THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS
Well this has been one heck of a two days event. The Edmonton Oilers were pretty active in the way they have changed the team. First they put Moreau, O'Sullivan and Nilsson on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. About time! Just as we are planning the see you later captainethanmoreau parade, the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed him off of waivers. That was the first WTF moment of what would become a common occurrence.
Here comes another WTF moment from Tamby as he pulls off a trade with the Coyotes. We get Jim Vandermeer in exchange for Patrick O'Sullivan and the Coyotes proceed to buyout Patty O'. The Oilers however decide to keep Vandermeer and he adds some balls and grit to the blue line. Vandy is a guy who will sacrifice his entire body to win a game. He's a warrior who comes ready to fight every night. Even though he will be in the bottom four, he's going to provide a lot of comfort for the kids. Good trade Tambellini!
So after all this happens it turns out that Bobby Nilsson doesn't have a dance partner. You know, he's the nerd in the corner with his hand in his pocket that nobody wants. The Oilers did proceed to buy him out and he's now a UFA. Now my personal feelings about this player is if I was Tamby, I would have put him and his $2.5 million dollar ass in Oklahoma City. If I'm Katz, I wouldn't care about the cash as much as Nilsson would put much needed fans into the Cox Convention Center. This is a brand new team and they need a player who can help fill the rink. Nilsson could have done that. Tamby said these next few days that he will be active in making the OKC Barons a competitive team. I'm starting to believe he can.
Tamby then out of the blue resigned newly acquired Colin Fraser to a 2 year deal for $825,000 a year. Good trade to get him a few days ago and a good signing today. I can't wait to get a good look at Fraser, he intrigues me.
So just as things are getting quiet, there is news about the Oilers all over Twitter. Minutes later, Kurtis Foster is the newest Oiler. He's big and plays a hard game. He also packs quite a mean shot. Very heavy and it always gets to the net. It looks like we have our new bomb from the point. See ya Souray!
Speaking of Souray, Tamby decided that since no team wanted him in a trade, Souray was placed on waivers today. Another WTF moment. Talk about a kick in the balls to big sexy. Haha! I guess we will see if any team actually claim him. If not, then who knows what will happen. All I know is that the Oilers WILL NOT BUYOUT SOURAY. Stay tuned for more developments.
It was clear that the Oilers were bulking up. All big draft picks and all big free agent signings. The smurf era is gone. At one point we were told the Oilers were going hard for the big bad John Scott. But they lost out on him and they even pushed hard for Derek Boogaard at one point. The Bogeyman priced himself out of the Oilers reach. So by this point I'm thinking, what about Steve MacIntyre? I loved him when he was here and I was sad when he was lost on waivers. A while later... WELCOME BACK BIG MAC! WTF? #33 is roaming Rexall once again.
I can honestly say, this is the best I have felt about the team in a long time. While this team isn't a good team yet, they sure did get better. Yay us!!!
OFF SEASON PLAYER TRACKER
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DAN TENCER TIDBITS (Hall/Eberle/Paajarvi)
Dan Tencer announced that Hall, Eberle and Paajarvi will be at the development camp next week in Edmonton. (CLICK HERE FOR DEV ROSTER) He also said that Taylor Hall will wear #20 and he said it's just a number they gave him. So does this mean Hall won't be #4? Hmmm... come on KLowe. Let the kid wear it.
On a side note, if I'm Taylor Hall and I can't get #4, I would choose the #84. Cool number.
Tambellini took the time to talk to Tencer today and here is the link of the podcast CLICK HERE
-Written by Smokin' Ray-
