OilersBrent wrote:

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Oilers have a good young team but I wouldn't consider them a legitimate contender, yet. They played really well down the stretch when they were way out of it. I wonder if they can play that way for the full season.

On a side note about Hemsky: I remember when Kirk told me that if he played in the East, he would lead the NHL in points. I hope all Oiler fans don't overrate him as much as he does :P

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He is one of those players you have to watch to appreciate.  He is one of those players that makes a difference whenever he is on the ice.  Great to watch.

But lead the NHL in points might be tough with some of the great players around.  Maybe on a line with Spezza and Heatley he could be top 10 in the league in the next couple years.

And Kirk....this is one of your proposals...

schremp (guy with loads of potential could explode with right situation ie vinny) -pitknanen (number 2 d-man behind boyle)-torres (2nd line wing for tb)-poulloiut (youthful 3rd liner for tb)---Matt Roy (7-8th d-man)

for

Stamkos (hemsky's new best friend) , obrien (6-7 d-man)- tampas 3rd

No one wants the Oilers ****.  Pitkanen has value...but not that much value. 

 

klowe should make the move to get stamkos just to get u on that watch luke hahaha

Eric_Isles wrote:

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Instead of using a lot of words here.


I'll just say you two are F***ing (dumb). 


Trading Stamkos... I'll be laughing forever at that one.

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whoa whoa whoa there Eric...

why r u lumping me with the Stamkos-getting-dealt IDIOT??

what did I post that was the least bit offensive??

I even said lots of support for the pens from up here in E-town...

Im going to just assume Kirk had you momentarily blinded by rage, and since it was my topic, I got lumped in...



honestly Eric we have talked a lot and agree on many things NHL-BRHL2 so I hope I didint offend you man.

since it is a fun topic, feel free to mock me all you want :) which im sure this was meant as.

WildJamie wrote:

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These Oiler threads are getting pretty funny.  A bunch of junk for Stamkos?  Hilarious...  Schremp and Pouliot are long-shot prospects at best at this stage.  And there must be a reason Pitkanen is getting handed around (probably has to do with the fact that he is the next Niinimaa).
Assuming that all the young guys will improve and carry the team next year is quite a stretch.  Sophmore slumps happen to many NHLers.  Teams will also be able to key in on those guys a little more next year.
And the funniest of all is the lack of goaltending.  Garon had a great year yes, but can he do it again?  Can't assume it will happen for sure, and even if he is as good, still not in the top half of the league in team goaltending.
The big diff between Edmontons salary situation and Pitts is the fact that the Pens will possibly lose Malkin because he is a top 5 forward in the league and they already have one of those.  Edmonton doesnt have a top 20 player at ANY position, and they are still overpaying guys and almost maxed their cap hit this year and next....

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1- Once again I am not abdicating trading for Stamkos as I realize noone ever deals the #1 pick unless they have to (Lindros).

2- Schremp is a long-shot prosect in the West, but out East he really could flourish. Pouliot is never going to be a 70-point guy, but is MUCH better in his own zone than even the start of the '07-08 NHL season. When MacT raves about your progress, believe me he isn't talking about offensively. Pouliot will be a VERY servicable NHLer on a 3rd-4th line for many years. Pitkanen isn't getting "handed around" He's been traded 1 time in his career, and still is one of the better puck-carrying defensemen in the NHL (if you want to debate this with me anyone, a simple Youtube trip will suffice)

3- Why would our young guys (Cogliano, Gagner, Nilsson, Brodziak, Pouliot, Gilbert, Grebeshkov) have to "carry" the team next season?? Wouldnt having Souray, Horcoff, and Pitkanen (if he's still around) for a whole season actually make their jobs MUCH, MUCH easier???
Starting the year everyone in Edmonton conceded that if Cogliano or Nilsson stepped into a top 6 forward role and succeeded, that we would have our top 6 forwards rounded out. Little did we know that Gagner would make the team....
Everyone forgets that Stoll and Torres were pencilled in as our top 6 forwards to start the year. And were played as such by MacT.
MacT mishandled the playing time of the kids for the first 40-60% of the season, until he was FORCED to move more than one of them into top-6 ice time. (IMO, not Kirk he thinks that they had to be held back to succeed apparently)
By the end of the season, in a playoff push where every single night matters to both teams, all 3 of our kids (and all undersized) were absolutely fantastic AGAINST TEAMS FIGHTING FOR THE PLAYOFFS... Klowe will tell you, and I agree, that games late in the year in a playoff type intensity are much more important for the development of players, because they have to work sooo much harder... The Oilers youngins did that, and were very successful.

4- I think for everyone who has never seen the guy play all that much, that it would be easy to bash Garon as a bottom-tier goalie.. But he is a very consistenent goalie, and if he had stronger Defensive defensemen in front of him (and Matt Greene's injury hurt us a lot in this department) he would put up even better numbers.
Even his last year in LA when they had an all-time bad defense in front of him, he still managed to put up respectable numbers (and about a mile better than the other LA goalies that year).
Balance this with the fact we have Roloson as the current backup (better than about 90% of other team's backups) and the Edmonton goaltending crisis is overblown. Everyone probably forgets, but this Oilers defense had a TONNE of injuries this season.

5- As for the Oilers not having a top 20 player at any postion... would Souray have qualified last season in Montreal?? Id say he played like a top 10 dman that season, and I think to write a guy off with the injuries and first year in a new system with new teammates, new house, etc.. would be unfair.

And if you dont think Hemsky is a top 20 winger or RW if you really want to be specific, then please check my future post in this thread regarding hemsky.



Hope to have answered some of your 'Canucklehead questions.. feel free to throw some other questions/comments my way... and actually Id be very interested to hear a Vancouver fan speculate about what they should do for next season, since so much is up in the air right now out there..

Thanks Jamie (or Shawn)

just a question their rex did tom gilbert wear down near the end of the year???

in the end it wouldnt have mattered seeing as nashville played so well.. but the oilers last 3-4 games were intense playoff "like" games.. which is good experience for a young club...


mact WILL be gone after his contract is gone.. and (buchy will be in LMAO)



anywhoo lets hope for huddy hahahah man the oilers and the new old boys club is hilarious...


i think if they went outside their little bunch and tried to get hitch**** to come home to e-town then the team would explode.. just a thought though...

Here is not what Rex Leak thinks about Ales Hemsky but other maybe more respected people:


1- Sakic salutes Hemsky.

Sakic was complimentary about Oilers winger Ales Hemsky, who had three assists Saturday, setting up a tap-in by Dustin Penner on a 2-on-1 and then, with a backhanded drop pass, a score by Sam Gagner.

"Ales is probably the smoothest player in the league today when he's got the puck," Sakic said. "When he's stick-handling, nobody's close. You had Gretzky here, now you've got this guy. Unfortunately, we have to play against him."


2- During the Phoenix telecast last night, the commentators showed a quote from Wayne Gretzky. He said something along the lines of, " He (Ales Hemsky) is the best forward in the NHL. I don't think he realizes how good he is and that he has it in him to be the most dominant player." Then the Phoenix commentators went on to say that his passing ability is second to none.

Considering that Spezza (71), Crosby (63), And Hemsky (58) were the only players under 22 to be top 10 in the entire NHL in assists during the 2005-06 season, i dont think it's a stretch. Consider who Hemsky played with and who Spezza played with.


3- Petr Sykora has said that Hemsky is one of the 3 most talented players he's ever played with (prior to joining current pens team)


4- Everyone knows how much Jaromir Jagr loves Ales Hemsky, and has even said he hopes to get the chance to play with him in the NHL, not just on his National team.




Is that enough or would the rest of you Hemsky haters like me to keep wasting my time by looking up direct quotes???


Like no doubt if he played on ANY Eastern conference team, he would be above 90 points every single year he plays...