected by the sheer skill of the defensemen missing games, but it can be argued no more so than the Oilers whose numbers dropped drastically when Visnovsky (the Oilers best all around d-man) missed over 30 games due to shoulder surgery. Visnovsky will be healthy while Zubov for example will be in the KHL. Again a plus for the Oilers.

In total goals for, the Oilers ranked 18th in the league below only Calgary of the teams we looked at here. This despite not having a prominant point getting forward (Ales Hemsky led the team with score 66 points in the regular season) and a plethora of underachievers who struggled to put points on the board. The teams compared in this analysis had:

Calgary - 2 players with 80 plus points
Columbus - Rick Nash with 79 points
Dallas - Ribiero with 78 points
St. Louis - Brad Boyes 72 points

Teams that lacked the "superstar" as the Oilers did, placed much lower on the goals for chart. The closest being Minnesota ranked at 22nd with Mikko Koivu at 67 points. This seems to suggest that much of the reason Edmonton was able to seperate themselves from these teams without a "superstar" sniper was the contribution offensively from the blueline.

Ok, maybe this sounds obvious as we know the Oilers have a good core of offensive defencemen and likely why trade rumors involve moving one for a forward. But to me, I see why Tambellini wants to keep this group together and why our lack of adding a bonafide scorer hasn't gotten me down in the dumps like it has a lot of Oiler fans.

The Heatley trade would have been great in terms of on paper goals for, but believe me when I say what these top four d-men did last year is repeatable, and they'll have more games healthy to show it if the injury Gods are with Edmonton.