A Little Oiler Talk..

The Edmonton Oilers are the Chicago Blackhawks of half a decade ago..quote it, date it, star it or whatever you want to do because when the Oilers are making runs at Lord Stanley in about four or five years..I will remind you all I said that. I know they have had a tough season with extended losing streaks with very few winning streaks. BUT....look at all the ice time the kids have been getting. The combination of injuries to guys like Horcoff and Hemsky, coupled with the Penner trade and the fact that I think Khabibulin looks like he might still be drunk from last winter's escapades, the likes of Eberle, Pjaarvi, Omark, Petry have been playing quality minutes. And on top of that, Devan Dubnyk is a far superior goalie to Khabibulin and he is all of what, 25? All this adds up to is these kids knowing all about the trials and tribulations of an NHL season which will make it that much easier on them come next season. The future for this team is very bright, only made brighter by what will surely be a top three draft pick come June where if you want my opinion will hopefully see them target 6'3 D - Man Adam Larson. I know Nugent Hopkins is out there but Larson for me is more of what the team needs.

A genuine concern I have come this off season revolves around someone very few probably think about...Ryan Jones. This guy has been the best all around player for the club all season,and he has been rewarded for this hard work with ice time and in turn nineteen goals..and here's hoping he gets twenty. I really felt the Oilers suffered a huge blow a couple of seasons ago when they couldn't reach a deal with Curtis Glencross and in a lot of ways Ryan Jones is similar to him. These types of guys, while largely undervalued are irreplaceable if you ask me.

As for last night's Raffi Torres hit on Jordan Eberle....two games is the price Torres should pay. If you watch the replay it was a deliberate blow to the head in a dangerous location on the ice, and he had lots of time to slow down but chose not to. He meets all the criteria for a suspension as the NHL has stated over and over. Good on Ryan O'Marra for not thinking twice about taking on Torres.

That's all for tonight, see ya tomorrow..