Comments on: Edmonton Oilers 2005-2006

By: johnnymouthpiece

johnnymouthpiece — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 17:07:20 +0000

Good article. Hard to argue with any of your points.

About the only thing you don't really touch on here is the coaching. Aside from unproven goaltending (which has traditonally always been top notch here), this is the Oilers' achilles heel. I firmly believe that MacTavish and co. do not have what it takes to motivate and prepare this team properly. MacT is not a bad coach, don't get me wrong but the one thing that has been lacking in this squad for years is killer instinct. Instead of going out and playing full bore every night, the Oilers have tended to play to the level of their opposition. You know what I mean... beating Detroit 2-0 one night and losing to Columbus 4-2 the next. This is the hump this team needs to get over and MacT has shown that he can't get them there. Oh, and don't get me started on Craig Simpson and the powerplay. I've only got one word for both... inept. Hopefully, Pronger's impact will be felt here sooner rather than later.

Anyhoo, if the Oilers miss out on the postseason this year, I think the coaching ranks will need to be cleaned out from top to bottom and restocked with coaches that have no current or past connection to the Oilers.

By: johnnymouthpiece

johnnymouthpiece — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:17:57 +0000

I think you’d see the Oilers trade for a goalie before bringing Moss back. Rumors about Lowe trading for Biron have surfaced in the last couple of days but I think before Jussi’s strong performance against the Canucks. That may have quieted those pesky rumors down a little.

By: dantencer

dantencer — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 21:09:29 +0000

First of all, you’d be an ‘antagonist’ not a protagonist. 3 players who can score? Smyth, Torres, Moreau, Dvorak, and Peca have all had 20 goal seasons in the NHL. Not to mention Horcoff (who had 2 in the opener) a healthy Marty Reasoner, and Chris Pronger on the powerplay. Your comments about Dvorak and Hemsky are fair, but Dvorak looked spectacular on a line with Smyth and Horcoff in the opener and Hemsky should flourish under the new rule system. Keeping York and Brewer would have been nice, but that would have meant no Pronger or Peca…and I’d take that trade-off any day. Secondly, even if for sake of argument they could have acquired Pronger and Peca while keeping Brewer and York, that would have put the Oiler payroll over $36 million USD and they can’t afford to spend that high. They might very well finish one spot out, but I prefer to keep pessimism at bay until at least the 2nd game.

By: dantencer

dantencer — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 21:02:06 +0000

You’re right. He’s playing in Russia this season and did not attend camp. However, he remains close with the organization and would be a possible replacement if things got very bad injury-wise in goal.

By: IgorUlanov

IgorUlanov — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 19:10:21 +0000

Important note, given the content of your post: Tyler Moss was let go in the off-season. He is no longer in the organization, and as such did not attend training camp.

By: Nemix

Nemix — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 18:44:09 +0000

Sorry 2 sound like the protagonist, but there is alot left undone on a team with 3 players who can score,a dark horse in dv and play with puck no finish hemsky. If kept york and brew perhaps but now with replacing, they havent gained more then they had before. prong, pec and smith cant do by themself look 2 finish 1 spot or 2 out.

By: blindref

blindref — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 01:57:07 +0000

Great article! I really am disappointed that they sent Schremp back down to Junior for one more year. I don't think he's really going to develop much more down there and I think he was ready for the big time. I do agree with you though when you say Smith, Syvret, and Greene will spend some time up with the big club...just as soon as we get rid of that waste of space Cory Cross.

Even though everyone says the goaltending is questionable, I think either Ty or Jussi can take us to the playoffs, I'm just hoping that they can also take us past the first round. I'm thinking of a finish between 5th and 7th but I may be a bit optomistic at this point in time. Can't wait for puck drop on Wednesday night...GO OIL!

By: dantencer

dantencer — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 01:41:21 +0000

Thanks for the feedback! I tried on purpose to stay away from names with the exception of big CP for a reason…the Oilers talent level is there, but systems are the big question. I chose to focus more generically on the brand of hockey and system that they’ll be playing, which will ultimately determine their finish more than the depth of their team…in my opinion, anyway.

By: FLAMESOWNU

FLAMESOWNU — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 00:10:02 +0000

I see the Oilers finishing dead last!!

GO FLAMES GO!!!

By: Kraut182

Kraut182 — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 23:34:04 +0000

No offense dantencer (take it as constructive criticism), but the only forward, with the Oilers, that you mentioned was Todd Harvey. Even just throwing some names out there, say Smyth, Peca, Dvorak, Hemsky, would have been an easy, nice addition.