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Ninety-two points and out of the playoffs? Yes, the Oilers were the poster boys for league imbalance, and just one round of playoff box-office receipts would have been a significant boon for the franchise. In some ways, Kevin Lowe had done a tremendous job of making the most of limited resources, but unless the Oilers' young talent raises its production to another level, the postseason will be dark in Edmonton again.
One-liner: Mike Comrie is living up to the hype, helping ease the sting of Doug Weight's departure. Comrie found a home centering Anson Carter and Ryan Smyth. The issues are whether the dynamic trio can be more productive this season -- the line needs to be -- and whether it gets enough help, especially if free-agent-to-be Todd Marchant is traded and the Oilers don't get immediate help in return. If Mike Grier has another eight-goal year, that's a major problem. But he has made a habit of alternating productive and unproductive seasons, so perhaps he's due. And center Jiri Dopita, who finally arrived in the NHL last season at age 32, will get a chance to be more important to the Oilers than he was to the Flyers as a rookie.
Belarus Blues: Tommy Salo played well in spurts after the Olympics, but his gaffe against Belarus in Salt Lake City caused the Swedish press and many of his countrymen to treat him as he had tratitorously turned over the keys of the nation to Norway or Finland. So much for the phlegmatic Swedes stereotype. Yes, the furor has died down, but after an offseason of checking in with his roots, it's reasonable to wonder if the whole experience will affect the goaltender's long-term confidence.
Brewing: Edmonton fans no longer can blame Tom Poti for everything bad that has happened to the Oilers since the Gretzky trade, so the defensive focus becomes even more intense on Canadian Olympian Eric Brewer and Janne Niinimaa. Niinimaa was plus-13 last season, roughly matching the number of vowels in his name. Brewer regressed a bit after being anointed the star in waiting, but he's still capable of a bedrock season.
Preseason schedule
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DATE
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OPPONENT
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TIME (ET)
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Thu., Sept. 19
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vs. Vancouver at Winnipeg, Manitoba (Winnipeg Arena)
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8:30 p.m.
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Fri., Sept. 20
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Vancouver
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9 p.m.
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Sun., Sept. 22
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Minnesota
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8 p.m.
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Tue., Sept. 24
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at Vancouver
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10 p.m.
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Sun., Sept. 29
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at Calgary
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9 p.m.
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Mon., Sept. 30
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Calgary
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9 p.m.
|
|
Thu., Oct. 3
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at Minnesota
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8 p.m.
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|
Fri., Oct. 4
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Calgary
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9 p.m.
|
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Sat., Oct. 5
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at Calgary
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9 p.m.
|
| |
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