In Wednesday night hockey action, Sam Gagner beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0. Unfortunately, the rest of the Oilers lost to the Detroit Red Wings by 0-4.

Here's a bunch of random comments on the frustration that is the Edmonton Oilers.

- Eberle is in the Top 10 in league scoring, and Sam Gagner is ripping up the NHL right now. Yet, five Oiler forwards had more ice-time during the game against the Wings. Hello, coaching?

- I've been saying this all season and I'll say it again right now: The kids aren't the problem in Edmonton. The vets are awful. This team would do itself a huge favor next season if they dealt, demoted, and rid themselves of anyone currently on the roster over the age of 26.

- Magnus Paajarvi had a point. Not saying he was great. I'm just happy he got an assist. He had two shots and didn't finish in the minuses. Not bad.

- Jeff Petry was, once again, the only Oilers defenseman on the positive side of respectable. Well, Smid was good too, but we've been saying that all season. Petry's whole wheaty goodness is a newer development. He still made a bonehead play in the second period to remind us he's a work in progress.

- Can Ales Hemsky possibly make himself more impossible to trade for anything of value? No, didn't think so. Yeah, just what the Oilers needed: More draft picks.

- Nikolai Khabibulin has pretty much lost all of the respect he gained from fans during the first 14 games of the season. Can we send him down and call up Yann Danis now? Seriously, if we can't deal Khabby and if he can't win an NHL game anymore, it's time to see if Danis can be a decent back-up for Dubnyk next season.

- Yet, I know I'm going to hear members of Edmonton's media jumping to Khabby's defense again. Why, oh why, do people keep trying to convince me this guy has game? It's not like the Oilers are a cup threat this year or next. Just get rid of him. Send him to the ECHL or something. Enough is enough.

- Maybe it's time to take Cam Barker or Corey Potter out of the line-up, and to play Andy Sutton? Just a suggestion.

- 17 shots against the Red Wings. I'd insult the Oilers about this, but the reality is, the Wings are on a completely different level as a hockey team. You know what would really put the Wings over the top? Ales Hemsky. Deal for him. Deal for him now.

- Hey, after we deal Hemsky, can we call up Linus Omark? Why not? He's back healthy now. Don't tell me he'll be worse than Hemsky. Give him the rest of the reason on the 2nd line, just to see what happens. What, it's not like it's gonna result in loses.

- Speaking of Hemsky, I'm hearing the Kings are the front-runners again. This being said, don't be holding your breath for Slava Voynov or someone actually good to come back to Edmonton in a deal. And the Kings don't have lots-o-draft picks to work with, so don't expect that either. Is asking for Kyle Clifford straight across aiming too high? Yeah, I think so. Oilers fans, say hello to Thomas Hickey. Maybe.

If we're lucky.

- Nice stack of comments with respect to my last blog. Thank you for that. Some of you thought I was contradicting myself a few times, so allow me to clear up some of the confusion.

When analyzing the Oilers future roster...the good one we're trying to create during this never-ending rebuild...break it into chunks.

Chunk #1: Top 6 forwards. We have 4/6: Hall, Nuge, Eberle and Gagner. Because Nuge and Gags are both centers, the Oilers need two wings. Magnus Paajarvi may or may not be player #5...still needs to prove he's "that guy" to us. Player #6 could come from the NHL draft this June. Maybe it's a Russian forward, or maybe it's Filip Forsberg. What I like about Forsberg is that he's a big winger. The Oilers need more beef in their Top 6, and Forsberg would bring it. Of course, if the Oil win the lotto and draft 1st, they'll take Yakupov, and even though he's not big, he's fiesty. We'd make it work, somehow.

Chunk #2: Bottom 6 forward. This is ground zero for the Oilers. Does anyone have any confidence in the Oilers stack of crusty veterans in the current Bottom 6? They stink. Future guys, I can see Anton Lander being there, and I can see Teemu Hartikainen being there. Other than that, it's a big mystery where the team is going with this.

Chunk #3: Top 4 defensemen. It's becoming obvious that the Oilers have 2/4 in Jeff Petry and Ladislav Smid. Petry is still a work in progress, but the boy is lights out right now. Everyone is all panicked about the Oilers needing to draft someone like Ryan Murray or Matt Dumba, but I'm not. Why? Because I believe out of Oscar Klefbom, David Musil, Martin Gernat, Martin Marincin and Brandon Davidson, the Oilers have at least two guys who will belong in an NHL Top 4 group. Klefbom is almost a "can't miss" for the Top 4. Judging by the seasons everyone is having, I'd say Martin Gernat is the other guy, but the Oilers have five solid prospects here. Plus they have Taylor Fedun, plus Dillon Simpson, plus Jeremie Blain who are all doing solid things this year. Well, Fedun looked incredible until he broke his leg, but that's a different sad story. All I am trying to say is this: The Oilers might have four great young forwards in Hall, Eberle, Nuge and Gagner...maybe a 5th if Paajarvi turns out...defensemen are iffy to draft, because they are harder to develop. So if the Oilers are at the draft and they can choose between an iffy defenseman or a likely Top 6 forward, take the forward. Even if the Oilers current D is bad. In a few years with the prospects we have now, the D will be a strength, not a weakness of this team.

Chunk #4: Goaltending. Dubey is who knowsville. Khabby is toast. Danis is filler. The future is likely with Tyler Bunz and Olivier Roy. Good news is, Bunz is great in the WHL this season, and Roy has been great in the ECHL. Neither is NHL-ready for a few seasons yet. Oilers, if they have the chance, should absolutely consider taking a goalie prospect in the second round of the NHL draft if they have the chance. Think Subban or the Russian guy if either of them is still available come pick 32-34.

- So what I am saying is, even though the D and the goaltending on the Oilers are major concerns now, the prospect depth is actually better at those positions than up front. All of the Oilers forward "prospects" are already with the team, or are having a rough year in the AHL. The Oilers have five solid D prospects, and two solid G prospects. Of course, it takes more time to develop those, and not everyone is going to turn into something great...but even if just 2 and 1 turn out, the Oilers are smiling, because that's their level of need.

Up front, on the other hand, things are grim in Edmonton outside of about six or seven guys. So worst case scenario, the Oilers take Forsberg and he ends up being a 3rd line guy instead of a Top 6 guy. Every little bit helps.

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