We’re just a few days away from the start of another NHL season. On Wednesday, the Oilers open up 2016-17 with a home-and-home against the Calgary Flames. That first contest will be the official opening of Rogers Place and, quite frankly, I can’t wait.
The results of this coming season are still very much up for debate, in fact I still don’t know what I’m going to predict for this hockey club. That said, I know one thing for sure: this is going to be a very interesting and telling season for the Edmonton Oilers organization.
Obviously this was a busy weekend, Nail Yakupov is gone and Kris Russell is wearing number four (Are people really pissed about that?) and patrolling the blue-line for the Oilers.
Without further ado, here are this week’s links.
Oh, Those Oilers: It’s not often that I get to include Pat McLean in links, but I’m doing just that this week. After Edmonton’s most recent flurry of activity, McLean returned to his blog, Black Dog Hates Skunks, to give his thoughts on those moves and the organization as it stands. Safe to say, it’s well worth the time to read.
A Few Words: Yakupov is off to St. Louis. Matt Henderson takes a look at much maligned former Oiler at OilersNation and explains why Yakupov was a better player than many gave him credit for during his four year stint as an Oiler.
An Alternate Reality: What could have been versus what might be. That, for Oiler fans, is the ultimate mind battle right now. Derek Blasutti of the CoppernBlue takes a look at what the Oilers might have been entering this season had they played their cards in a different manner.
A Case For Pitlick: Does Tyler Pitlick deserve a spot on the Edmonton Oilers 23-man roster to start the NHL season? He’s been making a great case for that during training camp, and Sammi Silber of Oil On Whyte believes he’s earned a spot. She has the case for that scenario.
The Chicago Angle: What happened to that rumored Nail Yakupov to Chicago trade that cropped up Thursday, just a day before Nail’s move to St. Louis? John Jaeckel of Hockeybuzz goes into detail about what exactly went down between the two clubs.
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