Welcome to Friday’s Burning Questions, a weekly feature answering queries submitted by actual readers. The world is packed with stupid people. Walk out your front door, throw a stone in any direction and you’re bound to hit one. However, there are no stupid questions, so get them in by Twitter to @rygarner or e-mail at [email protected].
What happens with Petry with all these defensemen going down to injury around the league? Does he stay or does he go?
Aaron B.
The Jeff Petry situation is both fascinating and frustrating. It’s fascinating because he’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent next summer, but nobody has any idea if he’s willing to stay in Edmonton or how the team would fare without him. It’s frustrating because several signs (healthy scratch, contractual lowballing, one-year deal) indicate that nobody in the organization wants him to stick around. Petry has his flaws, but treating him like DeVito compared to Justin “Schwarzenegger” Schultz is truly bizarre.
Petry can reliably fill top-four minutes and provide a defensive conscience. The Oilers should be looking to lock him into a favorable long-term deal, securing an asset they’ve spent years grooming into an NHL defenceman. However, being the Oilers, they’ll probably keep him around until they’re out of playoff contention. After that, it’ll be extended tryout time for Oscar Klefbom and David Musil, and Edmonton will probably deal Petry at a point when his market value has almost completely dried up.
Hey there, my question is more a request to pick 4 provinces and assemble their all-time best rosters. They can be any province of your choosing. Thanks should be interesting.
Steve W.
This is an interesting task, and endlessly debatable. I’m just going with players who were born in the province. I’m sure Robyn Regehr is the pride of some one-stoplight town in Saskatchewan that smells like cowplop, but he wasn’t born in the province so he doesn’t factor into the team. Also, some guys from the 1930s will be left out. That’s life. I went with Alberta, for obvious reasons; Manitoba, out of curiosity; Ontario, because it’s prolific; and British Columbia, as Alberta’s main rival.
Alberta
Bucyk-Messier-Iginla
Hall-Ullman-McDonald
Whitney-Brent Sutter-Doan
Smyth-Lysiak-Linden
Niedermayer-Babych
Phaneuf-Gadsby
Mike Green-Sydor
Fuhr
Osgood
Manitoba
Sharp-Clarke-Bathgate
Hextall-Toews-Mosienko
Penner-Goring-Leach
Semenko-Ridley-Stoughton
Keith-Patrick
Pratt-Engblom
Ledyard-Leschyshyn
Sawhcuk
Belfour
Ontario
Bobby Hull-Gretzky-Brett Hull
Frank Mahovlich-Esposito-Gartner
Lindsay-Lindros-Larmer
Andreychuk-Hawerchuk-Ciccarelli
Orr-Pronger
Stevens-Robinson
Potvin-Park
Dryden
Durnan
British Columbia
Kariya-Sakic-Neely
Benn-Yzerman-Recchi
Lucic-Nugent-Hopkins-Anderson
Geoff Courtnall-Ferraro-Russ Courtnall
Weber-Bodger
Seabrook-Lidster
Hamhuis-Hannan
Price
Thompson
Blow it up or not? The Oilers clearly have to make bigger moves (players of significant value) in order to really change this team. I mean, how can one not say otherwise? Mac T himself has said doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is def. of insanity. Would you agree that changing bottom 3 D and Bottom 6 F is really enough to change things around at the end of the day? I don’t.
Carson D.
Patience, my son. Nobody will do any blowing up of anything, especially now that the team is showing signs of improvement. I agree that the Oilers are lacking a true bone-crushing, spine-tingling, minute-munching defenceman who can occupy the top pairing, but Chris Prongers or Shea Webers don’t grow on trees. Those players are in limited supply and difficult to acquire, so the Oilers will stick with the rebuilding plan. Patience is wearing thin and there are no guarantees, but dynamite isn’t the answer.
Where do the problems lie? The first and fourth lines are solid. The second and third lines are developing familiarity and confidence. The defence is a work in progress, and the goaltending (while far from stellar) could be better than it’s been in years. I know those one-sided losses are tough, and another five-game losing streak won’t shock anybody. However, the Oilers are a better team than last season, and you have to like the direction they’re headed. Just hang in and keep the faith.
Happy Halloween! I have an assignment for you if you’re up for it. Using this list of famous monsters, assign the Oilers player you think matches best. Good luck!
Wayne T.
Dave Semenko would probably fit about half of these, but here goes.
Dracula – Mark Messier
Sasquatch – Luke Gazdic
Frankenstein – Alexei Semenov
Cyclops – Shawn Horcoff
Werewolf – Cowboy Bill Flett
Godzilla – Dave Semenko
King Kong – Georges Laraque
Ghoul – Kevin Lowe
Leprechaun – Mark Arcobello
Ghost – Jason Bonsignore
Mummy – Zach Stortini
Centaur – Todd Marchant
Predator – Anson Carter
Zombie – Ryan Smyth
Loch Ness Monster – Craig Muni
Ogre – Kelly Buchberger
Mutant – Bryan Marchment
Grim Reaper – Dave Manson
Invisible Man – Jordan Eberle
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