Edmonton Oilers need not panic
The Edmonton Oilers season is going down the tube, as the club is once again struggling at both ends of the ice.
The Oilers are sitting at the bottom of the incredibly talented Western Conference.
Edmonton is still a long way from becoming a perennial contender in the Western Conference, standing light years away from the Detroit Red Wings. But, if they stay the course, that is where they could be headed.
Certainly, the 2010-11 season is another disappointment for Oilers fans, as it is hard to get excited about a team when they have won only five games in 20 attempts.
In addition, the squad is 23rd in goals per game and a holds a League worst in goals against per game, allowing an average of nearly four goals a contest. Moreover, they boast the League's fifth worst power play and the worst penalty kill, operating
at an abysmal 68 per cent.
To put that in perspective, the Boston Bruins have the National Hockey League’s best penalty kill, which operates at 91 per cent. Edmonton allows the most shots on goal per game and gets the second least shots per game. All these stats are a recipe for disaster,
describing Edmonton’s 2010-11 campaign thus far.
However, the Oilers brass have to keep things in perspective. The club is extremely young and will only improve the more they play. The squad has some tremendous young talent up front with first overall pick Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi and Jordon Eberle.
Not to mention the players with plenty of potential, such as Andrew Cogliano and Gilbert Brule. Meanwhile on defence, the Oilers seem to have found a select group they can move forward with. Ryan Whitney has been excellent this year, while Kurtis Foster continues
to show promise and Ladislav Smid develops with each season.
Edmonton has drafted a skilled core group of player and now needs to wait as they develop. Unfortunately for the Oilers, all these players are different and will take different paths to progress. Therefore, Edmonton and their fan base needs to be patient
with all the prospects.
The fact that Hall only has four goals and nine points in 20 games cannot be seen as a failure, one only needs to look as far as Steven Stamkos, who was criticised for his lack of production in his first year and now may be the best sniper in the NHL.
The only place Edmonton may need to be concerned is goaltending. The club has Nikolai Khabibulin locked up for another three seasons, but the Russian backstop has been a shade of his former self with atrocious numbers this season.
Moreover, neither Devan Dubnyk nor Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers looks as though they are legitimate starting goalies. In addition, the club does not have a legitimate goaltending prospect in their system.
To solve this, the Oilers could draft an 18-year-old in the 2011 draft or they could trade one of their top players for a number of prospects, which would include a net-minder further along in his development. Edmonton could look at moving forward Dustin
Penner, who is signed for two more years, making him a valuable trade option. Penner could fetch a number of skilled youngsters at the deadline. A possible trade partner could be the Nashville Predators, who are stacked with goaltending prospects, such as
Chet Pickard and Anders Lindback, and are always in need of scoring wingers.
In the end, the moves Edmonton needs to make are minimal. The organization and its fans simply need to be patient with their young stars and endure a couple more losing seasons.
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