Righting the Ship

The 2013-14 season is right around the corner. For the Edmonton Oilers it is a chance to start a new story on a clean slate, hopefully righting a ship that has been overturned for 7 seasons like some tragic NHL version of the Costa Concordia. This is the first time since the magical ’06 run that the Oilers may have the horses to give them a shot at the second season.

As much as I want to believe in this team, the prospect of making the playoffs seemed a lot more likely two weeks ago. The injury to Sam Gagner was a major blow to the composition of the forward group and they are going to have some major challenges icing a balanced lineup over the first month. What happened?

On the eve of training camp it started to look like the Oilers had a shot at icing 3 scoring forward lines. We all knew Nugent-Hopkins was injured but moving Hall to center has come to be viewed as enough of a stop gap until Nuge’s return. With the statement that management would be trying Hall at center coming in August, they also went out and signed Linus Omark to a contract. He is a divisive player but had proven in 2010-11, when he gathered 26 pts in 51 gp as a rookie, that he could provide some offence in a support role when given a chance. The month of October looked like it would be handled and once RNH was healthly, we would start to see the makings of a playoff team. But then the injury happened and everything changed.

Gagner was lost to an idiotic high stick from meat head Zack Kassian. Omark and Ryan Jones, two guys who could have played up and down the lineup when needed, had horrible camps and were sent to OKC. In a rash post Gagner injury move Mactavish went out and signed Steve Macintyre (because two knuckle draggers who can’t play are better than one?) and then he and Brown ended up getting injured in the last game of the preseason against Dallas (which could be a blessing in disguise as long as MacT doesn’t try and replace both of them with similarly unskilled types). What is really needed is another NHL center to stem the early tide. If Mactavish doesn’t bring one in via waiver or trade, we have a team destined to start the year with some version of a dog’s breakfast in the bottom 6.

All hope is not lost though as there are some bright spots. The move of Hall has proven successful thus far and he looks like he may be good enough to cover the bet as a first line center. Jesse Joensuu was a revelation throughout the preseason, helping in providing dominant possession numbers while he was on the ice, leading the team through the first 7 preseason games with a Corsi% of 62. Along with him at the top of the charts were Hemsky, Smyth, who will be counted on to provide leadership, and Nail. Yakupov looks ready to impact the game much in the way the other wonder kids did in their second seasons (his shot is going to be an absolute weapon on the PP).

The biggest challenge facing the team, that isn’t internal, is going to be staving off the wolves through the (almost) first quarter of the schedule. They start the season with 3 of 4 at home and then go on to play 14 of their next 15 on the road. Most of the road games are in the east so if the losses do start to pile up, at least they won’t be against teams they are battling for a playoff spot. My biggest worry comes from the fact that the depth is sooo lacking right now. Road games mean you don’t get to dictate the majority of the match-ups and if Eakins (like his predecessors) doesn’t try to get Hall, Hemsky, Perron, Eberle and Gordon out against the tough competition, I fear the worst.

All hope is not lost though. If Dubnyk can start the season hot he may be able to squeeze the team a few more points out of the standings. The improved D depth, lead by the new Captain, Schultz Jr, Smid, Petry and Belov, should help cover the holes up front. The Power play was excellent last year and even though there is new coaching personnel running it, all the parts are there for success. Count in the fact that the teams in the east may be a little unprepared for the speed at which Edmonton’s top players attack, it may result in the Oilers being able to surprise a few. If they can get ahead early and often, they may stand a chance of coming out of the start of the season at .500.

The one thing that no one really knows is how is Eakins going to handle this roster when the going gets tough. Losing streaks in the past with this team have tended to stretch, more often than not. One hopes that the maturation of the young players, the new source of leadership from Ference and a new vision in Eakins, will be enough to halt crises before they become critical. What we do know thus far is that Eakins has shown that he means business and will make the tough decisions that are necessary in garnering success. He has world class offensive weapons at his disposal and the team and record will live and die on their sticks. Lets hope he can get it right where others have failed and success arrives soon.

All things considered, I hold cautiously optimistic. This team is bound to turn the corner at some point and although there are still significant issues at hand, there is a chance that they start to get it right.

The 2013-14 season is upon us. Let the games (and hopefully the winning) begin!