The Edmonton Oilers Win/Loss record for the last three seasons: 84 wins, 132 loses, 30 OTL's. The league's worst team by far.

We've all endured.

Oilers fans have suffered. They've offered their support to this losing franchise both financially and emotionally. Night-after-night, no matter how bad things got, the Oilers have played before a packed house. Oilers fans are the most supportive, most positive hockey fans you'll find in the world.

The players themselves, especially the young, talented kids, have endured. Players who could be stars on any team like Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle haven't asked for the door or tried to escape. In fact, they'll tell you they want to be here. They want to make the Oilers great again. The Oilers organization in recent years have done a tremendous job of clearing out the bad attitudes in the dressing room. New Oilers Head Coach Ralph Kreuger might be the most positive coach in hockey. Everyone loves him.

During all of this, Oilers management have held their breath, knowing hockey fans, bloggers, the media...everyone...would be ripping on them for approaching a rebuild like they have. It would have been easier on management to deal away top prospects for immediate players. But they haven't. Why? Because they realize only the foolish give up star talent, especially when they're young. The Oilers organization from the owner on down understand becoming a contender again requires elite talent, and players like that are not found in trade. The best way to acquire elite talent is to draft them, and for that reason, finishing poorly is purposeful.

This is this season where everything changes. This is the watershed moment for the Oilers.

In saying this, I'm not guaranteeing 2012/2013 will be a winning season. The average age of the players in Edmonton's Top 6 is 22 years old, absolutely the youngest core in the league. With youth comes growing pains. Trials. Perhaps a long losing streaks and another Bottom 5 finish. But regardless what happens during this shortest of regular seasons, this is the moment where everything in Edmonton changes. Goodbye zeroes. Hello heroes.

Oilers management has put together a group of five core players - Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Justin Schultz and Nail Yakupov - That will be as good or better than any other core group in the league for the next 12-15 seasons. The core of this team, perhaps the hardest part when establishing a roster, is set. These kids still need time to develop, but there is no questioning just how good they will become.

The questions now to be answered, and for management to respond, is with respect to everything else on the roster. Some of the of the puzzle pieces are definitely there, but there no guarantees yet. This is the year we'll find out just how much work Kevin Lowe and Steve Tambellini have left to do.

Question #1: Is Devan Dubnyk good enough to be a starting goalie in the NHL? If he fails, Roberto Luongo, for now at least, is still an option. The only way to find how what we have in Dubnyk is to play him for 75% of the games. Sink or swim time. If Dubnyk is not the answer, management needs to have the intestinal fortitude needed to pull off something as big as a deal for Luongo.

Question #2: Can Ales Hemsky get back to what he was three seasons ago and stay healthy? A healthy Hemsky to the Oilers would be what Marian Hossa is to the Blackhawks. He might not be the main attraction or best player on the team anymore, but we need him.

Question #3: Who is Sam Gagner? Is he the 8pts in a game Gagner; the guy who isn't big but dropped the gloves half a dozen times last season because no one else would? Or is he the Gagner who can't skate too well, is frequently injured, and who experiences prolonged scoring droughts?

Question #4: Can Ryan Whitney be a Top 4 defenseman? He, like Gagner and Hemsky, has battled health issues as much as he's battled psychology. Unlike Hemsky and Gagner, Whitney will be a UFA at the end of this season, so the Oilers could easily walk away from him should his game not recover to what it was. Some of Whitney's fate might be out of his hands, as the Oilers could replace him with Corey Potter, Mark Fistric, or eventually, Oscar Klefbom.

Question #5: Are Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth the right pieces on the 3rd line? 3rd lines are there to shut-down the opposition; to kill penalties and deliver functional toughness. Keep in mind my only real issue with Horcoff is his contract. I think Oilers coaches have placed him in the wrong job for several seasons, as he's not a Top 6 forward. In truth, he could be one of the best #3 line centers in the league. He can play physically and be defensively responsible. He's great in the face-off circle. He can play the PK, and be a leader on the team. If he can accept playing 15min per game on the 3rd line, he's worth keeping if the team is winning and can afford him. As for Smyth, he's always been gritty and a gamer. He also was a player who was misused last season. The question with Smyth simply is, does he have enough gas in the tank?

Question #6: Is the rest of the Oilers defense good enough? I'm a believer in Ladislav Smid, Jeff Petry, Nick Schultz and Mark Fistric. But just because some of us believe in the group, it doesn't mean they will succeed. Just like the Dubnyk thing...the only way to find out is to play them.


This could be a glorious season for the Oilers, as the Canucks are set to take a step back (due to injuries, mostly). The Northwest Division is perhaps the weakest in the NHL, and that, combined with the decline of the Canucks, gives the Oilers a real shot at winning the division. For that to happen though, everything needs to go right. Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz need to become key parts of the roster immediately; key players need to stay healthy; the D has to be much better than in past; the coaching needs to be better; the Oilers need functional toughness out of guys like Ben Eager, Lennart Petrell and Teemu Hartikainen...Everything needs to go right.

Most likely, it won't. Let's not get ridiculous or greedy here.

Most likely, we're looking at a team that will miss the playoffs again. But that's okay, because the point this season isn't winning. This is the year Oilers management can finally answer all the questions. Going into 2013/2014, the Oilers will have the ability to add any missing roster pieces via the draft, trades, or free agency. The kids will be older; strong; better.

The Edmonton Oilers aren't just a hockey team; they're the future of the NHL. Not only Oilers fans will be watching. Everyone will be watching. Maybe this isn't the best team in the NHL yet, but it's absolutely the most interesting.

Get ready, kids. The show is about to begin.

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