Training camp finally opened up today for the Edmonton Oilers, and hockey fans everywhere let out a collective sigh of relief. It’s here once again. While the Oilers were at Rexall only for fitness testing today, there was an interesting tidbit of news that caught my eye starting with a tweet from a hockey insider this morning….
Bob McKenzie tweeted out that the Oilers would be in the market for a tough guy, and that he stated MacTavish and Eakins see that as a vital part of the team. This brought fear of Darcy Hordichuk back to me, and made me shudder for a solid hour.
A little while later we got another signal of this from the Edmonton Journal’s Joanne Ireland who tweeted that the Oilers were looking for toughness, but were not convinced they needed a gunslinger, saying they want an enforcer that can fight, but also play the game of hockey. That limits the possibilities big time.
Dan Tencer chimed in later on too, saying that the Oilers were in fact looking for some toughness, and that they are looking for players fitting the mold of guys like Jay Rosehill and Anthony Peluso, guys that can throw-down, but also play hockey and handle themselves on the ice.
The Oilers already have a designated puncher in Mike Brown. Brown seems like a good guy and is willing to stand up, but isn’t a heavy weight fighter. He also struggles on the ice, it’s not an opinion but rather a fact. Look at the numbers when Brown is out there, it isn’t pretty. To me, this signifies that maybe Mike Brown isn’t what Eakins and MacTavish are looking for, and maybe he is the Oilers backup plan here.
Craig MacTavish is a smart man, I can’t see him keeping two fighters on the roster. MacT had guys like Georges Laraque, Zach Stortini, Matt Greene, and Ethan Moreau who were there to drop the gloves, but could also play hockey while providing that toughness. In the cases of Moreau and Greene, play hockey at a pretty high level.
The Oilers didn’t really have these dead weight fighters like Darcy Hordichuk, Steve MacIntyre, and Jesse Boulerice until Tambellini took over. Mike Brown strikes me as more of a Tambellini player than a MacTavish player, and that might have something to do with today’s rumors.
Another part of me feels like this was a message to Ben Eager. Eager fits the mold of a player that MacT would deploy as the team tough guy. He played a pretty good game in San Jose and Chicago in recent years, and I don’t think the guy just forgot to play hockey. He’s reportedly in really good shape and healthy now, and if that’s the case Ben Eager could end up being exactly the player MacT is looking for.
MacTavish and Eakins both want a serviceable tough guy on this roster. I’d have to imagine either Ben Eager returns to form, or Craig MacTavish will be going shopping later this month for a big boy. Camp is going to be fun….
Be sure to tune into episode two of The Oilers Rig radio tonight at 10 est/8 MT as Jeremy Thompson, Dave Gordon and I take a look at a wide range of topics. We’ll also be joined by Tyler Dellow, so don’t miss out on this!
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