Are We There Yet?

It’s a commonly asked question on long journeys, usually by kids, are we there yet? For the Edmonton Oilers, a team on their own long journey, many fans have been asking is the team there yet? By there, I’m referring to the the to do list. The answer is pretty simple. No, the Oilers aren’t done with their list, and I’d find it hard to believe they are done making moves.

Let’s look back about two weeks shall we? Here’s the list I came up with during “The Summer Of Mac Part 1”

1. Top four defender, preferably a puck-mover

2. Top six power-forward

3. Trading Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff

4. Signing a 3rd line center

5. Signing a 3rd line RW

6. Signing….well a 4th line pretty much

7. Adding a back-up goalie

8. Adding an AHL goalie

So how have the Oilers done with this so far? They’ve completed a few of those tasks, but not all of them.

Number one was acquiring a top four defender, and the Oilers haven’t exactly done that. I’m currently under the impression from a few different directions that the Oilers are actively looking for a defender in the trade market.

Brayden Coburn is still very much a legit option, but other options like Keith Yandle and RFA’s like Ryan McDonagh and Alex Pietroangelo could also be possible. Could see the Oilers deal a combo of high picks, prospects and cap relief to teams for a defender.

It makes a lot of sense, and I still believe MacT’s bold moves are yet to come.

Number two also has yet to get done to this point. That being said, like task one, task two most likely is yet to come. The Oilers know this is a hole, and tried to address it via free agency by targeting forwards David Clarkson and Clarke MacArthur. Only problem is both elected to sign elsewhere.

I firmly believe a deal will get done for a top six LW, and the St. Louis Blues keep popping up as the team that could be the partner in the deal. With little cap space and two key RFA’s to re-sign, the deep Blues might look to move a player or two. David Perron and TJ Oshie are two top six forwards on the trade market, and it won’t take much outside of futures to get a deal done there.

Don’t be shocked if Oshie is the power-forward the Oilers have been looking for, or if David Perron is brought in to ride shotgun with the young studs.

Item three is to trade Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff. Half way there. The Oilers dealt Horcoff to Dallas this past Thursday, and didn’t have to retain any of his salary. As for Hemsky, teams have taken their search for forward help to the trade market, and I think it’s just a matter of time before Hemsky gets dealt.

Item four is done, as the team signed Boyd Gordon for that third line center spot, a really solid addition in my mind, and one that could very well end up being an upgrade on Shawn Horcoff.

Item five was signing a third line winger. The re-signing of Ryan Jones and addition of Jesse Joensuu gives Edmonton some options there, and I think Jones gets that third line role, unless that winger comes back in a Hemsky trade. We’ll see is this task is truly done.

Six is a long term one, and that is signing a fourth line. With Ryan Smyth coming back and Jesse Joensuu getting signed, that gives Edmonton two thirds of that line. Oilers are still looking for a veteran center for this line, and I think it’s totally possible someone like Marty Reasoner or Manny Malhotra gets scooped up by the Oilers for this role.

Seven was complete when Edmonton signed Jason Labarbera and eight was done on Saturday when the Oil nabbed Richard Bachman. Both can be viewed as solid signings and improvements on the players they are replacing.

Overall, the Oilers have only totally completed items four, five, seven and eight. They are close on items three and six, and have a lot of work to do on items one and two. That should make the message very clear, Craig MacTavish still has work to do, and he knows it. The Oilers are not done yet, and one could argue the fun is just beginning. Will be an interesting rest of July.

Lastly, for the record, I like the Ference signing, and think he gives Edmonton some real solid depth. That said, something doesn’t add up here and I think we see some departures form the blue line, starting with Nick Schultz. Could see ???/J. Schultz, Smid/Petry and Ference/Belov to start the year. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Back with more tomorrow.