How the NHL is Destroying the Game of Hockey (part 2-the refs)

Yes it is a very fast sport and the officials have a very tough job. They get lots of abuse, most of the time it is uncalled for and I have enormous for the job they do. But in recent years their role has appeared to have changed in the NHL and has not changed for the good of the game, quite the opposite. Recently with poor calls and what looks like arrogance they have played a key role in many games which is wrong. In a properly officiated game it should appear that there was no refs even present but more and more in the NHL the refs are a big part of post game chats. 

How is this an NHL issue? Well let me tell you. In every other professional sports league there is constructive criticism allowed by the media, the teams without worry of fines and such but not in the NHL. If you are a player, coach or part of management expect huge fines for any disparaging remarks about the refs. If you are in the media expect sanctions by the NHL, be it getting barred from official NHL events and or pressure from the NHL to have you removed from covering the NHL. I do not have any actual cases of that but it has been long rumoured and players, coaches are always getting fined, that is common knowledge. The NHL in all it's arrogance may think this helps keep the NHL in a good light but it is far from it, it makes it looks worse. 

As for examples of how bad the officiating has got well that is easy. the list goes on and on. Just the other night when the Oilers lost to the Hawks. The bad officiating did not cause the Oilers to lose but it sure didn't help. To start the the game the Oilers got 6 penalties in a row and of those 6 perhaps two were legit calls, the other four were questionable at best. By the end of the 6th penalty the Oilers were down by 3 goals. Then in the third period when after missed calls against the Hawks and another upcoming to the Oilers their frustrations got the best of them. Well in the refs wisdom one ref handed out two 10 minute misconducts to 2 different players which is unheard of. When the ref was asked why by the Oiler captian S Horcoff he got told by the ref he didn't have time to explain. After that there was a couple of make up calls to the Hawks and no calls to the Oilers in a lame, failed attempt to even it up. Sad thing is games like that are not rarity, they are common place in the NHL and is the main reason bowling gets higher TV rating in the states than hockey does.

So after such a horrible display of officiating what the media say? Well pretty much nothing. Yes there was some very soft mentions on the double misconduct and oh the poor refs were young and worse of all well the Oilers are a team of rookies so they don't get any breaks. Total gutless bullshit dribble from a sissy media kissing NHL ass. It insults any hockey fan when they know what has happened and the media just repeats ordered NHL bullshit! Again this just hurts the image of the NHL. The officials need to be criticised o they can improve, as they improve the game improves and as the game improves the NHL grows. Without good, fair assessment of the officials performance all aspects of the game suffers. The NFL, MLB, NCAA etc constantly rate their officials. Too many bad calls they get suspended, banned from playoffs etc and that is a major reason why those sports are so popular as by doing that it makes the games that much better. But not in the NHL, the league and media coddle the officials like a sacred cow, no criticism or discipline of their mistakes allowed which is so very wrong on so many levels and in turn destroys the great game of hockey. 

If the NHL is serious about improving the game well start by improving the basics of the game and that is the officiating. No more of this crap of the sacred cow refs, no more "well the calls even out" no more "well he is a rookie, he doesn't get the same breaks as a veteran" no more "you have to play threw it" no more banning honest criticism of refs by media, teams, no more the refs deciding the game, let it be the players, NOT the refs.

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

Coming soon - How the NHL is Destroying the Game of Hockey Part 3 - the rules?

How the NHL is Destroying the Game of Hockey (part 1)

Well we are at the glorious part of the NHL season where we get to enjoy the wonderful All-Star weekend. Sure some fan like it but when you look at it, it just gets goofier every year and insults a serious hockey fan more and more every year.
This years All-Star Game has reached new lows, first a garbage draft by the players that even the NHL whipped media had a very hard time promoting. Next up the "Guardian" project, a collection absolutely stupid cartoon characters that represent each NHL team. This is just beyond sad for any professional league to sink this low in a pathetic attempt to promote itself. Again Bettman and the NHL fail to understand that improving the game on the ice is the best way to to increase the games profile, NOT cheap ass gimmicks.
As if this humiliation wasn't bad enough if you look back since Bettman took over the NHL one can see the slow destruction of the game's integrity and any respect of its roots.
The systematic destruction of the game of hockey and it's Canadian roots can easily be chronicled here and I hope to show you how and why.

First off the focus of the NHL has been US expansion in hopes of landing the big US TV contract that still eludes the NHL. The majority of the new teams play to empty buildings, have a zero fan base and even less in local TV coverage but Bettman and the NHL are still hellbend on keeping teams in these non-hockey markets like Nashville, Florida (2) Atlanta, and of course the well documented Phoenix disaster. The NHL and Bettman have a strong dislike of the canadian market and is easily seen by the refusal to move these failed franchises to a viable Canadian market. This weekend Bettman again showed his hatred for Canada by refusing to go on live with Hockey Night in Canada during the All Start Game broadcast. To read more on this read this great post; on the Bleacher Report Blog - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/590060-its-time-for-canada-to-say-goodbye-to-the-nhl

Media Control - The NHL keeps very tight dictatorship style controls on how the media, players, teams can comment on anything that is not positive for the NHL. While this is a bit understandable the NHL fails again by not allowing debate on the game in the media as other leagues have such as the NFL, MLB and NBA has. Open debate on officiating, rule changes etc has made all those leagues better. Rumors abound that if any media types "dis" the NHL their press passes will be revoked and players, coaches teams get heavy fines for saying anything that does not fit in with Bettman's and the NHL propaganda guidelines. This media control does more harm then good for the game of hockey.

Biased Officiating - This is perhaps the 2nd biggest issue facing the NHL and is tied in closely with the #1 issue facing the NHL. To be honest and to be blunt the officiating in the NHL is a joke on many levels and has the appearance of being corrupted to such a point it is manipulated as to effect the outcome games and playoff series. Again with the media controls put out there by the NHL it cannot be criticized publicly without fear of losing your press pass or big fines. But yet the NHL fails again to learn from other leagues where honest criticism is welcomed and acted upon.
The media is just as much to blame with it's most insulting excuses for bad officiating, "well it evens up", "he is a veteran so he will get that break". All of which is just BULLSHIT! A call is a call, it should not matter id it was by a veteran or a rookie, in the first minute or last minute and make up calls are total garbage, it doesn't even and if anyone thinks it does they are total idiots. When team gets a few penalties early in the game in a row and finds itself down a couple of goals because of those bad calls the make up calls in the final couple minutes mean shit but look good on the stat sheet at the end of the night. There also never appears repercussions for bad officiating. the the NFL, NCAA, MLB bad refs gets fined, suspended, banned from playoff games but not in the NHL.

Fixing of Games - Yes the NHL fixes games so they get the results they want, it is hard to say but when you look at the history of certain playoff series and games it leaves no doubt. The obvious distain the NHL and Bettman have for Canada and Canadian teams and with the 100's of millions of dollars the NHL has has invested in non-hockey markets the NHL will do anything to help those markets, even if it means fixing games with biased officiating, scheduling irregularities and anything else they can do. The worst thing that could happen to the NHL and what they fear most is to have two Canadian teams in the cup final. The ratings in the almighty US market would plummet and the NHL will do anything to prevent it.
This is evident with the last three times a Canadian team made it to the Stanley Cup final. In 1994 it was Vancouver against the NY Rangers. The NHL was desperate for the Rangers to win that cup, what great  news it would be for a huge US market and raise the NHL profile in the US. Well the CanucksCanucks found themselves penalized early many times in a row early in the game on very questionable calls and soon a 2 goal deficit they couldn't overcome even with a few make up calls late in the game that made the game stat sheet look good but sealed the win for the NHL and the Rangers. This was again repeated in 2004 when the Calgary Flames forced a game 7 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Again that series was plagued by bad calls, questionable allowed-disallowed goals that mostly went in favour of Tampa. this thought was echoed by coach Sutter of the Flames who did get a huge fine by the NHL for saying so. Again the NHL was desperate the "Bolts" win the cup in order to increase the NHL profile in a loser hockey market where they had to give tickets away to cup final games. Again the final game was decided by one sided, strategic timed penalties in favour of Tampa. The last time a Canadian team made it to the Cup final was in 2006 when Edmonton Oilers went against Carolina. The Oilers climbed a huge mountain to get there throughout the playoffs with many games in previous series tainted with corrupted officiating. For example in one game against Anaheim the Oilers set a record for most 2 man down penalties in a period, the media didn't report it that way, they reported on the record 5 goals in one period by the Ducks not the garbage calls that lead to so many 5 on 3 for the Ducks. Then in the finals, game one a direct run at the the Oilers goalie that put him out for the series, no call. Through out the series there were many questionable calls and when Oiler's coach MacT questioned this he too was fined like Sutter was two years before. Through careful manipulation of how the refs call the game the NHL was able to have these series go to 7 games and assure the end result was a win for a US based team all with the goal of increasing the NHL profile in the US and in non-hockey markets.
No one to admit it but it does, there is too much at stake for the NHL, too much money and they are willing to do what ever it takes. Bettman himself has said in the past his ideal NHL would only have 2 canadian teams and he seems hellbent on achieving that goal.

As a season ticket holder for the Oilers I know myself as do many other Canadian team season ticket holders it is getting harder every year to renew. It is NOT because of how our team is doing but because of how the NHL is destroying the game.

Stay tuned for part 2 on this where I will break down the issues with the NHL rule changes and inconsistent officiating that is leading to the destruction of hockey in the NHL

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

December Oiler Review or Too Much Skill is a Bad Thing or Trade Hemsky?

Well December is has come and gone along with Christmas and New Years Eve. Apparently, that is not all that has left town, as the Oilers have appeared to let go of how to shoot a puck at the net.
A very basic principle of the game of hockey but no the young Oilers would rather flatter Mr. Hemsky by imitating him and the "why take a shot at the net when I can try a near impossible pass and just maybe get on the TSN highlite of the night!"
Too many Oiler fans Hemsky is our best player and perhaps he has been but I think it is time to trade him. A lot of the strong supporters of Hemsky are misplacing their desire to return to the days of Anderson, da Moose, Kuri and even Simpson but lets face the fact Hemsky is no where at that level. In fact, at this time I feel he is deterrent to this team of young stars getting better. They are young, they don't want to come across as selfish so being impressionable as they are they try to fit in with the team and thus follow Hemsky's lead of pass first and who gives a shit about shooting.
What this team needs is for hall to grow his damn the torpedoes and get a bit more selfish, take the shot as does Ebs and MPS. There is rarely a time when the saying "nice guys finish last" has not been more true. We need some greedy assholes to take this team by the balls, get aggressive and yes selfish, and take some shots! The biggest issue with this team is the flirting of breaking an NHL record for fewest shots by a team that is just unacceptable!
GRADES:

ROOKIES "C" - they have gotten into the learning rut and have plateaued but should just be temporary. Omark gave us a sign of WOW with a brief appearance and SO goal that pissed of the NHL, that was good, his play not so much-back to the minors for learning.

OFFENSE "C-" - shoot the puck!!! Need I say more?

DEFENSE "C-" - as with the offense - shot the puck! and get it out of our zone! The defense is struggling on many levels and injuries haven't helped. Peckham and Smid are bright spots.

GOALTENDING "B" Khabbi has proved himself facing way too many shots and saving the Oilers ass on more than one occasion even with the odd win. Dubnyk has shown he is solid and deserves more playing time, great future,

COACHES "C-" again, get the team to shot the puck, get ugly and teach the defense how to get the puck out in 1 or 2 passes, not the 4-5 we now see. And play Dubnyk more!

OILERS AS WHOLE  "C" A lot more pain and growth ahead.

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

A Copper Moon in a dark Navy sky and a Oilers Christmas wish..

Last night in Edmonton we had a once in a multi generation experience, a Lunar Eclipse on the winter solstice! It has been some 373 years since the last and will be 400 years to the next.
When I looked up into that dark midnight sky with a tint of dark navy canvas the full moon slowly became a surreal sight while it disappeared behind the planet. It was covered in a orange-copper glow against the navy canvas of a cold December 20 night on the first day on winter 2010.

Could this be a sign? A first for ever event in the history of NHL were a #1 draft pick leads his team into the playoffs and makes it to the cup final?
Or is it just a dream of a loyal Oiler fan?
I don't know maybe it's a bit of both or the musing from someone who was up to late and had a wee bit too much too much to drink but either way it makes for an exciting bunch of hockey after the Christmas break.

Perhaps the root cause of this pondering is all the recent talk from coach Renney and fellow Oilers fans on the prospect of the recent decent Oilers play leading to a play off birth. What would be best? Finish low and get another top draft pick or  squeak  into the playoffs only to be tossed in the first round?
In order for the Oilers to make it into the playoffs they will need a bit of luck and continued hard work with the help of a trade or. The goals for would need to be at an average of 3.72 per game and power play at 20% plus.
My Christmas wish for the team is to continue to grow, learn and win. If they win enough make into the playoffs, then go far or don't make it all and if the later then just miss the playoffs, get in the draft lottery and continue the rebuild.
I just hope the Oilers continue to entertain and show the promise of the future this team has.

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!!

Oilers November Review

Yes it is a few days late but here is my Oilers review of November.
It started of good with two home games we should have won against Vancouver and then Detroit but as usual we came out slow, fell behind and just couldn't catch up. Also we were haunted by an ex-oiler situation what with Torres getting a hat trick with 2/3 three goals of the fluky kind. Our defensive play was and still is lacking-to be kind.

Then came our annual November rodeo road trip. It started with a another surprising road win in Chicago but went to crap in a big hurry after that. We got our asses handed to us by Carolina, Detroit. Put in an effort in Jersey only to get completely humiliated by the Rangers and a bonus experience from NHL's lead moron Avery.


 We then came home where the Hawks got some revenge on us from the previous losses. We showed some signs of being a team with decent games against the 'yotes, a win in Duck country only to get schooled in Phoenix and a horrible display by the Oilers as a whole.

This appears to have been a turning point. Coach Renney told it like it was and called out the team which they deserved. What I liked best was how he said there was no respect for the jersey, the history the team they were playing for. Spot on Tom!

We appeared to be a different team after that, a good win against Colorado, solid effort in a loss against the Sharks. The month ended on the road with a win in Ottawa which carried over to two more wins in Montreal and Toronto, the start of our first four game win streak in a very long time.

My grades of the team;

Overall - C+  A tough month but as this year is all about growth, rebuild we seemed to have learned from our losses, mistakes and are playing like we belong. I truly believe we will look back at this month as a key month in the growth of the new Oilers.

Defence - D  Still looking bad and lost at times, hard times getting the puck out of our end. But some good hope there, Peckham is developing nicely, Gilbert is getting his game back and Whitney has become our leading point getter, no goals but lots of assists.

Offense - B   Better and better. My most pleasant surprise is Jones. Love this kid. Playing hard, getting big goals and causing trouble for other teams. Hall has got his confidence and wholly crap this kid is amazing. Eberle and MPS have cooled off but playing a key role in the exciting hockey the Oil are playing now, the future is looking great!

Goal - B-  Solid work by Khabbi who unfortunately got hurt. Management finally made a decision on the goalies, Dubnyk is our back up and I feel is the right choice. Gerber came up in relief of the injured Khabbi and did himself proud.

Coaching & Management - B  Had concerns about Renney but seems to have the team going in the right direction, playing well and learning from mistakes and growing as a team. Management finally made a decision on our goalie treble, finally down to 2 and the right two.

Oiler Fans - D  Have been very disappointed with this new group of bandwagon jumping, know it all so called Oiler fans. Some of the comments I have read in various media have been just disgusting, ripping apart everything Oiler. What the hell did these clowns expect? The Oilers to be a contender this year? If that is the case your as dumb as a puck! fuck off and go be a Canuck fan as we don't need your type! This and next year is all about re-building, it is going to be frustrating, hard to watch at times but will also have signs of hope for the future. If building a a contender was as easy as some of your clowns suggest why aren't you running a team in the NHL? Tape up your broken bandwagon  broken ankles
and put on the fish jersey from the west coast!

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

Oilers October Review

Well the first month of the new Edmonton Oilers is complete and it has been quite a first month of the new look Oilers. Was it good, bad, ugly? well in my view is has been two out of the three.
The 2010-11 NHL season got off with a bang for the Oilers with an incredible 4-0 opening night win over provincial rivals Calgary Flames. They then followed that up with a 3-2 win over Florida.
The fans were happy, some way too happy and thus started the unrealistic expectations of a playoff season. So wrong that was on many levels. They forgot the meaning of season of rebuild that the Oilers are presently in and started to sound like Canuck fans, completely out of touch. On que the Oilers appeared to sense this raising voice of unrealistic expectations and promptly went on a 6 game losing streak which was far more of a realistic result for the young team.
The low point of this skid was the home game against the Sharks, to say it bluntly we got our asses handed to us, got pushed around like boys playing against men with very little push back by the Oilers. That game was probably the best thing to happen to this team, a good ass kicking appeared to have woke them up as it was a different team the next two games. In the next game against the Flames the Oil were down 4-1 late in the second, then a big goal by Eberle late in the 2nd. The oilers came out with determination in the third, tied the but failed to close the deal in OT or the SO but gained a lot of confidence in the process. Two nights later in Columbus a much better effort throughout the game but with the same result, a SO loss. The highlite of the game was Hall finally getting his first goal, a great hard working, go to the net defection goal. Not highlite reel goal material but the monkey was lifted from his back.
But in saying that there was much for the Oiler faithful to be happy about in those 6 loses, the last two losses being in shot outs. There was many signs of great things to come from the new kids, such promise, such hope for the future. This year is a learning process for the young Oilers and as with life the Oilers learnt more from those losses than they did from those first two wins.
Then came the last game of October against the Stanley Cup champs, the Chicago Blackhawks on the second night of back to back road games. What a start for the Oilers, they came out with speed and confidence which lead to Hall getting his second goal to start the scoring. At the end of the game the came away with a 7-4 win with all 4 lines contributing, key players getting thier first goal of the year and others having multiple point night. What a great way to end the month, 3 games in a week where they showed heart, determination and played hard.
The month of October and the first 9 games also showed a few problems with the Oilers that will have to be addressed soon. Mainly the issue seems to be on defence where many times they appeared very disorganized, out of position and just a lot of bad give aways. I see this improving as they get used to the new system of Coach Renney and to each other.
Below is my review of some different parts of the Oiler machine;

Oiler Management

• PLUS - no humiliating bad PR episodes like we had with Souray in September. re: training camp and whom they send down to the AHL to play on the Caps farm team in Hersey, PA. Another PLUS for management was at the time of this post they put JDD on waivers, which he promptly cleared and s was assigned to OKC. Finally the Oilers have only 2 goalies which opens a spot on the rooster for an defenseman or forward. I also agree that they kept the guy as back up, Dubnyk shows great promise as the Oiler goalie of the future.

Coaching Staff

• EVEN - Showing great patience with the kids and giving them the opportunity to learn in the real world of the NHL. The special team coaching needs a lot of work and has been the biggest issue facing this team so far. Perhaps it is the new systems, the lack of skill on defence or both but it clearly reflects on the coaching staff.

Oiler Veterans

• EVEN - Some veterans have been good, some have not. Hemsky, Horcoff, Smid, Whitney and now old timer  Gagne have been solid. Horcoff has shown good leadership as the new Oiler captain but I would to see him be a bit more aggressive in leading this team on and off the ice. Smid and Whitney have been good on defence, playing a bit mean and hard but still suffering from some bad give aways and poor positional play, primarily on the PK. Hemsky has been quietly scoring and Gagne as well setting up some great scoring chances. Cogs, Burle deserve an honourable mention, they have been playing hard, coming close on many occasions while playing with Hall and MPS. On the minus side is Penner, Gilbert and Stortini as well as a couple of the new guys in town (Jones, Foster, Fraser, Vandemeer) I give a pass to the new guys, new city, new system and seem to be coming around but Penner on most nights seems to be skating in sand, slow, not aggressive and now where near to how he was playing last year. Gilbert has been guilty of many bad give aways and bad positional play which have led to goals. Zack has also not been playing with his solid style that we saw the past couple of years but does appear to be coming around.

Oiler Rookies - "The Kids"

• PLUS PLUS - Well what can you say about the kids but holy crap are they good! First you have Eberle with that amazing first goal in the first game and then ending up as the NHL rookie point leader for October. He plays hard every night, gets a chance our two every game, plays smart without the puck as well. MPS has been solid as well with 2goals and 4 assists. On defence we have Peckham who has been playing very hard, shows no fear and will be a feared defenceman as he learns the game. Them we have our #1 pick, Taylor Hall. Much has been writing and said about him, much of it to me was completely unrealistic expectations and completely out of touch comments like sending him back to Windsor, insane, crazy thoughts. He finally shut up his critics by scoring in Columbus and then again in Chicago. But more important to me is and was his play before he scored. In the 4-2 loss at home to the Wild he blew many people away. He had many great rushes, going around Wild veterans like they were standing still. Hall has been aggressive on the puck, creating many chances for his linemates and has played well without the puck. There has been much made by some media types of Horcoff so called calling out Hall for taking long shifts. Just garbage to me and if that is all you got then shut up as it is nothing. What I see there is exactly what this team desperately needed, a player that wants to win every night, every shift and is willing to do what it takes. You can see as he gets older and better he will become one of those rare players that will grab the team by the short hairs and lead them by just going out and getting the job done, he will be the face and leader of the Oilers soon and keeping him up with the team is the only logical thing to do. The only thing left I can say about the Oilers rookies is, watch out NHL! we are going to blow you away before you know it!

Oiler Goaltending

• PLUS - 8 of the first 9 games have been played by a healthy and determined Khabibulan and he was key to our first two wins and despite the 6 losses was solid in net. In those losses he didn't get much help from the defence or rest of the team. he faced way too many shots every night and didn't get much assistance in tight from the defence. I get a sense he wants to show the Oiler faithful he is better than what happened in Phoenix and so far he has. He has been playing so well I would like to buy him a beer! Dubnyk has played one game and that was in Columbus. In that game he showed why he was picked by Oiler management as the main back up and it is the right choice. He has potential and I am confident he will soon be our #1 goalie.

Team Oilers

• PLUS - I give the team a whole a plus ranking. We once again see the effort that is the trade mark of Oiler hockey and we now see the promise of the future with the "kids" and the new attitude. As I said before it will be more down than up this year but it will be one of the most exciting and entertaining years of Oiler hockey in a long time as we have the hope and promise of a very exciting future.

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

Hockey Night In Oman

As some of you may know I work over in Oman on a rotation basis which makes keeping up with Oiler news a bit tough. Oman is a wonderful place, the people, the scenery and the nice, very hot sun but as you would expect hockey is not very big there. Thankfully we have satellite TV in our camp and to my surprise they broadcast hockey, well sometimes they do. I describe Oman to my friends as the Canada of the gulf as the people are Canada nice  and once I saw hockey on TV the name stuck. Mostly they are US based teams as the networks are fox sports(versus) and ESPN America but it is hockey! The times are tough though, live games are on around 1 or 2 in the morning but sometimes they repeat the game in the evening so I do get my Hockey Night in Oman.
I may watch the games alone in my room and at weird hours but I do get the opportunity to discuss game results with my new hockey pals who I get to see a few times a week when I am out in the field. Meet my new hockey pal : Maggie! Yes Maggie, don't ask me why Maggie but first time I saw her she just looked like a Maggie and the rest as they say is history. Now don't tell Mrs Oil, wouldn't her to get the wrong idea and same goes for you guys! She visits me regularly, is friendly and yes agrees that Hall needs to stay in the bigs and the oilers are a team to watch, she just gets it, that's more than I can say about some so called hockey experts, media and bloggers alike that think otherwise.


We nearly had a falling out though, one day when she paid me a visit she decided she wanted to show her Oiler fan dedication by trying to eat the Oiler puck I proudly fly on the antenna of my work truck.   We had a long discussion that eating Oiler gear is not the way to show your loyalty to the team, one wears it proudly - not eat it. We shared some water and fruit then I believe we came to an understanding. We will see when I get back there. I am trying to think of what I could take down for her to wear, to show her Oiler pride as she tracks threw the Oman desert but haven't decided on anything yet, any ideas?

So as the sun sets in Oman 

and I turn on the TV with the hope of watching a hockey game and greater hopes that maybe one day I will see an Oiler game in Oman I want to thank all the fellow Oiler fans who keep their blogs (listed to the right on my page) up to date with all the latest Oiler news, rumours, game notes. It is almost as good as being home - almost! Without the beer, snacks and snow & cold.

Stay tuned for my October Oiler review which I will have posted early November. I have had the opportunity to observe the start of the season from a distance and by being at home for the the last few games of October, saw two at home (Wild & Sharks) and the remaining on TV. So far I have to say Hall just blew me away in that Wild game, wow! things to look forward to or what. For a full recap of my views of month 1 (October Review) of the new Oiler era please remember to come back early November.

"NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!"        

                                                                                                                                                              

Bliss or Bust? Oiler’s 2010/11 Pundication

Well it's that time of year again, its hockey time and excitement is high in Edmonton for the "new" Edmonton Oilers! A very exciting Young Stars tourney is complete, season tickets have been sent out, and training camp has started with many new faces and missing a few others.

I am posting this early as with most of us work gets in the way and I will be out of town for the start of the season and not return until game 3 at home. Mrs. Oil will be enjoying our seats at Rexall for opening night when we start the season tied for first overall. I will have to keep up to date on the Oilers by the internet and following the great blogs listed on my site.

There have been many changes since the end of last year; Souray is paying the price for his selfish play and arrogant whiny rant, looks good on him. Khabibulin is here, sober and apparently with a healthy back and the attitude to get back on track. Some of the problem players are gone and of course what I feel is the most exciting group of rookies, prospects in the NHL. Despite the huge disappointments of the past few years one has to hand it to the Oiler scouting staff as they have assembled an amazing group of kids, the future is bright what with our first ever #1 Taylor Hall, dynamic Jordan Eberle, extremely talented Magnus Paajarvi , Linus Omark and pleasant surprise in Tyler Pitlick. Some the second and third year guys still trying to break into the Oiler fulltime lineup are going some great pressure from these "kids" The same is true with the goalie position. Khabibulin will in all likelihood be the #1 goalie but as for backup it looks like it may well be Gerber but do not count out Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk with a very impressive Olivier Roy who sent a message at the young stars tourney. Personally I feel Dubnyk is our goalie of the future. He reminds me of the good aspects of the much overrated Loungo of the much hated, over hyped and arrogant team in the NHL, the Canucks.

There have also been some very good pick-ups by Tambellini and company at the trade deadline and during the summer. Ryan Whitney fits into the oiler culture very well and I expect good things from him as well with Kurtis Foster and James Vandermeer who we got in the summer. Then we have the fan favs, Gagne, Cogs, Penner, Hemsky, Gilbert and a personal favorite and under rated Smid.

So what will the 2010/11 Oiler season be? It will be mostly bliss! I fully expect to have one of the most enjoyable, fun seasons in a long time here in Oil Country! The reasons are as follows;

1. The NEW attitude of the team. No more chasing dreams and the "one" magical free agent. I really like this "build the team from within" attitude and if you don't want to play here get lost re: Souray.
   
2. The promise of a new team attitude which I feel is just as important to be a winning club as is talent. If the guys on the ice do not play for each other and put the team first you will go nowhere.
   
3. I also feel with a new positive team first attitude we should much less injuries than the incredible amount we had the past few years. I honestly believe that a major cause of those injuries the crap attitude the team had the past few years and NOT the past training staff. When you are frustrated, not playing for the team being selfish your head is not in the game and you open yourself up to injuries.
   
4. No false and over the top expectations that was very prevalent here after the magical '06 Stanley Cup run by not only the fans and media but also by the Oiler organization itself. Most in Oiler country doesn't have any expectations of us even making the playoffs, which is great!
   
5. The opportunities to watch our young base of Oilers grow and develop and our veterans knowing that there is a group of very talented young very eager to bump our out of the lineup. Internal competition is a great motivator for all concerned! I remember back in the glory years, players from all over wanted to be part of the Oilers, many tried and few were successful of that goal. That is what we are getting back to.
   

So that's it's in my view, it will be a great, fun year to be an Oiler fan! I think we will surprise a lot of people by being better than most think regardless of where we finish but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we do squeak into the playoffs, I doubt it but will not be surprised.

My advice to Oiler fans all other is to sit back and enjoy, don't get too high after a few wins and don't get too low when we are losing. How much you enjoy or get frustrated during this year is entirely up to you and your attitude. If you focus on a false dream that we are a contender you will be disappointed, in a few years maybe but not just yet. Enjoy the development of our new stars, support them when they are down and not only when up. Don't over analyze things, if it was that easy to put together a winning team we would all be doing it for a living. Sit back, relax enjoy the re-birth of the Oilers- the good, bad and ugly of this new Oiler era and enjoy the best game in the land – NHL Hockey; in the best hockey town in the world-Edmonton!

Now, drop the puck already!