Rick Nash an Oiler???

Today Doug MacLean posed an interesting scenario on Team1260. R.Nash to Edmonton for their 1st round pick this summer. Now before you freak out, this might actually make sense for both teams.

Columbus is floundering as a franchise and Nash appears to be tired of waiting for the team to "turn the corner". According to MacLean, he has asked for a trade out of town. GM Scott Howson has apparently said they are tearing it down and starting over. Fan interest may as well be zero and season tickets won't be flying out the door after this dismal season. 2 high end draft picks (possibly 1-2) would sure help gain fan interest. 2 top end picks is a damn good way to start over.

Edmonton does not really need another top six winger but how can you turn down a Hall, Nash combo on your 1st and 2nd lines. Obviously someone will have to learn the other wing or another trade in the off season perhaps. Nash's Salary isn't favorable at all but it is no more then what teams pay for #1 Dmen. If we do happen to pluck Nash out of Columbus and we choose not to move forward with him, he could be packaged to get that top tier D man. Say Nash for Shea Weber in a year from now, possibly even sooner. The Oilers have a big contract to add on the backend and adding Nash might give them the piece necessary to pry Weber out of Nashville.

If and that is a big IF we do grab a D man with our pick, he won't be ready to make an impact for 4-5 years. That is too long. The top D man that wins a cup on this team is either a) in the system or b) in the NHL(somewhere) already. Anyway I look at this possible trade scenario, its win for the Oilers and win for the Blue Jackets. Its not a slam dunk but I don't think this scenario should be so easily dismissed.

For the record, I don't see this deal going down. But it's fun to think about a top six that includes Nash with Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins and Gagner. Oh the goals that could be tallied.

-WRITTEN BY PAQ TWINN-

"Oiler talk ALIVE and well in the South"

Just back from a couple weeks away in the Caribbean Sea does wonders for your 'sorrows' of a losing hockey season.

While I was sad to leave Oiler Country as far as watching my hockey, I was glad to experience sun tanning and Hot weather, along with beaches and all you can eat dining. While on board the Carnival Cruise liner "Freedom", I was able to find my fair share of hockey fans from New York, Boston, Chicago and Detroit. It lead into the early hours of the next day on a couple of occasions, but boy, was it great to talk hockey while in only a tank top and shorts.

I was quite surprised to find as many hockey fans as I did. One couple I met had just recently married and even had their wedding cake made in the form of the Stanley Cup with the Bruins logo on it. Great passion! Now some of the conversations were taken off topic some by the 'drunkeness' of one particular Chicago fan. It went from Tim Thomas standing on his head to Sandberg hitting a home run and waving to the crowd. I was relentless to talk hockey, so I kept bringing this drunk Chicago fan back into the hockey conversation.

After my cruise I spent a few days in Tampa Bay and Orlando and was again surprised to run into more hockey fans in the area. While Tampa may not be a hockey hot bed, it certainly is getting better at discussing hockey and taking the game as one of it's own. Of course their is many Canadian fans of hockey, living in Florida but none of who I am speaking of were Canadian, but have said they have learnt alot about hockey from Canadians living in the south. Definitely winning helps the cause for southern markets.

What amazed me most was the fact "most of the hockey fans I met from other cities", actually knew by name Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins. Maybe their pronunciations were off, but they knew of the up and coming stars of our team. In fact I would say 8 out of 12 conversations spoke of how highly they like what the Oilers are doing in their rebuild. Really? I guess it gave me renewed optimism. So upon returning, I hear and find out we have fared quite well since the all-star break. (some lapses I know) However in spite of that, we are still looking at a lottery pick at the 2012 NHL entry Draft. That excites me, maybe our veterans are not performing up to par, but our young guns are stepping up to bat and getting some good hits. (Baseball analogy for my new American friends who are now following our blogging here at oilersjambalaya). We may have a ways to go, but that short break away, new friends among the sea's have given me new excitement to finish out this year of Oilers hockey.

Looking forward to getting some  blogs out again here at oilersjambalaya.

Cheers Oiler faithful!

RNH SHUTDOWN FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON!

That's the headline that should be on every website, newspaper, any other media outlet and most importantly, from the lips of the Oilers management.

Last season the Oilers management made a decision that they knew full well, was going to be extremely unpopular. With approx. 20 games remaining and they're prized 1st overall pick freshly on the shelf with a sprained ankle, Tambellini and company SHUTDOWN Taylor Hall, rather then risk any further injury that could jeopardize the future of the Oilers and Hall. It was brave, bold and something no Oilers fan has come to expect, SMART.

Which brings me to here and now. When drafted anyone and their dog would tell you, "He's too small to play with men."

Well after bringing the Oilers faithful and most of the NHL out of there chairs on a nightly basis for half the season, maybe we are now seeing that he may have been too small. His HOF hockey sense and vision were almost enough to overcome his waffer thin body, but after suffering one and then two, shoulder injuries it makes no sense to me to bring him back into the lineup.

The Future...

The 'Nuge has nothing left to prove when it comes to his abilities. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can clearly see he was the rookie of the year. None of the other rookies captivated the league the way 'Nuge did. Besides, the Oilers have how many Hall of Famers...6....and how many Calder Trophy winners....0. Sure it would be nice, but if Gretz, Mess, Andy, Kurri, Coff and Fuhrsy didn't need it to be great then the 'Nuge doesn't either.

This is also a great chance to both reward Anton Lander for being the good soldier on the 4th line all season, and to see just exactly what he has to offer if given top six minutes and PP time......and Paajarvi too for pete's sake! I mean why not give them a shot with Ebs or Hall???!!!

In the end the Oilers should do the right thing for their and Ryan's future. Here's what should be said...

"Ryan we are shutting you down for the season. Heal up, rehab the shit out of that shoulder, hit the gym and come to camp ready to go at 178-182lbs. See you in September."

So come on Tambo, K-Lowe, or Katz, make that same BOLD, BRAVE, UNPOPULAR, and most impotantly, SMART decesion again. Hopefully it's the last time it will have to be made.

-WRITTEN BY PAQ TWINN-

And The Winner Is...

The NHL Awards

With approx. 30 games to go, I wanted to take a look at the front runners for the NHL's hardware.

The Art Ross Trophy

E. Malkin (61) is the leader right now but with, C. Giroux (60), S. Stamkos (57), P. Kessel (57) and 9 more players within 10 points, Malkin is not a "shoe in" by any stretch.

The Rocket Richard Trophy

S. Stamkos is once again proving he is one of the NHL's best snipers, leading the way with 34 goals. E. Malkin and P. Kessel are close with 29 each and you can't discount J. Toews with 27. I believe Stamkos will hold on for the win barring injury.

The Hart Memorial Trophy

My top 3 candidates for MVP are E. Malkin 61pts, P. Kessel 57pts and H. Lundqvist 24W 6SO and a .939 save %. Its my belief that Malkin will win this year, he has carried the Penguins all season with Sid on the shelf, though its hard to discount Lundqvist's importance for the Rangers.

The Vezina Trophy

Here are the 4 goalies I think will be in the running.

H. Lundqvist (24w,6so,.939s%), J. Quick(22w,6so,.934s%), P. Rinne(30w,4so,.925s%), J. Howard(32w,5so,.924s%). I'll give an honorable mention to T. Rask and B. Elliot, I don't feel they have or will play enough games when compared to the other candidates. In the end I give the nod to H.Lundqvist, this guy is responsible for the NYR perch atop the NHL standings.

The James Norris Memorial Trophy

This has been a bit of a transitional year on the NHL's backend. There are more young defencemen stepping up into the spotlight which makes for a cluster of candidates. Here's who I feel are the best D-men in the league.

Z. Chara (30pts,+27), M. DelZotto (26pts,+26), S. Weber (35pts,+19), E. Karlsson (48pts,+7), N. Lidstrom (28pts,+25), I. White (25pts,+30).

It really is a crap shoot when picking a winner out of this group but I'll give the edge to Chara based on track record, team role/importance and both his point totals and plus/minus are both among the league leaders. Is Ian White this good or is it a product of playing beside Nik Lidstrom??????

The Frank J. Selke Trophy

As defensively reliable forwards go these are the best in my opinion.

T. Seguin +33, P. Bergeron +27, M. Hossa +21, T. Bertuzzi +22, J. Franzen +21. The Bruins could have this locked up as there are a few more on the +/- leaderboard. Going solely on the numbers this is Seguins to lose I'm just not sure of the calibre of players he goes up against on a nightly basis. I'm going with M. Hossa for this one. He plays on a team that is among the leaders in goals aloud and is still +21.

The Lady Byng Trophy

Again there are a half dozen players I see as having a serious shot at winning this award. They are as follows....

J. Eberle(54pts,8pim), P. Datsyuk(54pts,14pim), P. Kessel(57pts,12pim), J. Tavares(53pts,14pim), M. Hossa(53pts,16pim), P. Elias(51pts,16pim). Another mix of young and old and I say Eberle should be able to hold on for the win. Datsyuk can't win every year....can he?

The Calder Memorial Trophy

I think there are only 2 players in the running and even then I still see a clear cut winner based on age, pro experience, and team importance. R. Nugent-Hopkins (35pts-40gms) wins over A. Henrique (34pts-44gms) and the rest of the sophomores.

The Jack Adams Trophy

I give this one to K. Hitchcock. The job he has done with the Blues is amazing. They're challenging for the Central Division and Western Conference lead after looking like a non-playoff team before he took the reins.

The Bill Masterson Trophy

J. Lupul wins hands down! Coming back from back injury and a blood infection to be among the league leaders in points while putting up career best numbers. Best come back story of the year.

The Mark Messier Trophy

I put a bunch of Captains names in a hat......shuffle, shuffle, shake, shake....and the winner is.....N.Lidstrom. Couldn't have picked a better candidate if I tried.

So there you have it, my 2/3 point of the season award winners.

-WRITTEN BY PAQ TWINN-

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Hemsky gets "Kronwalled"

Midway through the 1st period in last nights Edmonton oilers / Detroit Redwings game Niklas Kronwall put Ales Hemsky into his sights and took Hemsky out with a devastating hit. Questions have arose in Edmonton whether this hit was clean or suspension worthy. It is worthy to note that no penalty was called on the play.



I will break this down the best that i can. Hemsky was coming off a corner with his head down. At the last second Hemsky looked up and to his surprise Kronwall's elbow was the first and only thing he saw. Hemsky was forced to leave the ice and moments later was lead to the dressing room for observation. Hemsky did return to the game.

I have reviewed this play many times and i can safely say that Kronwall came into the hit leading with his shoulder not his elbow. Kronwall does appear to leave his right foot for a millisecond but i feel safe in saying that was only a result of preparing for the hit, not for the intent of leaping into Hemsky. All in all i have to feel that this was a clean head. Hemsky needs to keep his head up when making a play, Kronwall needs to make that hit every time he has that chance.

I have said many times that the new rules in the NHL are bad for the players. With the rules how they are a player feels safe with his head down knowing nobody can touch him. The problem with this is when a player does get hit the hit is much worse that what it would have been if he had his head up.

To put it best Hemsky got "Kronwalled" and will learn from it.