As reported by TSN...

The Edmonton Oilers have signed restricted free agent defenceman Denis Grebeshkov to a one-year contract worth $3.15 million.

The signing avoids salary arbitration between the Russian defender and the club.

Last season the 25-year-old scored seven goals and 32 assists for 39 points in 72 games.
Grebeshkov made his way to Edmonton in 2007, via a trade with the New York Islanders in exchange for Marc-Andre Bergeron and a third round selection in 2008.

Originally drafted 18th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Grebeshkov has played in 176 games over four NHL seasons with Los Angeles, New York and Edmonton, talling 10 goals and 53 assists, as well as 80 penalty minutes.

To me this smells of uncertainty on the part of Denis Grebeshkov. The Oilers, who were obviously interested in keeping the offensive defenseman for longer than one year sign Grebs at $3.15 million for just this next season? Grebeshkov who was set to hit arbitration must have taken a look at his case and decided that his numbers were worth less than what he was going to get by settling early. Either that or he is unsure he'd like to stay in Edmonton for the long haul as the Oilers would have been granted a two year contract based on an abitrator decision.

For the Oilers it introduces a few questions. Do they hang on to Grebeshkov for the one year possibly letting him go at the end of the season when the cap decreases? Or do they trade him at some point to help fill their need for a top six (hopefully top three) forward.

Fans who wanted to see Grebeshkov remain an Oiler will likely be mixed in their reaction. How does this only happen for one year will be one side, while the Oilers will likely be happy with the amount and the fact that it gives the Oilers some cap relief at the end of the season, keeping him only if he proves for one more season to be an offensive defenseman of the future, on the other.

And we thought we had cap issues here in Edmonton.

San Jose, more so than any other team, is in serious trouble to start this upcoming season. While other teams like Calgary, Chicago or Ottawa are near or over the cap and require moving players to clear space, San Jose finds themselves in the unenviable position of being short a full roster; with no cap space to add a single player.

According to capgeek.com, the Sharks have seven defensemen ready to play in 2009/2010. So far, so good. But that's where the good news stops. San Jose has only ten signed forwards and one goalie under contract and ready to start the year. Just to have four lines with three players per line, means San Jose needs twelve forwards not ten. Not to mention that every team dresses and extra 13th forward. Oh yeah... and they'll require a back-up goalie.

Even worse, San Jose has a whopping $217,503 ($899,000 according to nhlnumbers.com) in cap space left to fill those four holes. That's less than the league minimum of one NHL player in one case and the minimum of two NHL players in another. The math doesn't quite compute.

Then how in the heck can Dany Heatley be the discussion of trade rumours to San Jose? After all, from most accounts, if Heatley doesn't come to Edmonton and doesn't stay in Ottawa, he's going to San Jose... or so many seem to think.

No matter how you slice a trade involving Dany Heatley between San Jose and Ottawa, every option we can find puts one of these teams over the cap and San Jose still doesn't have enough depth to dress a full roster going into this season. In fact, there is not a single forward on the Sharks roster who makes more than Heatley, which means practically any additional salary San Jose takes on (which can only be $899,000 in the best case being nhlnumbers.com) puts the Sharks over the cap.

The only option, is a massive salary dump on the part of San Jose. We already know how close to impossible that seems to be in todays NHL and for the Sharks, it leaves them with an even smaller professional roster than they currently have.

Let's look at a few examples to prove our theory.

If a one for one trade, (say Patrick Marleau for Dany Heatley) San Jose still only has 10 forwards, but are over the cap. Oh yeah... and they'd still need a back-up goalie.

If a forward and a defenseman combo, (say Marleau and Christian Ehrhoff for Heatley) that relieves San Jose of $1.9 million in cap space, but still leaves them with 10 forwards. They would have to sign three players at the absolute league minimum to fill the roster... oh but wait, it would put Ottawa over the cap by $1.7 million or so, which means it's slim at best to make that happen since Ottawa would then need to dump salary. San Jose still needs a back-up goalie.

What about 2 defensmen plus a draft pick for Heatley (say Ehrhoff and Huskins)? Nope sorry, San Jose is over again and Ottawa doesn't get the forward it wants. Oh yeah... and San Jose needs a back-up goalie.

Let's get crazy and say the Shark's trade Nabokov for draft picks and bring in forwards from the minors to play full time in the NHL. They effectively clear about $4.5 million give or take less the new forwards league minimums. Heatley is a $7.5 cap hit. The Sharks are still $3 million or so over. Oh... and now the Sharks need two goalies.

See a trend yet? Every time San Jose is over the cap, they'll have to dump players to get under it. How can you dump players when you don't even have enough to dress a team? I suppose you could trade a Jonathan Cheechoo for draft picks and prospects, effectively boosting the quantity of contracts on the team. But, you'd almost certainly need to make the trade involving Cheechoo first (finding a team willing to take his salary), do this again with maybe one of your extra defensemen; then move for Heatley once you've effectively added enough pieces to man a full team.

Or even more, I suppose you could bury a $3 million dollar player in the minors, and call up 3 minor league forwards to fill your depth (assuming you can find the two way contracts to do so.)

Of course then you'd have to make it attractive enough to Bryan Murray to move Heatley in the first place.

What is my point? That despite the numerous rumours out there that San Jose has interest in Dany Heatley and it could be what stands in the way of the Oilers landing the LW sniper they've been waiting weeks for, interest isn't enough to make this happen. A trade between Ottawa and San Jose isn't just unlikely, it's nearly impossible without a maze of other action to set-up for something that both teams need to agree is not only viable, but somewhat fair. It's hard enough now to do a one for one trade in the NHL.

Perhaps I'm missing something and I invite our readers to post comments letting me know how the options would better work. But to me, it seems a no brainer that of all the teams Heatley could move to, San Jose isn't one of them.

I don't do this all that often because I like to at least have some sort of verification of the rumours I'm posting... hence the last one I posted being directly after a personal one on one interview with Dan Tencer of the Edmonton Oilers. I find him a reliable source when it comes to the Oilers.

That said, a number of readers starting to learn about our friendly neighbourhood site have expressed a keen interest in rumours and scoops as it relates to the Oilers, so I'll keep you posted at least once a week on what I'm hearing. Like I said, in some cases I can't verify the validity of these rumours past the point of someone I know and trust brought it to my attention. I'll make sure to be detailed when it passes the point of speculation and becomes more a very likely possibility.

Keep in mind, I will always note whether or not I think it affects the Oilers.

Evgeni Nabokov willing to trade his no trade clause if a trade from San Jose is happening? What I know, is that a trade from San Jose is likely, but not one including Evgeni Nabokov. He's their starting goalie with one year remaining on his contract, which is great if you're San Jose. With the cap going down, still a number of options out there at the goalie position, why would you trade one of the best goalies in the league at this point? Sure San Jose wants to shake up the team a bit, but not at goal. It's one of their bright spots that hasn't let them down.

Expect that this has nothing to do with the Oilers. Would I trade Khabibulin for Nabokov? In a heartbeat, but it's not realistic to expect that so I'm not sure why I even brought it up.

Tomas Kaberle to Buffalo? I've heard Buffalo has expressed interest, but if Derek Roy is a part of that trade, which is the name being tossed around; that is a steep asking price in my opinion. Derek Roy is as close to a point a game center as you'll get and a much healthier option than Tim Connolly, Buffalo's only other viable 1st line center option. If Burke can make that happen, that would be impressive. Don't expect it. This will have no bearing on Edmonton what-so-ever

Alex Tanguay? Rumours were all over the place that he was almost a done deal to Florida. We hear that is not the case. That's not to say Florida isn't interested or that he doesn't wind up there, but that The Islanders, Wild and Devils may have expressed interest and that Tanguay is still looking for a sizeable payday. The Oilers called, but the money being asked for was far too much for Edmonton to stay interested.

Phil Kessel? I can't confirm if the Oilers have inquired, but they should. He's on the block despite what the Bruins are saying and it won't take fair value to get him, just the ability of Edmonton to move other salary some place else. The Oilers would need to move about $1-$2 million -- more if they keep Grebeshkov before or after arbitration is complete, if Kessel is a viable option. It should take at least $4.5 per year to sign him.

Simon Gagne? We've heard everything from the Flyers won't move a 40 goal scorer to the Flyers might have no choice if they can't move Briere. Gagne would be a perfect fit, but salary as always, is a concern (not for what Gagne makes, but for what the Oilers can move to fit his salary in). Expect that someone big from the Flyers getting traded, but that the Oilers don't do much except inquire. Should a few minor moves get made by Edmonton to clear space, it could be a pre-cursor to something bigger like Gagne.

Heatley? Well if we haven't beaten it to death enough yet, Heatley isn't excluded officially from the Oilers plans despite what Prendergast says. The odds are way down and other teams are being discussed, but trade options are just a lot more tricky to complete with some of the interested teams like San Jose. I expect to see Heatley back in Ottawa. We are waiting on a supposed "behind the scenes" expose on the Heatley story, but aren't expecting it to be as "behind the scenes" as we are hoping.

The Great One Meets the Odd One

The 1988 Stanley Cup Finals was between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins, and the Oilers won the series 4–0 in five games. How can a five game series be won by one team 4-0? This is where the “odd one” comes in. Game four in Boston was abandoned due to technical problems at the Boston Garden with the score tied 3–3 and replayed, with the Oilers prevailing.

The Oilers, although they dominated the Stanley Cup finals, didn’t even win their own division that year. In 1987-8 season, the Smythe Division was won by Calgary with a 48-23-9 record and the Oil finished 44-25-11. And the Oilers, even with such a potent offence, were outscored during the regular season, when the Flames scored 397 goals to 363 goals for the Great One and teammates.

The following trivia questions test your knowledge of this great season in Edmonton Oiler history.

Question One: Who led the Oilers in points scoring?

It is pretty obvious that the Great One was in his prime and, although Wayne missed 16 games in the 1987-88 season, he led the team with 149 points. But match the following Oilers with their points scoring totals.

111, 96, 88, 74

Glenn Anderson
Esa Tikkanen
Jari Kurri
Mark Messier

Question Two: Who lead the Oilers in goals in 1987-88?

(a) Wayne Gretzky
(b) Mark Messier
(c) Craig Simpson
(d) Jari Kurri

Question Three: Which of these players were NOT on the Oilers roster in 1987-88?

(a) Craig Muni
(b) Paul Coffey
(c) Kevin McClelland
(d) Lee Fogolin
(e)Geoff Courtnall

The first comment below with all 3 correct answers will receive Oilers Insider swag. Make sure you leave a way for us to directly message you in you are in fact the correct response.

With recent news that Oilers Assistant GM Kevin Prendergast has gone on record saying the Oilers expect Dany Heatley to be playing somewhere other than Edmonton next season, we have to wonder where the Oilers go from here.

Whether the comments made by Prendergast are a true indication of how the Edmonton Oilers really feel, or some sneaky side hand action in a very long drawn out poker game; those same comments create speculation among fans and hopefully management about what other options are out there to improve the current roster.

Meanwhile; word seems to be coming out of a few different sources around the NHL, that Patrick Sharp; a gritty two-way but highly offensively skilled forward is the discussion of much trade talk.

Dale Tallon, before his removal as GM of the Chicago Blackhawks, was part of a messy and very public clerical mess that resulted in early contracts being handed out to a number of restricted free agents in Chicago, including Cam Barker and Kris Versteeg. This error, in conjunction with some big off season signings for the Blackhawks -- namely Marian Hossa, John Madden and Tomas Kopecky -- has created a tight and obviously sticky salary cap crunch in Chicago. With Patrick Sharp in the second of a four year $3.9 million per year contract, it seems a bit surprising that the Blackhawks are interested in moving part of their core group or forwards, but makes sense if they see a brighter future in Versteeg.

To this point, San Jose, Montreal, and Toronto all sound rumoured to have interest; but what about the Oilers? Would it be a wise decision to look at someone like Patrick Sharp and try to bring him to "Oil Country?"

Here is what we know.

Since having a slow start in Philadelphia, Sharp has been an offensive threat and one of the great surprises for Chicago since coming over in a trade that sent Matt Ellison and a 3rd round selection back to the Flyers in 2006.

Sharp in reality is a 30 plus goal scoring forward (last year missing 21 games meant he scored only 26, which isn't too shabby), and plays in all situations. In 2007/2008 for example, Sharp shared the NHL lead with seven short-handed markers and paced the Blackhawks with nine power-play strikes, the second-consecutive season he led Chicago in each category. He then led the team with seven game-winning markers, ranked second with a career-best 62 points and fourth with a career-most 26 assists in 80 contests all with a +23 plus/minus rating.

In most cases, Sharp is listed as a centre; however, the Blackhawks website bio has him listed at LW, which we know means he is still extremely productive in that role. Is this not exactly what the Oilers are looking for? A 30 plus goal and 50 plus point LW player who can log or at least share first line duties with a Dustin Penner, kill penalties and be relied on a defensively responsible and gritty player? His $3.9 cap hit isn't low, but it's not extremely high either and he seems by all accounts to be much more consistent than a Dustin Penner who makes $4.25 million per season.

This cap hit seems to be his only true downside when you consider the type of trade required to make a deal like this happen. Chicago is dumping salary if they choose to move Sharp. That means the Oilers would be moving likely no more than $2 million in cap space back.

Nilsson and maybe a draft pick would be the ideal choice, but that could be tricky to convince Chicago to take in return since they'll want more value and Nillson is very one dimensional. What about Moreau who started in Chicago and brings the same type of play without the offensive upside? If no other options exist for the Blackhawks and they want a true leader in the dressing room knowing they lack that with a very young captain in Toews -- perhaps.

If the Oilers can figure out how to not move a lot of salary and fit in Sharp's $3.9 million, it shouldn't take a lot outside of a prospect or two and maybe a draft pick. Chicago created this mess and won't be rewarded for getting themselves out of it, even though Sharp is a good player and would demand fair return./ That said, don't expect Chicago to take fair return to clear up their cap issues.

Now that Heatley is all but dead in the water, it would be nice to have the Oilers at least inquire.

“I think we’ve given up hope on the Heatley scenario; but, I guess it’s not dead in the water. But, at this point, it looks like we’ll go to camp with the same team we finished with last year outside of a new goaltender.”

“I think at this point, it’s pretty evident what’s going to happen. But, we haven’t closed the door on the whole issue yet.”

Not exactly the words a number of fans were hoping to hear from the Oilers. Since it's coming from Oilers Assistant GM Kevin Prendergast, we can safely assume this isn't some media speculation to keep the story alive. This is a fact as the Edmonton Oilers have come to realize it.

So now what?

Well, outside of the fact that the Oilers don't actually have the same roster as last year due to the losses of Ales Kotalik, Liam Reddox and Kyle Brodziak; this team is not terrible and needs some simple touch-ups.
Our depth chart as is:

Penner/Horcoff/Hemsky
Nilsson/Gagner/O'Sullivan
Moreau/Cogliano/Pisani
JF Jaques/Brule/Stortini

Pouliot and MacIntyre as extra forwards

Our take?

Move Cogliano off of centre and make him your second line winger in place of Nilsson (or at the very least interchangeable). Cogliano can pot you 25-30 goals if you give him the ice time, and he's a terrible face-off player so why ask him to fill that role? Use him where he can still utilize his speed and bring in a 3rd line center. Moreau can be moved to a 4th line checker role if there is no other useful place for Nilsson.

The Oilers are still $6 million away from the cap which is plenty of space to go out and get a Malhotra (even if overspending has to take place), Peca or Bonk (face-off specialists) then worry about moving your spare parts for picks if need be, after you've landed what you need to fill your roster the right way.

I'd like to see the following, and consider it very realistic:

Penner/Horcoff/Hemsky
Cogliano/Gagner/O'Sullivan
Moreau or Nilsson/Malhotra/Pisani
JF Jaques/Brule/Stortini

Move Pouliot or keep him as your 13 forward in case of injury and MacIntyre as your in and out of the line-up guy based on match-ups and this is a fairly strong team, which can contend for a play-off spot despite not adding Heatley.

Obviously if a trade becomes an option and a Nilsson, Penner or Pouliot can be bunched for a Gagne from the Flyers, a Frolov from the Kings or a Kris Versteeg from Chicago; I jump all over it. For now, we'll assume Kevin Prendergast is correct in that we'll see a similar roster and that trade options have been explored, but aren't likely.

What we do know, is that the players on this roster as is, will have to achieve their potential for the Oilers even to have a shot at the post season.

Here's what I remember about last years calendar. We started the season on the road... almost every game. We finsihed the season at home... almost every game. Of course, by then it was too late to do anything about it.

Sure, an argument could be made that the tail end of the season would have mattered and been a great advantage if the Oilers had remained in the hunt; and that's true, but they weren't, so at this point -- it's a mute point.

Now, after a day to digest and examine the 2009/2010 regular season schedule for the Oilers, we can come to a few conclusions. This year's schedule is amazingly fair and even keel for a team known as having heavily weighted games both for and against each year.

The home vs away games are spread out nicely for this upcoming season with the exception of October and January, which is great for Edmonton. Being at home in October 9 times out of 14 games; and in fact, their first 4 games all at home vs teams I feel we can contend with in Dallas, Montreal and Calgary, is great news for fans. This gives Edmonton a strong advantage to focus on a great start.

In January, 8 of 12 games are at home, which too favors a traditionally poor out of the gate team after an All Star Game. Of course with no All Star break this year due to the Olympics, I believe a similar comparison can be derived from what it must feel like with the Olympic break starting in February. The Oilers can finish a strong run at home before the break, collect their thoughts and then 3 of the next 5 are at home again to start the season back into full swing.

The remaining months are very even with almost as many home games as away games.

In terms of back-to-back games, the Oilers are tied for the lowest amount of back-to-back games this year at 11. This versus the 16 they played a season ago. Compare that to Calgary and Vancouver who have 14, Minnesota with 15 and Colorado with 16, we are seated the best in our division for rest between games.

If you account for the miles we travel -- and a great blog was posted by Dirk Hoag from On The Forecheck http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2009/7/16/950950/how-much-does-your-favorite-team. Edmonton not only travels less than they did last year, but less than Calgary who we've always been told is a more attractive destination thanks to travel. Not so this year as they log more miles than anyone else in the league at 55,331. Edmonton is still well above average travelling 49,191 vs 40,782 that the mean of the league sees, but it's better than in years past and good news for youngsters playing their first season and not used the grind of an NHL travel schedule.

All in all, if the Oilers end up repeating as team who's worse at home than away, this schedule helps as the Oilers may tend to avoid the pile up of long losing streaks. So too, they'll have plenty of rest which can only be seen as a good thing.

As is being reported on the official Edmonton Oilers website...

General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have agreed to terms with goaltender Devan Dubnyk, defenceman Dean Arsene and 2009 NHL Entry Draft choice Toni Rajala.

Dubnyk, 23, agreed to a one-year contract with the Oilers.

Edmonton’s first-round pick, 14th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft has played the past two seasons with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, tallying a 27-58-2 record, 3.02 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

Arsene, who turns 29 on Monday, spent the previous six seasons with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, helping lead the Bears to Calder Cup Championships in 2005-06 and 2008-09.

Rajala, 18, signed a three-year entry level contract with the Oilers after being drafted by the club in the fourth round, 101st overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

The 5’10”, 163-pound right winger from Parkano, Finland, played 21 games with Ilves Tampere of the Finnish Elite League last season, recording two goals and three assists for five points.

Rajala has donned the Finnish jersey in three international tournaments, including the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championship and the 2009 World Under-18 Hockey Championship, where he was named the tournament’s best forward with 10 goals and nine assists in six games.

Our notes: Rajala had slipped in this years draft all the way to the 4th round, due to a knock by scouts on his size. The Oilers were pleased to get him at that spot since he has the ability to be the steal of the draft. They obviously see something in him and he's impressed thus far; that of the contracts the Oilers have remaining (a precious commodity), they used one of them to secure the future of this 4th rounder.