Lets have some excitement!

Hands up if you are as fed up with the NHL's point system. Personally I am sick and tired of of some games being worth 2 pts and others, for no REAL good reason, are worth 3 pts. For as long as this assinine system has been in place, I have said "give regulation winners 3 pts to even the playing field". This is not the CORRECT thing to do.

The NHL did away with ties because teams weren't trying to win games, in the last 5-10 mins, they would hold on for OT and then just skate around for 5 minutes and collect a point for their efforts or lack there of. I agreed with this as the games were becoming sooo incredibly boring, no one wanted to lose that single point. The theroy behind this change was teams would try and win to gain an extra point. Ok, but is that a fair playing field for those teams that win almost all there games in regulation? Nope! You could award an reg. winner 3 pts but then there is another stat column to add to papers, websites etc. This will never happen because people, naturaly, don't like adding to their work load. I get that.

The best and most logical solution to this problem, its a problem when better teams miss playoffs due to teams LOSING in OT or the SO, is to get rid of the LOSER point. You lost, deal with it. You want the points, its simple, WIN. This would also insure that the fans will not get ripped off. Teams will actually TRY to win for the WHOLE game. I know thats an insane concept with most coaches but it how the game should be played.


There have been over 113 points handed out for losses in the East and over 105 points in the West. That is a substantial amount of points that are undeserved. The NHL is attempting to "sell" parity, and to an extent there is some parity but not to the level the NHL would have you believe. In most cases it is false hope for some teams. The truely elite teams will not be affected, but thats not the point. Its the cutline teams that benefit from this more accurate reprensentation. Teams that win should be rewarded....properly.

With this new point system there may even be trades on deadline day as there will be more seperation and a clearer picture of who is a "seller" and who is a "buyer". There will be less teams with false senses of hope. Hence there will be more players "available" come deadline day, which really has devolved ever since the current point system was put in place with the last CBA. The anticipation is still there but the excitement isn't.

It's time to get rid of the LOSER point. Maybe then teams could actually play an entertaining "play to win" style in stead of the mind numbing "play not to lose" style that runs rampent in our beloved game. Teams may actually be able to catch other teams ahead of them in the standings and create exciting playoff pushes instead of the hopeless feeling teams get when a rival picks up a point in a loss. Keep overtime, keep the shootout, lose the loser point and gain excitement and respectabilty.

What's With The Talk About Ales Hemsky?

I can't help but notice all the hubbub over Ales Hemsky lately. So much negativity about a player who was the best on the team for years. Now because of RNH, Hall and Eberle, Hemsky is old news?

The guy can still play. He still has that magic most players will never have or experience. Yet, we hate on him because he wants a bigger pay cheque? I don't get it.

Sure, it's pretty obvious he's moving on, but we can't forget what he gave us over the years. The beatings and poundings he took for the sake of scoring goals. The abuse from the top defencemen in the league night after night. Of course he'd get hurt once in a while. Every player goes through it. Hemsky was no exception.

But now that he's moving on, we forget that. We forget he was a fan favorite. We forget he cared about the Oilers and the fans themselves. We forget he was our star.

It will be a sad day when he moves on. I'll admit it. I'm going to miss him.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT-

"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

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!