07/11/11 11.7 Odds & Ends: Fraser and Injuries, Hemsky, Hannan

Dean Lombardi

By now you're all aware of the fact that Dean Lombardi has publicly blasted the Oilers for trading him an injured Colin Fraser. We can be fairly certain that Steve Tambellini didn't knowingly do this, because it doesn't really do him any good. Tambellini doesn't want to earn a reputation that will make it hard for teams to trade with him, and Colin Fraser was not a guy who had to go because he was handcuffing the team.The Oilers' doctors cleared Fraser to play, and the Kings' doctors insist that he needs surgery. This brings up an interesting thought on the quality of Edmonton's medical staff.

Without specifically calling out any doctor in particular, one has to wonder why the Oilers have seen such a high rate of players being re-injured. Sheldon Souray and Ales Hemsky are two players who have experienced this while playing for the Oilers. Both played while their bodies were clearly not fully healed, and minor contact reinjued them. Hemsky has done this multiple times this season alone; first with his groin and then his shoulder. Souray alluded to this phenomenon when he came out and asked for a trade, saying:

"I wasn’t even ready to play when I came here, but it was like, ‘We signed you, you go out and play.’ I hadn’t been cleared to play yet, but I was being questioned by the organization:‘When are you going to be able to play?'"

The organization denies these claims, but Souray was eventually cleared to play by the medical staff, only to reinjure himself.

There have been other examples recently as well. We can only speculate, but what would have happened if Fraser wasn't traded and the season started tomorrow? Colin Fraser would apparently have been cleared to play, and the chances of him aggravating an unhealed injury would have been high. Part of this comes from the players themselves lying about how hurt they are, but in the end the medical staff has to be competent enough to make the right calls on a player's health.

If Steve Tambellini has no motive to ruin his reputation around the league by lying to Dean Lombardi, that leaves the medical staff that examined Fraser as the culprits. How can there be such a chasm between the opinion of two medical staffs? And what would have been the status of other injured Oilers if they had been on another team?

Other Headlines:

Speaking of Ales Hemsky, there have been some more rumblings that the Oilers might trade the skilled winger. Or, probably more accurately, the team is getting calls about him because he's seen as being potentially available.

Hemsky's recent comments about the direction the team is going and about the city of Edmonton are encouraging signs that he wants to stick around long term. Chances are good that Oilers management wants that as well. There isn't much top-end talent to be had right now, either by trade or free agency and the Oilers have Hemsky locked up for another year. That means that they can sit back and ask whatever they want and if teams don't like it, the Oilers will just keep #83.

The fact is that if the Oilers were to trade Hemsky they would have to replace him somewhere down the line. Aside from Linus Omark, who is as yet unproven in the NHL, there isn't anyone to really take over for Hemsky in the Oilers' system. Hemsky is to Edmonton what Marian Hossa is to Chicago, in that he's the type of winger that could put the team over the top one day, even if he's been passed at that time by Jordan Eberle. The only reason to trade Hemsky right now is to diversify the attack and/or plug holes. If the trade massively upgraded the Oilers' defense, then the team could live without Hemsky; otherwise he isn't going anywhere. The organization seems determined to make a drive for the playoffs next year, so moving Hemsky for picks in next year's draft looks like a big time long shot, unless the team flounders next year.



Scott Hannan and Ryan Smyth

 Just because a player isn't signed by the middle of July doesn't mean that he won't get signed. Teams must be low-balling Scott Hannan right now, since he has slowed down some in the last few years. There has been a little speculation that the Oilers could target the 32 year old defenseman, and having Ryan Smyth back obviously wouldn't hurt in that regard. There are things about this move that would make sense.

Hannan is a plus-25 over his career, while shutting down some of the best players that the opposition hurled at him. He's nowhere near the player that he was when the above picture was taken, but he would be a steadying force on the Oilers' blueline. Defense is the one area where the Oilers are still really working out the kinks, and the team is without a tested shutdown player on the backend. Hannan solves that problem, temporarily of course, and would be a decent enough stop-gap until a long term replacement like Colten Tuebert is ready for duty.

On the other hand, it basically guarantees that Jeff Petry will start next season in Oklahoma, since he would have to fight his way past Whitney, Gilbert, Smid, Peckham, Barker, Sutton and potentially Hannan. He would be a good first call up though, and when he's on the farm Petry would be munching up big minutes.

The good news is that if the Oilers decide that they want to go in this type of direction, there are plenty of free agent defensemen who fit the bill as veteran stop-gap types. Also available are Brent Sopel and Bryan McCabe. Sopel won a Cup with Chicago, so he might be open to playing for a team that has finished 30th in back to back years. His shot blocking skill is something that would be great to instill in the rest of Edmonton's blueliners. He's 34, but he can still be effective in his role. McCabe still managed 28 points in 67 games last year and he comes with a booming shot from the point, depsite his 36 years of age. He's never won a Cup though, so he'll probably try to sign with a contender if one will have him.

If the Oilers don't decide to add a defenseman, it will be an interesting experiment with the blueline in 2011-12, but in the end it could pay dividends to give ice time to younger players. We'll see what direction management decides to go, and how serious they are about playoffs next year.

06/10/11 11.5 Odds & Ends: Hemsky Trade Rumor, Drury, Calgary's Coaching Staff

Chris Drury

It seems like everyone in the NHL is doing something except for our beloved Edmonton Oilers. Philadelphia is busy acquiring the rights to Ilya Bryzgalov (and apparently ignoring his dismal playoff performances over the years); Winnipeg is absolutely bustling with activity in selling season tickets, finding a new GM and deciding (STILL deciding) on a name for their newly minted team. Toronto, St. Louis, and Montreal are among teams who have signed some of their own talent to extensions.

And the Oilers are still patiently waiting for their time in the sun at the draft on the 24th. It's incredibly inconsiderate of Oilers management not to give us all something to talk about in the Oilogosphere, so we'll just speculate and talk about everyone else for now.

Headlines:

- It was announced yesterday that the New York Rangers are planning to buy out Chris Drury once it becomes possible on Wednesday. Drury struggled mightily this season, scoring just one goal and four assists in 24 games and battling injury. The Drury buyout will save the Blueshirts $3.3 million against the cap next year, and Sather will finally be rid of his two huge free agent blunders from 2007 in Drury and Scott Gomez.

Could the Oilers sign Drury? It sounds crazy, but it might not be. Part of the strength of a rebuild is not only the players that a team acquires, but also the transitional players that are part of the team when it sucks. Drury is a former Stanley Cup Champion, NHL rookie of the year, and Olympic silver medalist. That's the type of player that young kids should be around when they are learning the ropes.

Drury wouldn't bring a lot of scoring punch, but he doesn't have to. Doug Weight scored just 53 points in 107 games with the Islanders, but the team kept him on because of the leadership and knowledge that he could impart to their kids. There aren't many ways in which one should emulate the Islanders, but this could be one. Over the past four seasons, Drury has won an average of 53.8% of his faceoffs, and that alone would be worth signing him if he could teach the kids. In that same span, Oilers faceoff afficianado Shawn Horcoff has won an average of 51.4% of his draws. It doesn't sound like much, but 2.4 percent is a pretty big improvement when it comes to winning faceoffs. Also, a fresh perspective wouldn't hurt when it comes to teaching the Oilers' youngsters how not to get destroyed in the dot.

If the organization treated Drury as a reclamation project and signed him for only one year, they could probably pay him somewhere close to what Alex Tanguay got in Calgary at $1.7 million. If he has a bounce-back season, trade him at the deadline. If not, no harm, no foul, and hopefully the kids came away with some veteran leadership advice that they can use throughout their careers. At the very least, it would give the Oilers the ability to leave Nugent-Hopkins in junior for another year.

- This article came out on Thursday, which is claiming that the Columbus Blue Jackets are interested in pursuing Ales Hemsky. I hate to say I told you so, but there it is in black and white; two days after a certain article went up on this blog. Clearly it was a stroke of unbridled genious and intuition. That, or somewhat obvious if you think about it. Will the Oilers make the move for the 8th pick? It's impossible to tell, but another interesting question arises from the fact that the Jackets are interested in Jeff Carter:

What is to become of all of Columbus' centers? Surely there isn't space for Vermette, Carter, Brassard, Pahlsson and Johansen. Even if Johansen doesn't make the team, that's still a bit of a log jam. Would Derick Brassard be in play for the right price? Brassard is 23 years old but he's only played 201 games. In 2010-11 he had career highs in goals, assists and points with 17-30-47 in 74 games.



Craig Hartsburg

 - Brent Sutter made some additions to his staff earlier this week, hiring Craig Hartsburg as associate coach. Supposedly (according to Calgary GM Jay Feaster) this was Sutter's hire, and it's now Sutter's staff. Still, one wonders. Two seasons ago, the Oilers hired Pat Quinn as head coach with Tom Renney as associate coach, not assistant. After the season Quinn was sacked and Renney was given the top job. Last year, Calgary hired Jay Feaster as assistant General Manager, and when Daryl Sutter's team flopped he was sacked and replaced by Feaster.

Is it good for current Flames coach Brent Sutter to have an associate who has been an NHL head coach before? If you were him, would you hire an associate coach that could easily replace you if need be? How about if your team had underachieved in the eyes of management and missed the playoffs the past two seasons? It's either a veiled attempt by Flames management to hedge their bets, or a very stupid decision by Brent Sutter to hire a guy that makes him expendable.

- As hard as we all try to cheer for Vancouver, it just doesn't happen. The only good reason to cheer for the Canuckleheads is that they are Canada's team, but as this article points out, there are more Canadians playing for the Bruins. Let all those reservations about cheering for Boston wash away, and join the ever-growing contingent of hockey fans uniting under the call:

Go Bruins Go!

06/04/11 11.4 Odds & Ends: Richards, Malhotra, Pisani

Brad Richards

The Dallas Stars won't be re-signing marquee center Brad Richards. With the ownership situation in Dallas still up in the air, the team has all but closed the door on the return of their best player. Richards has been through some interesting ownership groups in Tampa in the past, and therefore stable owners are something that this year's biggest free agent covets. Former Lightning owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules were a major part of the reason that Richards was traded out of Tampa Bay in the first place, so expect him to sign in a city where he can expect to stay.

To all the Oiler fans who think maybe Richards would come to Edmonton: don't bet on it. Richards is 31 years old, and he'll be looking for a situation where he can get paid and have a chance to win. Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini has stated that the team isn't in the market for the big-ticket free agent right now, and the Oilers certainly aren't in a position to win. There's little to no chance that Brad Richards will sign here.

The same might not also be true for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brian Burke knows that a number one center is first on his wish list this off season, so the Leafs GM may be putting together a hefty offer for Richards right now.

Whatever the offer, it will have to be bigger than what the New York Rangers have, because Glen Sather is apparently going to be right in the thick of things come July 1st. Rangers coach John Tortorella is very familiar with Richards since they won a Cup together in 2004 (over Calgary; just had to mention that part). Also, the retirement of Brian Rafalski leaves a large hole on Detroit's blueline, but an even larger hole in their payroll. Detroit and LA will probably make serious pushes for Richards' services.

If one of those four teams trades for Richards' rights (essentially the right to negotiate with him on a contract before July 1st), there's a good chance that he will sign there. Because the of the shallow free agent pool and the interest in Richards, the trade for his rights may be somewhat more significant than what one might expect. Still not a big trade, obviously, but perhaps bigger than what's warranted given the circumstances.

Some Other Headlines:

- Winnipeg fans didn't waste any time buying up all the remaining season tickets once they went on sale to the general public. In fact, they sold in just 4 minutes. The drive for 13,000 was completed in only 3 days, which is 17 days before the NHL board of governors will vote on the sale of the Thrashers to Winnipeg's True North group. If it hadn't been for a cap on how many seats that Manitoba Moose season seat holders could buy (or if seats had been sold to the general public from day one), the goal could probably have been reached even sooner. It's a solid showing from fans who lost a team once and don't want to leave anything to chance when it comes to bringing the team back. More than that, though, it shows the passion of the hockey fans in Winnipeg. There's no doubt that the MTS Centre will be sold out all of next season, but now it seems as though it would have been wise to build it for more than 15,000 spectators. If things continue as is, the organization will undoubtedly have to add seats if at all possible.

Phoenix is obviously still in dire financial straights, and the strong showing from Winnipeg fans will only encourage the NHL to move poor-performing American teams north of the border if they have the opportunity in the future.

- The NHL combine wrapped up yesterday and Nugent-Hopkins didn't hurt his case for going first overall. Here's the results of some of the kids who the Oilers might take at 19 or 31 overall who finished well in combine events:

Winterhawks forward Ty Rattie tied for first in the dreaded Wingate Peak Power-Output Test, which measures how hard a prospect can go for a 30 second stretch. Rattie is ranked 17th among North Americans by Central Scouting and scored 28-51-79 in 67 WHL games.

Defenseman David Musil finished tied for first in the VO2 Max test at 14 minutes. He was tied with Adam Larsson in this test, and may have helped move himself up the rankings somewhat. Musil is ranked 38th in Central Scouting's list of North Americans.

Travis Ewanyk of the Oil Kings finished tied for second in the long jump at 115 inches.

Thomas Jurco was in a 3-way tie for first in the bench press (150 pounds) with 13 reps. Monster defenseman Jamieson Oleksiak was in a 3-way tie for second with 12.

Mark McNeill (6'2", 210 lbs) was clearly the greatest physical specimen of the combine, who won the grip test, tied for a win in the bench press, and won the push/pull strength test outright. McNeill had 366 pounds of push strength, which beat out the much larger Jamieson Oleksiak (6'7", 240 lbs). Only Tyler Biggs was close with 323 pounds. Winning 3 of 11 events that are done by 102 prospects is huge for McNeill.

- Everyone is happy to see Manny Malhotra back in the lineup for the Stanley Cup Final. The former 7th overall pick has paid his dues and has moved around among contenders for the last two years. This could be his year to win it all, and it would be that much sweeter given the potentially career-ending surgery he has gone through.

- Fernando Pisani is coming back to Edmonton to support a Crohn's and Colitis golf tournament. It's hard for fans to imagine how the hero of the 2006 Cup run could be too weak to go up the stairs in his own home, but that is the nature of the disease. When I first heard of Pisani's illness it didn't strike a chord. I had no idea how draining, debilitating and downright painful the disease could be. All of that changed when I was diagnosed with it in early 2009. Pisani serves as a beacon to those who are afflicted with Crohn's and Colitis, because it would require a great commitment from him to continue to participate in a gruelling and phsyical sport in spite of his illness. Please help to support efforts to find a cure whenever you can, and cheer for Fernando Pisani no matter who he plays for.

Pisani recently did an interview with The Team 1260's Jason Gregor. Listen to it here:

http://www.jasongregor.com/radio_shows/burrows-bite-nhl-draft-canadian-basketball-fernando-pisani/show_clips/fernando-pisani-former-oiler

05/25/11 11.3 Still More Odds & Ends

Is this the end of the Red Ox? It probably is the end in Edmonton, at least. In a rare bit of actual Oilers news (rare for this time of year), Liam Reddox announced yesterday that he has decided to sign over in Sweden with Vaxjo.

Reddox said that if the Oilers had given him a one-way deal he would have played for them for the league minimum, but management wasn't prepared to do that. With a glut of future fourth liners already in the system, it didn't make sense to guarantee Reddox a spot when he could easily be outplayed by others at training camp.

This will probably end up being a good move for both parties. Reddox will get a chance to hone his game in the Swedish Elite League, which is reasonably well suited to his style. Also, given that Vaxjo will be playing its first season in the SEL in 2011-12, a former NHLer like Reddox should get plenty of opportunity. Reddox will be highly motivated while playing there, and if it translates into a strong season he could end up back in the NHL in no time.

The Oilers probably would have loved to keep Reddox in the fold as a call-up since he's a decent penalty killer, but not on a one-way deal. Reddox simply didn't produce enough to justify his roster spot; effective though he was while shorthanded. The Oilers' pipeline is going to be overflowing soon, so it's probably right for the organization to give tryouts to the other fourth liners that are coming who also have two-way deals.

Some Other Headlines:

- Vacouver is going to the Stanley Cup Final blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.

- Once again Tampa Bay rallied and won a must-win game to stave off elimination. Game 7 should be one hell of a gooder.

- The St. John Sea Dogs have punched their ticket to the Memorial Cup Final with two wins to start the tournament. They are the first QMJHL team to make the final since Quebec won it all in 2006. Tomas Jurco leads the tournament with 4 goals (including one off his head) and an assist in St. Johns' 3 games. Depending on how things finish, his performance could see him move up some draft lists. Huberdeau has 2 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games.

Host Mississauga beat the Owen Sound Attack tonight, which is a small measure of revenge for them. Mississauga blew a 3-2 series lead in the OHL Final and relinquished the league championship to Owen Sound, but now the St. Michael's Majors have a bye to the semi-final. Meanwhile, the Owen Sound Attack will play the Kootenay Ice in an elimination tie-breaker to determine who will play the Majors for the chance to appear in the final against St. John.

- Brian Rafalski is hanging up the skates. It's been a very good career for one of the best undrafted players ever. In 11 NHL seasons, Rafalski appeared in the Stanley Cup Final 5 times. Leaving $6 million in salary is not an easy thing to do, but when it comes to careers, Rafalski's was as full as it gets.

This leaves some major question marks for the Red Wings going forward. If Nicklas Lidstom retires, it will leave Brad Stuart as that team's number one defenseman. Ruslan Salei and Jonathan Ericsson are both Unrestricted Free Agents, so GM Ken Holland will have to basically rebuild the entire blueline of his team. Either way, expect a dropoff from the Wings next year.

- It's looking more and more like it was a very good thing that Dany Heatley didn't come to Edmonton. The 30 year old had just 3 goals in the playoffs for the Sharks, and is coming off statistically his worst full season ever. Last year Heatley had just 2 goals in the post season for San Jose and he's only managed to ripple the netting 15 times in 66 playoff games. Almost fully half of those tallies came in Ottawa's 2007 Cup run, when he had 7 goals.

In hindsight, Oiler fans are happy that Heatley didn't come and improve the team enough to ruin its chances of finishing 30th and drafting Taylor Hall. Hall has the potential to be as good as Heatley, and for a much longer span of time.

- Is the NHL ever going to make the announcement that all the people of Manitoba are waiting for? Are the Thrashers leaving the NHL money pit that is Atlanta and moving north of the border? It would be the second time an Atlanta team has moved to Canada (the other of course being Edmonton's hated rivals down in Calgary), but it's more important than that. It means that an American team is coming to Canada rather than the reverse for the first time since those Atlanta Flames. It's a good sign for the strength of the Canadian hockey (and financial) market.

It seems pretty obvious that the Thrashers will be sold and relocated at some point. If Winnipeg gets them, what will the team be called? Calgary kept the Flames moniker when they got Atlanta's last team, but the people of Winnipeg seem to want the Jets. It'll be a blow to the prestige of the NHL to not only have a failing team that was once the Jets, but also another failing team that turned back into the Jets. Will the new Winnipeg team do better on merchandising if they go back to the Jets name, or if they change the name and force all the devotees to buy new jerseys, car flags, nick-nacks and doo-dads?

- At least one man high in the Oilers organization is happy that the Canucks are going to the Stanley Cup Final. Jeff Tambellini, Steve's son, has the opportunity to win it all. Steve managed the feat with the Islanders back in 1980, and he's got to feel good about his son's chances. It's got to be hard to preside over a 30th place team, but the Oilers will have their day in the sun down the road. No one will begrudge Tambo if he's cheering for the Northwest Division rival in the final round.

- Finally, we all remember articles like this one back in 2009:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/25860-Jaromir-Jagr-says-Edmonton-would-be-his-first-choice-for-return-to-NHL.html

Jagr is quoted as saying that Edmonton would be his first choice for an NHL return and that he "[will] never forget" that Edmonton pushed so hard to get him back then. Apparently the former NHL star has developed a case of Alzheimers, because when asked about his NHL return this time around, he didn't even mention the Oilers. In fact, Montreal came up because they are a Canadian team, but not the Oilers.

The reason is probably very simple: the Oilers don't want him anymore. They aren't starving for offensive help on the wing and to give him ice time over a young, developing forward like Eberle would be a mistake. The one benefit would be that Jagr could really help the kids to grow and mature mentally in the game, and he could probably teach them a few tricks as well. But that benefit doesn't mean a thing if he's robbing the Oilers' best youngsters of ice time, since they are all on the wing. If Jagr was a center, you can bet your buns the Oilers would want to sign him for the interim between sucking and being respectable, but he isn't. Besides, who would want to play here at that point in their career? If Jagr comes back, it will be to try to win. Edmonton can't offer that to anyone quite yet. Don't feel slighted, Oiler fans. It just doesn't make sense for either side.