I'm a blogger.
Why am I a blogger and not a "journalist"? Because bloggers can say whatever the hell they want to.
However...
I didn't realize anyone actually read my blogs or took them seriously until I created a Twitter account. You'll notice on my blogs, I pretty much have the same group of 15-20 people who leave comments. Outside of that group, pre-Twitter, I had no real idea who reads the blogs or what they think of them. Twitter has helped wake me up to just how many Oilers fans there are out there, and what they think of the team, the players, and my blogs. Twitter is an instant conversation, with real-time feedback. Sometimes that's great; sometimes it's not.
After the Oilers victory over the Canucks on Sunday, I posted a comment saying the defense played well...well, everyone but Ryan Whitney and Corey Potter. I said they sucked. Unfortunately, it appears Corey Potter read that comment, and wrote back something to the effect of, "thanks for pointing that out; it is helpful." I don't have his exact message in front of me, so consider this a close-enough interpretation of what he said.
Regardless if Whitney/Potter were great, so-so, or horrifying, I felt bad for making the comment. The Oilers are my boys; all of them. From Hall and Eberle to Potter and Hordichuk. Potter is as much a part of the team as everyone else, so therefore, I'm cheering for him.
The reality is, Potter is the sort of story we like in Edmonton: He is, as they'd say, a late bloomer. Potter spent some time kicking around the Rangers organization, mostly because then-Rangers Coach Tom Renney believed in him more than anyone else. When Renney became Head Coach in Edmonton, Potter followed. For much of last season, I was a fan of his work. If you check some of my recent blogs, I refer to Potter as being the UFA signing that actually worked out for Steve Tambellini last season. He's a feel-good hockey story that hopefully will turn out for us like Jason Smith and Steve Staios did.
Here's another reason to cheer for Potter...
The Oilers are stacked with brilliant young talent...at some point, we'll need to pay the "going rate" for star players. Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle become 6 million dollar men next season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and I'll say Justin Schultz too will become 6 million dollar men the year after. That's $24mil in four players. If Ales Hemsky can keep playing like he did against the Canucks, he'll stay and be paid $5mil per or higher. Make it $30mil in five players. If Ladislav Smid and Jeff Petry go to $4mil per, and if Nick Schultz is around (if you watched the Canucks game, you likely agree with me that Oilers management would be crazy train to let Nick Schultz go)...We're up to $42mil in contracts two years from now, when the cap ceiling should be back up to around $70mil. That's 8 players receiving 60% of the payroll. We haven't added Sam Gagner, Deven Dubnyk or Nail Yakupov to this mix either.
There will come a point that something has to give on the Oilers roster to make the economics work. Most likely, Shawn Horcoff will be bought out (maybe just the last season of his contract if he plays well this season), and Ryan Whitney will not be re-signed. I'll go a step further with Whitney: Regardless how he plays this season and regardless where the Oilers are with relation to a playoff spot, I believe Whitney will be traded at the deadline this season so the Oilers get something out of the asset before his contract expires. The Oilers gave up a 3rd round pick to acquire Mark Fistric. They could get one back for Whitney at the deadline.
I'll get back to Potter now.
I have room for Corey Potter on my roster. Why? Because he's a decent 5/6 guy at a value price. The Oilers need to find five or six decent quality value-priced players if this is going to work. I can see Potter sticking around, as I can see Fistric. So make the Oilers seven defensemen going into next season Schultz, Schultz, Smid, Petry, Potter, Fistric and Klefbom. A group that should amount to being around a $16mil cap hit in 2013/2014. Reasonable, considering the quality of the group. This cap hit number likely jumps to $21mil in 2014/2015, with re-signs need for both Schultzs and Petry.
As for me saying Potter sucked...I said Jeff Petry was a horrible defenseman for half of the season, and look how that turned out. Petry and Smid look like they could play Top 4 minutes on any NHL team. I have complete faith in them both.
Last season, I said at various points that Whitney sucked, Nuge sucked, Hall played sucky, Horcoff and Belanger REALLY sucked. I think Jordan Eberle is the only player on the roster I've never complained about. Just because I said someone sucked doesn't mean I meant it for more than 45 minutes. At the end of the day I love all my Oilers players; even that goofy Horcoff kid. I don't want to see anyone dealt or bought out, I want to see everyone playing well. I also want a Stanley Cup, a pony, and two minutes in the closet with Mila Kunis. Just because I want something doesn't mean it's going to happen. Some people will be here when this team is a cup contender, and some won't. If you're looking for something or someone to blame for this, blame the salary cap.
There are a number of players on the bubble this season in Edmonton, and Potter is one of them. Team management and Head Coach Ralph Krueger all believe Potter can be a full-time permanent NHL defenseman. I hope so. But in saying I hope so, I also mean the following: This losing business from the last five seasons doesn't cut it anymore. The Oilers have too much talent to be a bad team. Players who can't cut it need to be cut lose. This rule applies to everyone, from Justin Schultz and Nail Yakupov to Ben Eager and Corey Potter. The good news is, I sense everyone on the Oilers roster believes this team is good enough to win now, so they have no interest in excuses either.
How can I end this blog?
Good luck, Corey Potter. We'll be cheering for you. We're always cheering for you, even when it doesn't seem like it. If management think you can do it; if the coaches think you can do it; and most importantly, if you think you can do it, then do it. Be an NHL defenseman.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»