Oilers

There are two trades in particular made by Oilers GM Ken Holland that are worthy of further examination.

Has the Ken Holland management group found a way to success via the trade market? There was enormous pressure to get better in a hurry, and the new management team dealt a lot of future for immediate help. What about the trade market?

EDMONTON, AB - Training Camp Stage Two: Activate. Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, his coaching staff and management began their evaluations of the 52 players ...

They've put a lot of work in during practice and I think they're probably sick of practicing and are ready to get going, and that's a good thing too -- when you really have the desire to play in preseason. Some people want a little bit more, some might only need a few, so it's about talking through that and also balancing their wants with the need of the team as well. With five total pre-season games still left on the docket, the Oilers Coach pointed to the remaining exhibition schedule as the place where their biggest mark on coaching and management can be made. "There might be some people here or there that get announced over the next couple of days, but that's how we look at it," he said. "We had the first three days of practice, then the first three games, and then there was an off day. So every day counts and the competition is really heating up here."

First, that eight preseason games is a lot. Three games in, Oil fans have yet to enjoy a single sighting of forwards Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent ...

Lots of scenarios both up front and on the blue, and too early to do anything more than make educated guesses. The PuckPedia Model features a margin so thin that it would fit Murray at $750,000 but neither of the others. - Philip Broberg is in a similar situation as Holloway in that he must be on the season opening roster to vest his bonuses, even as it remains possible that he might be subsequently sent out. He seems a strong bet to land somewhere in the top seven; Demers is more a candidate for a two-way pact that would land him in Bakersfield as injury depth, if indeed he is offered a contract at all. Given a second chance by the Oilers to reestablish himself as an NHLer, the 26-year-old has played in all three preseason games to this point but has struggled to make his case. He’s looked OK in his two games filling in at centre between Janmark and Ryan, a limited player who understands his role. Among the more NHL-proven players, Ceci missed a few days at the beginning of camp and is now back practicing on the first pairing. On the back end, Vincent Desharnais was banged up in the Captain’s Skates and will be out a few weeks, tough luck for him. The seventh was winger Matvey Petrov, who was also the last of the four junior-age players to get a preseason game when he dressed in Calgary on Wednesday. Of them, Fanti and Tullio have NHL-class two-way contracts. That’s north of $54 million worth of hockey players, literally two-thirds of the salary cap ceiling, who have yet to play a lick of hockey in a game situation. Article content