The other thing, the Oilers have to stop doing these "we need a free agent, but no one wants to sign, so lets pay them 3x what they are worth" deals. Dustin Penner cost them two years of development for a very average player. Sheldon Souray, well we all know about that. Edmonton just has to draft and develop their kids, they simply wont be able to compete on a level playing field for free agents and they'll just screw themselves by continuing to play this game.
^ That's what they're doing now. They have 9 first round picks in their lineup. Leafs play EDM tonight...thankfully, EDM beat the Habs last night ina great comeback. Hopefully, they won't be as hungry tonight. Will be nice to see Hall and Eberle.
i would disagree with that, even if they were to grab that... i do not see them even being better than a Vancouver or Colorado to win the division, and if they can't even do that then I can't see them being anywhere near "elite"... if they were to nab those two items on your wish list, i do think that would put them on par with the other 2 in their division Calgary & Minnesota
Penner needs to go and his arrival is thanks to Lowe being a moron and Heatly being a scum bag, hate that kid. Cogs is wicked, same mold as a Marchant or Paul Ranheim, his downfall is everyone wants points from him. Kid is uber quick and seriously responsible behind the blue line, great 2-way guy, he should stay but he'll go, he's our trade bait. Hemsky is great and although he's vocal, he does usually have a valid point. Gagne, is also a great player and shouldn't go, would be senseless to get rid of him. We have plenty of other pieces to trade away who aren't high cap risks.
If they had Drew Doughty, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (06, 07, 08 drafts), they would be an elite team provided them had something other than Midget players on their other lines. They won't be elite tomorrow, but if they get Couturier, looking unlikely by the day, or Adam Larsson plus another one of those, in three years, elite, there is no question whatsoever.
I watched the game last night vs Anaheim, tough loss in a long shootout...but man are those youngsters fun to watch. Pjaarvi made a tremendous no-look pass for the 1st goal, and Hall and Eberle are just gaining more confidence with every game. I also like Ryan Whitney alot, hope he stays in Edmonton for several seasons.
