"Patience is Powerful in Hockey"

In hockey, Patience is a powerful tool, most certainly at trade deadline time. If history follows suit this 2012 NHL trade deadline, some NHL GM's will most certainly overpay for a chance at a Stanley Cup run or at the very least for some gate revenue through a few home playoff dates.

Some hockey markets require GM's to make deals just to save their job for another 6 months due to poor attendance, dwindling fans and many times, owners who need to pocket some playoff revenue due to lack of finances in the organization. 

Having said all that, it is highly possible Tamby could be sitting back, licking his chops for a opportunity to strike when the time is right. Why not lead other teams to believe your not trying to move bodies out? Would that not possibly make you the one, holding all the cards at trade deadline? Tamby may not look that smart to many a Oiler fan, but make certain you don't under estimate his ability to be shrewd. Katz has made a life out of making the right deals and doing things the right way to just throw it all away. There has to be more to what's happening in the long term plan with the Oilers then us fans or the media can actually see.

As much as the fan in me hates it when I don't know exactly what to expect from management, it also creates a sense of excitement when a deal comes out of nowhere like happened last deadline with Penner. I am sure the majority still like that trade in the end. IMO, Tamby has a couple deals on the table but is just waiting patiently till the last hour to get the most he can for Hemsky on a deal. With very few top 6 wingers available Hemsky is truly the best player available that will be a UFA at season's end. 

I believe their is a defencemen moving come trade deadline as the numbers are not adding up and even a 6-8th defence men can fetch something ok at this time of year. Peckham or Barker are your best bets at this point but that is only speculation. Chicago is really considering the option of Khabby (Fans from there and even colour man Troy Murray have admitted as much). I would not be surprised to see a goalie, defencemen and a forward all moved out of Edmonton by the trade deadline. The return? Unfortunately for fans, nothing to be excited about other then possibly a decent 15-20th 1st round pick if all goes well. Don't be misguided on this year's draft by those who say it's a weak draft. Not true at all, and in fact, this draft could very well be one of the better ones in terms of higher end talent.

IMO, this summer we will see a few more moves regarding veterans being reshuffled in the deck and I for one, am all game for that. What not to expect? Players like Sutton, Belanger and Smyth to be moved when they so badly like to be in Edmonton. As much as we are building a team for the future, it means more then just bringing in or sending out the right players. It means giving the players in the league the impression we care about our players and won't discard them like trash when things are going a bit rough. Detroit and New Jersey have a ability to attract high end players consistently and I for one truly believe it's because of how management deals with player personal.

This is definitely going to be a interesting week and a half in Oilerville.

for further updates on Oilers, Barons, Thunder and 2012 and 2013 prospects

@revingev