Oilers 2009/10 – Quarter 1 Report

By Racki, November 18, 2009 2:00 pm

Failure - When your best just isnt good enough

Well, we’re about a quarter of the way into the season, and it’s time to take a look at where this team stands. Steve-O, Trogdor and Racki will do a quarterly report card for the team to show how we feel each individual player is doing, the coaching staff, management, and the team as a whole. We chose 20 games in as the cut off. So any games following that point are not included in our rankings or stats.

Without further ado.. the first quarter report card for the 2009/10 season:

Legend:
A – Awesome
B – Above Average
C – Average
D – Booooooooo
F – Useless/Trade/Fire

FORWARD RANKINGS

Name	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
Dustin Penner	20	12	11	23	4	10
Racki	Zero to hero in the matter of a coach being fired/hired. Penner has done all that he’s been asked to do and more. He’s a bit more physical now, although that’s not his main game. He uses his body very well. He finally looks like the power forward Lowe was hoping to get. His defensive game is rock solid. He makes his linemates better. Not many saw this turnaround coming. Credit to Penner for turning things around.					A+
Steve-O	Best interviews ever. You may like how he drives the net, or how he controls the play down low, or his play in front of the net but dude is one of the best interviews in the game. I would like to see him keep this pace up for the entire season (don’t see it happening however) but I think he keeps this up, and brings another solid year next year and he will be able to keep that big salary for another contract.					A
Trogdor	Penner looks like a new man this year and he’s been a huge part of the reason we look could make the post season this year. He’s been unmovable down low and the puck seems to stay on his stick. Most improved award for the season thus far, hands down.					A
Ales Hemsky	17	4	14	18	8	5
Racki	He’s been good, especially when Penner is on the ice with him. I don’t think he’s always the best guy on the ice anymore though, but we all know he has it in him to be better. Got off to a fairly slow start and hasn’t been the guy keeping the play alive.					B
Steve-O	Best player on the ice. Gets special attention from the other team but deals with it and is still a ppg player. Doesn’t shy away from the tough areas, makes teammates better. Also, while being a ppg player, still hasn’t had that breakout game that we all know is coming which will lead to a week or two of increased scoring. When that happens he’ll carry the team on his back.					A
Trogdor	Hemsky has been Hemsky so overall I’m pleased. Still needs to fire the puck a little more frequently to keep the defence guessing.					B
Patrick O’Sullivan	20	3	9	12	8	-5
Racki	He is a guy that generally brings the work ethic every night, but it’s amazing how one guy can be so snake bitten. His defense game is pretty solid,a nd he does help generate chances. I give him a A based soley on his effort, but he gets paid to finish, so B-.					B-
Steve-O	That monkey will come off eventually. Works hard, gets lots of shots (important on this team as no one else will shoot) and one day those are going to start going in. I like the ability to play defensive hockey. We need more players like him.					C+
Trogdor	Only 3 goals so far but there hasn’t been a lack of trying. He’s getting into the shooting lanes and getting pucks on net, only a matter of time before they start going in.					B
Sam Gagner	20	4	7	11	13	-1
Racki	Again, much like O’Sullivan, he needs to be able to put up points but has struggled in that area, for the most part. His defensive game isn’t on the same level as O’Sullivan, but it’s improved a lot. His faceoff ability has also come a long way.					B-
Steve-O	In all honesty, I haven’t noticed him a lot during games. While it means he’s not getting 5 bell chances, it also means that he’s not getting burned a whole lot either, so that’s good.					C
Trogdor	Could use some more production out of this guy, but that could be said about almost all of our secondary scoring.					C
Gilbert Brule	17	5	5	10	9	0
Racki	Pleasant surprise. I’ve never been that big of a fan of his, however he’s really looked like he could be a key component for a 2nd or 3rd line. He finishes his checks well, has good speed and has a good nose for the net.					B
Steve-O	I like these feisty little fuckers, how they are willing to destroy their own bodies just to help the team. Dude has shown some finish as well. Second best faceoff taker on the team and as much as I like Poo, I think his job just got taken.					C
Trogdor	Brule has played well. He’s been a physical energy guy and has been helping out with some goals.					B
Mike Comrie	15	5	3	8	10	-3
Racki	I think he’s been a bit of a surprise as well too. His point totals aren’t exactly stellar, but he creates offense and is one of a few players on this team that looks like an actual NHLer. Solid pick up and very good value for the dollar.					B
Steve-O	Like Lowetide says, and Racki mentions above, this team lacks actual NHL players and Comrie is one of them. I am not a fan (he seems to be a little slower this year…flu maybe?) but for the price he is exactly what this team needs more of. And he’s banging Duff. +1					C
Trogdor	Comrie started well but hasn’t seemed to come back to form since his bout with the flu. I still like what he offers the team for the price we paid.					C
Andrew Cogliano	20	3	5	8	2	2
Racki	Doesn’t have the benefit of strong linemates like other players on this team have had, so it’s hard to be too critical of him. His numbers obviously have to get better, including his faceoffs. But with more ice time he could be a better player. I think he’s a bit underutilized still.					C
Steve-O	Holy crap does he suck at faceoffs. But the team seems insistant that he plays at center so the shit show will go on. I would like them to move him to wing, and up the depth chart as we have some better centers suited to the bottom of the lineup than him. Other than that I like him, quick and can make plays.					C-
Trogdor	Similar to Gagner in that secondary scoring needs a boost. Both have played without too many glaring issues, but the level of play could use a boost.					C
Shawn Horcoff	16	3	3	6	8	-6
Racki	His defensive game has looked fairly strong. His faceoff ability has been on par with what we expect. However his offensive game has been nearly non-existant. He simply has to be better. I don’t care about the salary he makes but I do care about the minutes of ice time he gets and he needs to use those better offensively. He needs to keep to the simple plays, as cliche as it sounds.					C
Steve-O	I’m not as distraught as others about his game. As long as he’s stopping the other team from scoring then I’m sure the scoring will come around. It sucks that he’s making 5.5, but don’t blame him for that. Lets just hope he keeps the puck out of our net and starts scoring more (he seems to be coming around)					C-
Trogdor	It’s a good thing he’s been winning faceoffs otherwise I might be getting on his case…					D
Jean-Francois Jacques	15	2	3	5	33	-5
Racki	He’s been another pleasant surprise, or was right from the start. No one would have expected him to help the team offensively, but he’s chipped in a little bit. However his best asset has been opening up space for everyone else, and he’s done that well and protected his linemates in the process. One thing that I love about him too is that he always finishes every check.					B-
Steve-O	Well, I was on his side to start the season, but it didn’t work. He was left on the top line far too long. But now that he is (will be) placed in a spot that suits his abilities it should be all good. I would like to see him drop the gloves too.					C
Trogdor	When he’s been in the line up, I’ve liked what I’ve seen. He’s a physical guy and plays the role.					B
Robert Nilsson	12	1	3	4	0	-12
Racki	Yes, his defensive game has improved, but he’s paid for his offensive ability and it’s nearly extinct. Hasn’t really done much to get noticed. I’d sooner have Liam Reddox getting his minutes.					D-
Steve-O	I like him. He has shown that he can produce in the right situations, so I would like to see him against the soft parade with cherry linemates. Also give him more than a game there.					C-
Trogdor	Nilsson hasn’t impressed me thus far. He’s gotten quality minutes but hasn’t made the worthwhile. Too often I have seen passes that became turnovers for trying to thread the needle.					D
Ethan Moreau	19	3	1	4	19	0
Racki	Just brutal. This isn’t the same Ethan Moreau we once knew. Is it the injuries causing this problem? Who knows. Right now he needs to take some lessons from Stortini and Jacques. Hit anything that moves. He’s still the king of lazy penalties, especially offensive zone penalties. How he eludes Quinn’s doghouse is beyond me. Agreed with Steve-O below on the leadership qualities. Makes no sense why people comment on that. We don’t know, as fans.					D-
Steve-O	Stupid penalties. That’s it. Outside of that, the guy is a good defender, plays hard, scores a little and will stick up for teammates. I don’t get how people crap on him for his leadership either, we are not in the dressing room so how the hell would we know if he’s a good leader or not. If he wasn’t then I assume that Quinn would have removed his ass from it much like Marleau in SJ. So enough of that crap.					C-
Trogdor	Ethan has played decent, but there have been some brain cramps. Not really filling the hitting energy role to the level I’d expect.					C
Zack Stortini	20	2	2	4	34	1
Racki	About on par with Jacques, but maybe on a lesser scale. His game is pretty well laid out for him – crash and bang in front of the net and hit everything that moves on the other side that has the puck. I agree with Steve-O in that he’s disappeared a bit. Last year when that happened, MacTavish would bench him a couple of games and he’d be back in full effect.					B-
Steve-O	Has disappeared lately. Haven’t noticed him playing lately, and much like Gagner that is both a good thing and a not so good thing. Playing exactly as he should and as is expected.					C
Trogdor	Hey, how about that 2 goal game! Nothing before or after, but not expecting much offence from the guy. He’s been a good 4th liner and has survived the extra minutes of an injury riddled team.					C
Ryan Stone	8	0	3	3	9	-2
Racki	Another surprising player. It seems that Quinn is capable of getting the most out of these guys. He may not be a big scorer, but that’s not why he’s here. He opens up ice and finishes his checks. The 2nd line misses him right now.					B-
Steve-O	Plays the JFJ and Stortini role. But from what I have seen from him, he plays it better than both of them. That’s probably the experience of the AHL working in his favor (he does have more than they do right?).					C+
Trogdor	From the time he has had in the line up Stone has looked good. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off post injury.					B
Ryan Potulny	4	1	1	2	0	-2
Racki	Not enough time to evaluate him. He had the one good game on the powerplay, but aside from that, haven’t noticed him. I give him an N/A for now until he’s played more.					n/a
Steve-O	I’m going to rate him based on what I have seen to date, and I like what he brings. A player with some skill that didn’t seem to get burned. I’ll give him a C+, but if it continues (and he stays up) it might creep up.					C+
Trogdor	Stepped in and has played well. Not a lot of games so far, but has filled the void well.					B
Liam Reddox	4	0	1	1	0	-1
Racki	Also hasn’t played much. What you see is what you get with Liam Reddox though. High intensity, hard, hard work. But he isn’t a flashy guy. Defensively sound. Gets a higher rank, purely based on his effort level.					B
Steve-O	Delivers what is expected. Plays well defensively and shouldn’t be expected to put up tonnes of points.					C+
Trogdor	Looks fast this year but need more games to assess.					C
Ryan O’Marra	1	0	0	0	0	-1
Racki	Hasn’t played enough at this point					n/a
Steve-O	Again, I’ll go with what I saw and I was super impressed (but that may just be me being happy for him getting a game in. I would also like to see Arsene play too). Didn’t look out of place and did some smart things. Got the puck and got it out of the zone. Banged some bodies.					C
Trogdor	Haven’t seen him enough to comment on his play.					C
Steve MacIntyre	4	0	0	0	7	0
Racki	Obviously not a Quinn player. He’s a one-dimensional player, and these types have no use on a Quinn roster. Sad to see him go because he was so good in the community, but it was the right choice.					D
Steve-O	I like him. Wish we could keep him here but if Quinn isn’t going to play him then I’d like to see him get playing time elsewhere.					C-
Trogdor	Very limited play time and has moved on since then. Didn’t offer the team much.					D
Fernando Pisani	6	0	0	0	6	-3
Racki	I don’t really expect much of Fernando. I give him the average – a C. He hasn’t really had enough time to catch his groove. He’s been neither good nor bad on the ice.					C
Steve-O	Plays well in his own zone. We need more players like a healthy Pisani.					C
Trogdor	For a guy who was out for as long as he was, he came back ready to play. He was in game shape and played well. Still needs more ice time for a better evaluation.					C

DEFENSEMEN RANKINGS

Name	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
Lubomir Visnovsky	18	4	7	11	4	3
Racki	Absolutely incredible. Trading for Visnovsky has paid off. Can we clone this guy somehow? He’s solid enough defensively (very quick to recover and get back down the ice) and been very good offensively as well. He makes his defensive partners better.					A+
Steve-O	I like what he brings to the table, and he has played well this season.					A-
Trogdor	Lubo has played well on both ends. He provides some punch on the PP, but plays responsible as well. Solid guy to have on the D.					B
Denis Grebeshkov	19	3	7	10	16	-7
Racki	Yikes. Offensively, he’s been fairly stable. But in his own zone he’s made some horrible decisions. Please Quinn, stop pairing him with Gilbert permanently unless you give these guys very limited ice time.					C-
Steve-O	Aside from what others think, I like Grebber Grabber. He is exactly what is advertised. An offensive defenseman. He will eventually be a Visnovsky given time, and I would prefer that he becomes that player on this team prior to Visnovsky’s contract expiring.					C+
Trogdor	Grebs has had more brain cramps than his teammates this year. The turnovers and decision making have been terrible at times. Hopefully with Staios and Souray back we get some pairings that complement each other.					D
Steve Staios	8	0	4	4	12	5
Racki	Steady Steve on many nights. We discovered what it was like not having a Staios in the line up, and it was not good. I don’t care what people say about him, he’s an important member of the team. He should never be on the ice with Strudwick or Smid, however.					A-
Steve-O	Ring it around the boards. I think Racki is clinically insane for that score					C-
Trogdor	Staios has been Staios. He’s played his game and done it well. Good to have him back.					B
Ladislav Smid	18	0	4	4	17	5
Racki	I wasn’t sold on him before, but now I am. He’s been a rock defensively. Perhaps all that time with Staios has paid off. He looks incredible, paired with Visnovsky (who doesn’t though?). He moves the puck well enough and is one of few physical d-men on this team.					A
Steve-O	For most of the season, I think that Laddy is the best defenseman that the Oilers have used. Great defensively, can skate the puck out of our zone, willing to pinch in correct situations and has an awesome mean streak.					A
Trogdor	Smid has been great this season. He’s been solid on D and he’s one of a few that are displaying energy and heart.					A
Tom Gilbert	20	1	3	4	8	-4
Racki	Sorry Tommy G. Not getting it done, much like Grebeshkov. His stock is falling, but not at too astronomical of a rate. He can still turn it around. My best advice is for Quinn just to avoid the obvious Grebeshkov / Gilbert pairing. It doesn’t work very well. Separate the two, and they both look a lot better.					C-
Steve-O	Again, I don’t feel that Gilbert is as terrible as others are saying. Watching him do the little things like instead of firing it around the boards but taking a step and making a quick pass to break out the forwards and using his stick and body to keep the play to the outside is fun to watch.					C+
Trogdor	Hmm… Haven’t noticed Gilbert too much this season. He’s played decent but I think the team needs more from him.					C
Jason Strudwick	18	0	3	3	4	-4
Racki	Brutal. Waste of a roster spot. I used to be a fan of Strudwick. He seems to be one of Quinn’s go to guys short-handed, however. I’m not sure if that’s because he’s reliable or because Quinn has no one else to use, or because Quinn misreads the nameplate on his back. There have been a couple of games though where he’s made some stellar defensive plays. Plus he gets some really hard ice time, so for that reason he forces me to give him a slightly higher grade than I’d like.					D
Steve-O	Paint him orange and use him for practice. He should be used in the role that MacIntyre was used. Not at all.					D
Trogdor	Strudwick has played to expectation. He’s getting more minutes than he should, but has done alright.					C
Taylor Chorney	13	0	1	1	4	-6
Racki	I’d say he’s another one of those surprise players. He’s looked a lot better than I expected, and I actually thought he was a good d-man, last year. I think he’s surprised many others too, and he’s earned a higher ranking on the depth chart over Peckham and Strudwick.					B-
Steve-O	I would like to see him get easier shifts, but he seems to be playing well. Hopefully we don’t assume he is ready for the show and throw him in the top 4 yet, but he should be ready within a couple years for that					C
Trogdor	For the situation and minutes that Chorney was thrown in to, I’ve been pleased with how he responded.					B
Sheldon Souray	4	0	0	0	5	0
Racki	We haven’t seen enough of him, sadly. But you know what you get from the sexy bitch. Solid two-way play at both ends.					A
Steve-O	Racki’s man-crush is obvious. We need more defense like him in our own zone who are tough to play against and willing to beat the shit out of the other team.					C+
Trogdor	Not the offence of last year from the blue line. Limited play due to injury, but when he’s been in the play has been solid and he can clear the front of a net.					C
Theo Peckham	4	0	0	0	4	-5
Racki	Hasn’t seen enough ice time and was possibly still recovering from injury when he was called up, but he didn’t impress me. Needs more time in Springfield. Lacked the physical presence he is very capable of.					C-
Steve-O	I think that his injury impacted his ability so far this season because he was way better last year.					C-
Trogdor	I haven’t liked Peckham in the line up this year. Not the physical presence you’d expect, but he’s not been 100% either.					C

GOALTENDER RANKINGS

Name	GP	Min	GA	GAA	W	L	OTL	ENG	SO	Saves	SvPct
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers	3	184	6	1.96	1	1	1	0	0	89	0.94
Racki	He’s not going to get a lot of starts and he has to make the best of each and every one of them. Lucky for him, he’s doing just that.										A-
Steve-O	He needs to get more starts. I would like to see him get 20 this year and spell Khabibulin more. Played well so far.										B-
Trogdor	JDD has been solid when called upon. Maybe we should use him a little more?										B
Nikolai Khabibulin	17	1024	53	3.11	7	9	1	2	0	517	0.91
Racki	He’s made some pretty key saves at moments. He makes those difficult saves look routine, but unfortunately for him, sometimes he makes those easy saves look difficult. Needs to spend less time outside of his net. Reminds me of Roli in many ways – same brutal positioning and rebound control (if not worse) but has better recovery, and perhaps some more help from the backend.										B
Steve-O	Bungee cord his ass to the crossbar and give him some rebound time during practice. Has kept the Oilers in the game some nights, but I have a feeling like he is another Roloson. Great saves, but a weak one every now and then.										C+
Trogdor	Aside from an early season gaffe playing the puck, he’s played well. Sees a lot of rubber every night so he could use a little more help from the D to limit that. Has done his job though, just needs some goal support.										B

MISCELLANEOUS RANKINGS

Team As A Whole	GP 20, Record 8-10-2, GF 56, GA 60
Racki	This is a tough one to grade. They started off with a bang, and I thought Quinn’s new system was clear and worked very well. As injuries started to sink in, things got worse for this team. We haven’t really had much opportunity to see the team for what it is. Lots of Springfield players up here so far this year. I’d like to give them a higher rank based on that, but right now I rank the below average.	C-
Steve-O	We now have two lines that can do some damage in their own way, the power line of Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky which has always been awesome and the new trio of Reddox-Brule-Potulny which seem to be tearing it up in a third line way. I would like to see a second line emerge (O’Sullivan, Comrie, Gagner ideally) and the remainder on the “fourth” line. I would also like to see the defensive pairings be settled.	C
Trogdor	Flu, injury, space time continuum fluxes… A lot has gone wrong this season, but the team has shown promise. If we can get back to our early season form than we stand a chance at the post season. We just have to cut out the ugly play and be competitive night after night to do so. I’ll hop on the Olympic band wagon and say that, “I believe”	C
Coaching
Racki	With a full team in their hands, they can make this team a winner. Have had to deal with a pretty beaten up line up, much like MacTavish did a couple of years ago. However I do think they are handling it a bit better as they’ve somehow managed to stay in the game most nights. The new system the coaches laid out (one random big guy of any skill level, a “playmaker”, and a “shooter” on any given line, and someone on the line being able to defend well) works well, when they’re able to use it. I agree with Steve-O about Stortini on the PP. Bat shit crazy idea. Up there with Toby Petersen quarterbacking it. The coaches have come up with some crazy line combos, but many have surprisingly worked.	B
Steve-O	Why the fuck is Stortini on the PP. And I have yet to see how this coaching staff is making the team a super unbeatable beast to be feared in the west. They seem to be trying to make due just like another set of dudes.	B-
Trogdor	Early on we looked great, but some of the juggling decisions by the Quinn blender have been a bit suspect. Certain players should be on the powerplay and others shouldn’t. It’s easy to see… I like Quinn’s willingness to tell people to take a stick to Iggy’s head though.	C
Management
Racki	Do we have management? I’m not sure they’re in touch with team needs. I like what Quinn’s been doing with the players given to him, but why not trade one of our smaller guys for an upgrade on size with offensive ability? Would have also liked to have seen them pick up a defensive staltwart for the blueline long ago. It’s hard to be as patient as our GM is though. I am wondering if it really is patience though or if it’s just him not wanting to fix this team, or him not realizing the team’s problems. Add to that, Khabibulin’s contract borders on insane. The more things change, the more they stay the same.	D
Steve-O	I really want to give these fuckers a F-. The team is full of obvious holes and we keep getting the “lets wait and see” lines…bullshit. You don’t see other teams waiting when there is a problem. I thought that Tambellini would come in and put his stamp on the team, but right now it seems to be the exact team that Lowe would put together.	D-
Trogdor	A lot of management crits have to do with the off season. They talked a lot about changes but nothing really came together. They didn’t know that Penner would be a quality power forward this year, and our lack of defensive depth has shown with our injuries.	D

Have your say with how the Oilers are doing this year:

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Oilers, Quarterly Report | Oilers, quarter, quarterly, report

16 Responses to “Oilers 2009/10 – Quarter 1 Report”

Hockey Noob says:

November 17, 2009 at 10:59 pm Hockey Noob(Quote)

Wow guys, that’s quite the post! Like I used to write back in the day. +1 What Racki said!
Racki says:

November 17, 2009 at 11:00 pm Racki(Quote)

Lots of work went into it, but always good fun giving the quarterly reviews. Feel free guys to write your own here or on The Wall.
zackman35 says:

November 17, 2009 at 11:06 pm zackman35(Quote)

Wow, awesome post kudo’s to you staff. That takes a shitload of work to do but overall really good. I liked reading the different perspectives on the players and organization. Not just one guy saying the same thing over and over.

The management has to wake up and smell the coffee, if there’s plague of injuries they should try and make some short term adjustments not just call up guys up the yin yang. And well noted on this teams size.
gr8one says:

November 17, 2009 at 11:39 pm gr8one(Quote)

Blair Betts is playing fantastic in Philly.
Steve-O says:

November 18, 2009 at 8:28 am Steve-O(Quote)

gr8one: Blair Betts is playing fantastic in Philly.

…i’m getting surprisingly angry right now
Horpensky says:

November 18, 2009 at 8:44 am Horpensky(Quote)

Excellent post guys, I really enjoyed reading that! I’ll probably post my own on the wall later!
Racki says:

November 18, 2009 at 8:49 am Racki(Quote)

Awesome, sounds good Horpensky. To anyone else planning on doing their own report, if it’s short, feel free to post it here in the comments.. if it’s pretty long, it’s probably better over on the Wall. I will link to it in the comments here (or you can yourself if you like).
Racki says:

November 18, 2009 at 5:26 pm Racki(Quote)

Horpensky’s Quarterly Report is up on The Wall. I’ll bump this thread after the game.
Racki says:

November 18, 2009 at 10:35 pm Racki(Quote)

Bumping this one back up..
Pennzoil27 says:

November 19, 2009 at 11:46 am Pennzoil27(Quote)

and now Comrie has mono and will probably be out for a while longer. Its gotta suck not being able to kiss the Duff:(
chucker says:

November 19, 2009 at 1:00 pm chucker(Quote)

Pretty nice assesments. I still don’t know what this team is supposed to look like, injuries and flu etc.

I pretty much agree on all of the assesment averages. Struds. Why exactly did we sign him?

I am really hoping that Gilbert is playing though an injury, because otherwise he’s been brutal. He’s good on the second PP unit, but he’s so soft. Soft like baby poo. Ferraro really lit into him last night for getting beaten so easily and often. I agreed with everything he said.
Racki says:

November 19, 2009 at 1:09 pm Racki(Quote)

I’m actually glad that Quinn benched him a bit. At not only sends a message to Gilbert (hopefully) but it sends a message to me, the fan, saying “oh yah, I noticed he looks like he’s made of china and afraid of breaking if he comes in contact with anyone”. Sometimes he has shown some battle though, but he really needs to do it consistently. I’d really much rather have a hard hitting, defensive d-man in his place though. Perhaps another Smid type.
chucker says:

November 19, 2009 at 1:40 pm chucker(Quote)

Racki: I’m actually glad that Quinn benched him a bit. At not only sends a message to Gilbert (hopefully) but it sends a message to me, the fan, saying “oh yah, I noticed he looks like he’s made of china and afraid of breaking if he comes in contact with anyone”. Sometimes he has shown some battle though, but he really needs to do it consistently. I’d really much rather have a hard hitting, defensive d-man in his place though. Perhaps another Smid type.

I tend to agree at this point. I guess it all depends on what the longterm plan is for Souray and Lubo, but they seem pretty well in placed. Grebs could easily be extended and we could get another nasty D man. We need to be tougher on teams and I’d like to see a bruiser on the blueline as well. That should be fairly easy to acquire if one was to trade Gilbert.

Of guys who are out there and established NHLers, who would fit in place of Gilbert, considering cap and the need to sign Grebs? Nilsson’s salary can be used in my estimation as he’s proven to be completely useless. Waive him, trade for a late pick whatever, he’s gone when everyone is healthy IMO.
Racki says:

November 19, 2009 at 1:49 pm Racki(Quote)

I was all over Boynton in the off-season. He signed in Anaheim for $1.5M. Factor in the Edmonton-Sucks Inflation, and you’re looking at $2M – 2.5M maybe? Then again, Matt Greene is making nearly $3M… so I’d say around that much. I would think that Gilbert + Nilsson salary moved would be enough to re-sign Grebs and pick up a defensive stalwart.
Steve-O says:

November 19, 2009 at 2:02 pm Steve-O(Quote)

negative…you move gilbert and i guarantee that you be sitting there in the future wishing that we kept onto him. you want to move salary then move the old guys
Racki says:

November 19, 2009 at 3:33 pm Racki(Quote)

Chorney’s coming up, plus a couple of other offensive minded d-men. Not too worried about it. I’d prefer they had a healthy balance of offensive/defensive biased d-men. I don’t think the heavy lean towards offensive-minded d-men is that much better than the lean towards defensive-minded d-men was. It’s great that they can move the puck out of their zone, but if they can’t actually get the puck back….