Panic At The Rexall

The Edmonton Oilers lost 4-1 on Tuesday night to the Colorado Avalanche, but that’s not the story. The Oilers season is over, and honestly at this point wins and losses do not nearly matter as much as earlier in the season. What caught my eye was an interview during the first intermission of the game between Gene Principe and GM Craig MacTavish.

Obviously, MacT is frustrated, and I have full faith that he is going to try and build a winner in Edmonton. That being said, something caught my eye last night and made me worry a little bit. What made me worry exactly? A little something that included staying the course, youth, and defense. Yeah, THOSE things….

Well, there’s been a lot of good things that have happened, if you’re an optimist the last month or so with some of the defensemen and not the least of which is Oscar Klefbom…..He’s going to be a real significant piece for us the way he has played. Marty Marincin too has come on and played really well, add that to Justin Schultz, who seems like a veteran but is really only in his first complete year. Darnell Nurse is on the horizon, so there are a lot of good things going on with our young defensemen.

That’s MacT talking about the young guys in the system, and the upcoming quote is from MacT talking about what could happen this summer….

We’ll see if we can get a real top-end defenseman, otherwise, I mean, it’s tough to find as we know, but otherwise we’ll go with some of the youth that we have here.

Craig MacTavish’s comments regarding the youth of the organization on the blue-line are correct. Martin Marincin has been arguably the best defender on the team since his recall, and certainly looks like a legit NHL option for next season. Oscar Klefbom has looked good as well, but one wonders if he is totally ready for NHL duty on a consistent basis.

Darnell Nurse has dominated the OHL, but is he ready for the jump to the NHL level? Personally, I feel another year of juniors and a year of AHL hockey would help the young blue-liner more than being thrown to the wolves. The Oilers certainly have some good things in the system regarding the blue-line, but let’s be honest here, none of these guys are going to be a number one in the next two/three years.

As for summer additions, this is what worries me quite a bit. This seems like we are going right back to the days of Kevin Lowe going whale hunting with no real back-up plan for improvement. To me, these comments came off as either the Oilers will add a proven top-pairing guy, or simply stay the course on defense. There is no middle ground, and that makes me uneasy.

The Oilers have a good number three in Jeff Petry, a good number four in Andrew Ference, and two young guys that can play in Justin Schultz and Martin Marincin. The team is still missing two defenders however, and at least one will have to come from outside the organization. Adding Klefbom and Nurse to this group would be a colossal mistake, and basically would be throwing away a ninth playoff-less season in a row.

The Oilers certainly need a top-end defender, and it’s nice to hear MacT mention that on air, and mention how that is a target. Let’s be honest here though, which top-end defenders are actually out there? Possibly Shea Weber, but what is he going to cost? I don’t even want to know. Does anyone consider Braydon Coburn a top-end guy? He’s played like one this year.

Is Andrei Markov, a rumored target around deadline time, viewed by the team as a top-end defender? Could veteran Dan Boyle be the free agent stop-gap the team looks at?

Adding a top-end defender would be considered a success for the Oilers in the off-season, and it is something we have talked about many times on the radio show and here on the blog. It’s tough to do, there is no doubt about that, but it’s an absolute must at this point. The Oilers need veteran help from outside the organization to get this thing moving in the right direction.

Staying the course might pay dividends down the road, but for the immediate future, like the next two to three years, it’s a very bad strategy. The Oilers will not be a good team as long as youth dominates the blue-line, especially unproven youth. There is no doubt that Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom will be good, but throwing them in big roles next year is a major, major mistake.

MacT laid out two paths on the blue-line last night. One is everything we have been hoping for, and one is our worst nightmare, more rebuilding time.

MacT also talked about adding pieces to the second line this summer. He mentioned how the top-line of Hall, RNH and Eberle could be a dominate line, and how he wants to supplement them with some pieces on the second line. I believe David Perron, MacT’s crown jewel, will be on that line. I’m thinking we could see a veteran center added to take Gagner’s spot.

Overall, MacT’s comments gave us something to think about here. He’s mentioned the top-end defender, but also mentioned staying the course and going full youth again next season. Changes will be coming, but will they be the right ones? I, for one, have faith in MacT, but am increasingly nervous as we approach another important summer.