Thought they already got rid of those...RIP.
- Fosco

I miss those things...

I miss those things...
- OilerFanFromBC

I do as well, and my wife even more, since she's had them as pets in the past.

Cute little bastards, but they reap havoc on the ecosystem when they get out of control. Hard to think of any other viable solution other than a cull. Seems cruel, but such is life.

I know they spayed/neutered a whole bunch and shipped them to Coombs, but some crazy lady there broke in and snapped all their necks...

Campus is a lot less cute without them the few times I've been back, but there are plenty of other bunnies to look at .

So we should trade our 5'11 2nd line center now that he's become close to a ppg player and draft another 5'11 center that we pray would be as good as him in 5 years? Drafting Lazar does nothing for this team long term or short term. Quit suggesting this Richard

So we should trade our 5'11 2nd line center now that he's become close to a ppg player and draft another 5'11 center that we pray would be as good as him in 5 years? Drafting Lazar does nothing for this team long term or short term. Quit suggesting this Richard
- Ihatebrianburke

no more lazar suggestions. he is ranked 20-25 is majority of hockey scouting reports. edm will be drafting around 10-15. not because positional draft is a main concern, but there are plenty of players better to draft than lazar.

no more lazar suggestions. he is ranked 20-25 is majority of hockey scouting reports. edm will be drafting around 10-15. not because positional draft is a main concern, but there are plenty of players better to draft than lazar.
- deks1

I'd like to see us draft an elite d prospect. Whoever we like or is left of Nurse, Zadorov, Ristolainen. We can't be betting the farm that Klefbom will be a 1st line stud. He's got to get use to the North American game and he's coming off major surgery. His future isn't as certain as Richard seems to believe

- Reveen

Holy cats! Disturbing....

Still laughing at the Weber Trade.

If the Oilers weren't having such a 'good' year, it might be better, but a pick outside of the top 5 is a deal breaker for Weber as the assumption is that next year's draft pick would be even worse. But here is the kicker, by the time he can be traded(he has to wait 1 year after signing), he will have been paid $27 million, or 1/4 of the overall contract in his 1st year. So, unless Edmonton wants to offer up the same offer Clouts mentioned and pay back $27 million to Nashville, there is no deal. And we all know exchanging money isn't allowed in the NHL.

So let's try this.. Edmonton sends this year's 1st and 2nd, next years 1st, and Taylor Hall to Nashville in exchange for Weber. However, to make up for the money already paid out to Weber, Edmonton agrees to pick up all but $6 dollars (Weber's number) of Hall's Salary/Cap. The new CBA does allow that to happen.

you guys need to stary winning

too bad Sens and Oilers couldn't swing a deal at the deadline... Bishop for Gagner would have made a lot of sense.

Hey, I've been reading but haven't been posting cause it feels like I've said everything I have to say a million times. Noticed Clouts taking poop in his comments section again and figured I'd go on the record saying that when he wants to talk hockey, IMO he is usually better than the talking heads who make six figures and get access to info directly from the team/players. Weird that people here have made him one of the most successful and widely-read Oilers writers yet give him zero respect. ??? I am confused.

...that doesn't mean I always agree with every point he makes, but I can disagree with someone without needing to call him an idiot, and if I think he's an idiot, chances are I won't waste my time disagreeing with him, because telling someone they're an idiot doesn't help them not be an idiot, it just makes them dislike you. And it's kind of hard to fault them for that. If I had a case of incurable idiocy, I'd hate to have my nose rubbed in it.
- thefullnelson

He's annoying to us Oilers fans...

too bad Sens and Oilers couldn't swing a deal at the deadline... Bishop for Gagner would have made a lot of sense.
- themaynia

Whitney and a 2nd for Bishop.

Not Gagner.

how many points does gagner have in his last 10? 2?
- TheNugeIsHuge

I'm not hating on Hall, trust me. Frankly he's been out best (frank)ing player all year. In stats. Gagner has been a lot more defensive this year, and he has got the points. He's also on the PK- which Hall isn't- the Powerplay, Hall is too.

But I say, it's actually been a fine season, we had a lot of people step up, Gagner, MPS, Petrell, Hemsky.

Along with our best players, Hall, Ebs, Nuge hasn't done perfect this year, but he's gotten the assists that we need, Yak and Schultz.

I think we all know after RNH, that the Calder isn't coming here if we had the only rookie in the league but it is nice seeing the guys play. Justin has been doing good all season but Nail looks to finish with a bang which will be fun to watch.

I don't think Duby will go anywhere despite his inconsistency. I would like to think they would get a back up like Backstrom or a real starter but I think we all know the reality of this.

I think the best we can hope for now is a good draft spot. Losing Saturday will really help. There are several teams poised to pass us and with our final week being what it is, there is a good chance we could be below 7 in the pick. Which is where the talent seems to start being a gamble.

I am up for the Oilers trading almost anyone. I think Nick has to be on the block only because he has value and for a 5-6 pairing guy, his salary will be high. Streit would be a great temporary fit to give our rookies 3 years. I still like fistric for his size if he is cheap. Better than potter. If we can play Petry, Smid, Schultz, Striet most of the game, our bottom pairing doesn't have to be much be much. Especially the way Petry has emerged these past few weeks.

I don't agree that we HAVE to have size on that second line at the expense of skill. I do agree that they have to stop being fancy with the puck but I wouldn't trade gagner for someone like Bozak just because he is bigger. We need to upgrade as well. Hemsky as well, if we can upgrade him with someone less injury prone, then I am all for it. I think despite what philly fans think, Hartnell is definitely on the block. I also still like Stewart who has been streaky in St. Louis this year. He might be easy to get as he isn't managements favorite.

I think buying out Horcoff might have to be done. He is good and I like him but he is not winning his battles to the puck, his passes are weak, his shots are worse and that third line needs someone with more speed and size to make it a true power line. I still like Ott for it. Bozak would fit here as well.

The fourth line can all go as well as the extras. Brown, smithson, smyth, Petrell, Lander, VanVelde, Eager, Jones, belanger... trade them for anything and sign 3 new ufas from the list. Dream list Clarkson, Stalberg and Cervenka for the 4th line.

We get the money by trading or dumping horcoff and signing Bozak (more points, faster, younger and still good at faceoffs). Then we trade Hemsky and Ganger + for Krejci or some other second line center (Boston just has 6 so I was throwing it out there) and fill Hemsky's spot by Horton or Boyes. Sign Streit, whitney and fistric, then trade potter, whitney, nick and duby for assets to get us lou. Then we sign habby or whoever st louis isn't going to use anymore as our backup.

Or trade boston the dmen and assets and vancouver the forwards/assets. Either way I am sure we could meet their prices. All we have to do is be the best there is during UFA signing.

Whitney and a 2nd for Bishop.

Not Gagner.
- Oilers4Life14

you would have to give a better offer than conacher and the 4th round pick...it would have literally took mps+4th rounder to beat out tbl offer.

So let's try this.. Edmonton sends this year's 1st and 2nd, next years 1st, and Taylor Hall to Nashville in exchange for Weber. However, to make up for the money already paid out to Weber, Edmonton agrees to pick up all but $6 dollars (Weber's number) of Hall's Salary/Cap. The new CBA does allow that to happen.
- dgutzman

Wait...when did Brian Burke become the GM of Edmonton? Sounds like the Kessel deal.

Lindholm'll be gone by 6 or 7. He won't make it to 9. Darnell Nurse or Ristolainen'll be where EDM drafts.
- TheNugeIsHuge

You do realize Nurse is ranked 5th? In a draft where a lot of the top 10 teams need defense? Linholm is ranked 8th.

http://www.isshockey.com/

That's what everyone said about Forsberg last year, too, and look what happened to him. There's a good chance he could still be around so long as our pick remains in the 6-10 range. If he's there, I'd take him over Zadorov. He's great and has potential spewing out of his shathole, but he seems like a boom/bust guy. With the experiences this team has had with the likes of Teubert and Plante, I'm staying away from drafting a shutdown D in the 1st round. If one of the top C's drops to us, I'd grab him in a heartbeat. We've got a good group of D prospects with top-4 potential; we need C depth.

That OR we trade the pick for a mobile top-4 Dman.
- MaximumBone

Ummm...who????

Klefbom and.....?

I'd take Zadorov over Lindholm.

Don't say Marancin. Maybe 5-6 guy.

too bad Sens and Oilers couldn't swing a deal at the deadline... Bishop for Gagner would have made a lot of sense.
- themaynia

Maybe for the Sens. It would have made absolutely no sense for the Oilers...

Who the (frank) wants O'Reilly his contract is awful. Avs should have let Calgary take him then they would have had 2 of the top 3 picks! Trade the 1st overall to the Panthers for their 1st rounder and a 2nd asset then draft MacKinnon AND Drouin?
- OilerFanFromBC

K. People really need to move on from the Flames giving the Avs 2 top picks. The NHL already said they would not have let it happen. Move on.

You know what? I feel like dreaming today! My ideal offseason consists of:

- Resigning Gagner (4-4.5 mill, 4 yrs), PRV (1.25-1.75 mill 2 yrs), Khabby (900k), Smithson (800K, 1 yr), and Petrell (900k-1 mill, 2 yrs) along with a few of our pending RFA prospects.

- Advanced signing Nuge (5- 5.5 mill, 5 or 6 yrs)

- Compliance buyouts on Belanger (-1.75 mill) and perhaps even Hemsky (-5 mill). Let's face it; there are very few teams- if any- who can/would take on Hemsky's cap hit this coming season with the cap going down. If we really want to move on, this is the way to do so.

These moves would leaves our cap payroll at around around $54 million. With $10 million cap space remaining to fill 2 bottom-6 forward slots, one top-4 dman slot, and a backup goaltender. I'd try to sign:

- One of Viktor Stalberg (2.5-2.75 mill, 2 or 3 yrs), Bryan Bickell (2- 2.25 mill, 2 or 3 yrs), or Chad Larose (2- 2.25 mill, 2 or 3 yrs).

- Dainus Zubrus (2- 2.25 mill, for 2 yrs).

- A few depth signings like adding Chris Summers (850k 2-way, 1 yr), Trevor Smith (650k 2-way, 2 yrs), and another or two.

- One of Sergei Gonchar (4-4.5 mill, 1 yr), or Rob Scuderi (3-3.5 mill, 2 yrs). Scuderi seems more likely considering that A.) there aren't rumours of him retiring and B.) he seems to like going to young, up-n-coming teams to help them win (Pittsburgh, LA).

At those contracts, their combined total maxes out at $9.75 million leaving the team almost at cap. If a trade needs to be made at any point during the season, one of Smyth, Zubrus, Gonchar/ Scuderi, or Horcoff could mysteriously get "injured" and be put onto IR to free up some cap space!

This is all assuming there isn't some dumbshat GM who decides to drive up the prices on UFA's by signing a guy like Clarkson to something ridiculous like $5 million over 6 years...

What I'm saying is this scenario will never happen
- MaximumBone

I don't like any of this!? Except for the possible compliance buyout of Hemsky. But I think someone will take him for a 2nd rounder.

I think we all know after RNH, that the Calder isn't coming here if we had the only rookie in the league but it is nice seeing the guys play. Justin has been doing good all season but Nail looks to finish with a bang which will be fun to watch.

I don't think Duby will go anywhere despite his inconsistency. I would like to think they would get a back up like Backstrom or a real starter but I think we all know the reality of this.

I think the best we can hope for now is a good draft spot. Losing Saturday will really help. There are several teams poised to pass us and with our final week being what it is, there is a good chance we could be below 7 in the pick. Which is where the talent seems to start being a gamble.

I am up for the Oilers trading almost anyone. I think Nick has to be on the block only because he has value and for a 5-6 pairing guy, his salary will be high. Streit would be a great temporary fit to give our rookies 3 years. I still like fistric for his size if he is cheap. Better than potter. If we can play Petry, Smid, Schultz, Striet most of the game, our bottom pairing doesn't have to be much be much. Especially the way Petry has emerged these past few weeks.

I don't agree that we HAVE to have size on that second line at the expense of skill. I do agree that they have to stop being fancy with the puck but I wouldn't trade gagner for someone like Bozak just because he is bigger. We need to upgrade as well. Hemsky as well, if we can upgrade him with someone less injury prone, then I am all for it. I think despite what philly fans think, Hartnell is definitely on the block. I also still like Stewart who has been streaky in St. Louis this year. He might be easy to get as he isn't managements favorite.

I think buying out Horcoff might have to be done. He is good and I like him but he is not winning his battles to the puck, his passes are weak, his shots are worse and that third line needs someone with more speed and size to make it a true power line. I still like Ott for it. Bozak would fit here as well.

The fourth line can all go as well as the extras. Brown, smithson, smyth, Petrell, Lander, VanVelde, Eager, Jones, belanger... trade them for anything and sign 3 new ufas from the list. Dream list Clarkson, Stalberg and Cervenka for the 4th line.

We get the money by trading or dumping horcoff and signing Bozak (more points, faster, younger and still good at faceoffs). Then we trade Hemsky and Ganger + for Krejci or some other second line center (Boston just has 6 so I was throwing it out there) and fill Hemsky's spot by Horton or Boyes. Sign Streit, whitney and fistric, then trade potter, whitney, nick and duby for assets to get us lou. Then we sign habby or whoever st louis isn't going to use anymore as our backup.

Or trade boston the dmen and assets and vancouver the forwards/assets. Either way I am sure we could meet their prices. All we have to do is be the best there is during UFA signing.
- bsteinley

Holy (frank) dude. This is some Cloutier like bullpoop. (frank) me people just know nothing.

The Bruins are up against the cap. They are not taking Hemsky, Ganger + for anyone.

A fourth line of Clarkson (5 mill), Cervenka (3), Stalberg (3.5)? Stupid stupid stupid.

Streit is not the answer. A top 4 of Shultz, Streit, Smid and Petry would not put fear into any other team out there.

Backstrom a back up? lol.

Duby gets no respect.

My god you come up with some ridiculous stuff.

I'm not hating on Hall, trust me. Frankly he's been out best (frank)ing player all year. In stats. Gagner has been a lot more defensive this year, and he has got the points. He's also on the PK- which Hall isn't- the Powerplay, Hall is too.

But I say, it's actually been a fine season, we had a lot of people step up, Gagner, MPS, Petrell, Hemsky.

Along with our best players, Hall, Ebs, Nuge hasn't done perfect this year, but he's gotten the assists that we need, Yak and Schultz.
- Oilers4Life14

Huh?

You do realize Nurse is ranked 5th? In a draft where a lot of the top 10 teams need defense? Linholm is ranked 8th.

http://www.isshockey.com/
- Iggysbff

that's on one ranking site (highest I've seen). Bob Mckenzie has him at 12 and Lindholm at 5.

I'd still be happy with a Lazar-Horvat-Erne-Gauthier pick. Someone who can play all situations

Holy (frank) dude. This is some Cloutier like bullpoop. (frank) me people just know nothing.

The Bruins are up against the cap. They are not taking Hemsky, Ganger + for anyone.

A fourth line of Clarkson (5 mill), Cervenka (3), Stalberg (3.5)? Stupid stupid stupid.

Streit is not the answer. A top 4 of Shultz, Streit, Smid and Petry would not put fear into any other team out there.

Backstrom a back up? lol.

Duby gets no respect.

My god you come up with some ridiculous stuff.
- Iggysbff

Smid-Petry are 6'3 and 210+. Potter is 6'3 205. Fistric's 6'2 235. You can have 2 small D men on a team

but I 100% agree Dubey gets no respect

I remember a time when we (Oiler Fans) had no Blogger for quite a while. It was pretty sh*tty. Final Clouts shot out a few blogs......good or bad ...who's to say....and finally he took on the task full time ish........Anyway ....Agree with him or disagree with him...that's your choice. But at least someones taking the time out of their day to.....entertain us....piss us off.....or just be there throwing out random thought / drivel.....cause as stated earlier there was a time when nobody stepped up to do it. Calling the man names won't lead to anything but another a search for a new blooger and I'd be willing to bet that the rude mouth pieces calling him out all the time wouldn't do it. So stay civil and let him do his thing......you don't have to agree with him.