The Edmonton Oilers surprised some people today when they placed veteran forward Ryan Jones on the waiver wire. This comes 24 hours after the team placed Linus Omark on waivers too. Linus cleared, and is OKC bound, and some believe Jones will join him soon in the AHL.
Tyler Pitlick and Anton Lander were sent down last night, making the forward picture a lot clearer, while defender Taylor Fedun was sent to OKC and Darnell Nurse back to the OHL. Corey Potter and Denis Grebeshkov are both injured, and will start the season on the IR, so the defensive picture is quite clear too.
Not to mention, Sam Gagner will miss about two months with his jaw injury and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is recovering from his off-season shoulder surgery.
So with all those cuts and injuries being taken into account, what will the Edmonton Oilers depth chart look like come opening night just six days from now against the Winnipeg Jets? Well here’s an estimated guess at it…
Forwards:
Ryan Smyth-Taylor Hall-Ales Hemsky: This is a very interesting line for the Oilers, and one which will start the season for the team. Hall has made the switch to center to help cope with the injuries at that spot. He’s looked decent there in camp. Ryan Smyth provides a veteran presence on the line, and will be looking to prove a lot of people wrong. Ditto for Ales Hemsky, who is in a contract year. Not the best line, but Hall and Hemsky will make it click.
David Perron-Marc Arcobello-Jordan Eberle: Perron, the big addition of the off-season, has been money so far this pre-season for the Oilers, and looks like he could be a real force this season. Eberle has looked good this pre-season too, and is a lock for top-six ice time. The real question mark here is center. Marc Arcobello struggled at the open of camp, but has taken steps forward and will get a chance due to injury. This line has a lot of offensive potential, and as long as Arco doesn’t implode will be fine.
Jesse Joensuu-Boyd Gordon-Nail Yakupov: Can someone say interesting? Nail Yakupov has been his offensive self this camp, and is no doubt the scorer on this line. Jesse Joensuu has actually had a great camp, and has been putting up points while playing a decent all around game. He’s been a great addition to the line-up to this point. Boyd Gordon looked great at the start of camp, and we know what he brings.
That said, I’m shocked that Yakupov is on this line to start. He’s too talented to be in this spot in my mind. Hopefully Joensuu will be able to keep up his pre-season touch and this line becomes a decent offensive threat. It would go a long way for the Oilers.
Ryan Hamilton-Will Acton-Ben Eager: This line is either going to be decent, or absolutely awful. That’s it. Acton has had a good camp and beat out Anton Lander, but he’s a greenhorn at this level. All accounts say he’s got almost no offensive game and isn’t a great player, but we’ll see. I thought he was okay at camp. Ryan Hamilton has to work on his foot-speed, but I liked most of what I saw. He’s the kind of forward this team needs.
Ben Eager has been given another chance, and while he hasn’t knocked it out of the park, he’s been better. Could be a good energy line for this team.
Mike Brown, Steve MacIntyre: The tough guys are the extra guys here. I expect we see Big Mac dress for the games against teams like Vancouver, Philly, Toronto, Ottawa and so on. As for Brown, we could see much less of him this season. I’m figuring we see Mac in about 45-50 games and 30 for Mike Brown. We’ll see on that, but the Oilers have decided on two fighters for their extra forwards, an interesting idea.
Defenders:
Ladislav Smid-Jeff Petry: The Oilers top pairing in 2011-12 held up well against some very tough competition. I expect under a new coach with a new system they will once again be put in this spot. Petry is as close to a five-tool defender as this team has, and Ladi Smid is a very good shut-down option.
Andrew Ference-Justin Schultz: Schultz the younger had a good start and end last year, but struggled in the middle for Edmonton. He’s a dynamite puck-mover and will be a top-pairing guy in time. The veteran Ference is a huge upgrade on what Edmonton had here last year, and will provide the Oil with a steady shut-down defender. They needed that badly last year.
Nick Schultz-Anton Belov: Belov has impressed in camp. He has a decent shot and good puck-moving ability, and isn’t a liability in his own zone. He looks like a player. Nick Schultz is a decent veteran shut-down defender, but can’t play big minutes anymore. He’ll get that smaller role here, and I think will have a decent season thanks to that.
Philip Larsen: Larsen will win the extra defender spot thanks to a strong camp, and injuries to Grebeshkov and Potter. Larsen has shown good puck moving skills and has been willing to step up defensively and block shots. I’ve actually been impressed with his game thus far. He deserves this spot.
Goaltenders:
Devan Dubnyk: No shocker here. He was Edmonton’s best option last season, and will be again this season. He had an underrated year last season and I expect him to keep improving. He’ll be a solid option and will get the chance to prove he is a legit NHL starting option. In a contract year, I’m excited to see him play.
Jason Labarbera: Signed to a one-year deal, Jason is the perfect veteran for the Oilers to have. He’s worked with Devan during off-seasons past, and has been a decent option on the ice for the Coyotes the last few seasons. He’s on a one year deal, so there’s nothing to lose here. A good veteran back-up can’t hurt.
The line-up you see is the line-up we’ll get on opening night. It’s not the line-up we hoped for, but injuries happen. The Oilers will have to make it work. Is it good enough? We’ll find out really soon.
Oh, and while you’re here…………Check out the Oilers Rig radio from this week with Oilers play by play analyst Jack Michaels of 630 Ched and Allan Mitchell of the team1260, lowetide.ca and Oilersnation! You can listen here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theoilersrig/2013/09/26/the-oilers-rig-radio-show-09252013
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