Lesnar, Lashley, and Why Lashley isn't in the UFC.

Well, here we go again with another UFC entry. I write about the UFC partially because I am a big fanboy and partially because there is very little Oiler analysis that I can be bothered to write about this time. So sorry to my fellow Oiler fans!

Now on to the UFC:

For the last month, one of the of the biggest topics my friends and I have been discussing why Bobby Lashley (pictured on the left with Bob Sapp) is not a member of the UFC... yet.

Now, I don't have any inside information, so I don't really know why Lashley isn't part of the UFC, but I believe I have a very good educated guess.

First of all we have to look at the different circumstances that surrounded each fighter when they tried to make their way onto the UFC Heavyweight roster.

Brock Lesnar:

While Brock only joined MMA about a year and a half ago, the UFC HW division was in a bad way. At this time you had Randy Couture in a contract dispute with the UFC, a serious lack of up and coming HW "prospects". You had a top contender in Tim Sylvia about to leave the promotion (his last UFC fight was the same night Lesnar debuted), there was also the question mark in Frank Mir and whether or not he would be able to regain form, and the UFC untested Minotauro Nog. I guess you could say in short that the HW division was incredibly unstable, which facilitated Lesnar's move to the UFC, after only one win against a no name from a lesser promotion.

I think there is also a substantive argument that can be made saying Brock got signed to the UFC because he is a massive PPV draw. He would make a tonne of money for the UFC in a time where the UFC had a lot of competition from other promotions (Strikeforce, Elite XC, Affliction, M-1 Global...).

As for Bobby Lashley you have the complete opposite. The UFC now has a stable champ, up-and-comers in Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, what looks to be an able Frank Mir, and guys like Cro-Cop, Couture, Kongo, Hardonk and Nog to keep the division full of talent. You also have The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights filming, and that only means there will be one or two more guys that will help stock the HW Division. The UFC also has less competition from other promotions, big draws in Forrest Griffin and Brock Lesnar. It is pretty evident that everything is working against Lashley's bid to get in.

Now lets not make a mistake here and say Lashley wont make the UFC, I think it's only a matter of time before he does (like one more convincing win against a tough opponent). That being said, I would be willing to bet that all these factors are conspiring to keep Lashley out of the UFC, for the moment.

GSP, The Oilers, and UFC 100: Disapointment

This is Georges St-Pierre or GSP, and he is the UFC Welterweight Champion of the World. He is also quite possibly the best fighter currently in the UFC, he also happens to be an Oiler fan.

Well, that's where I am going to leave both GSP (for the moment) and the Oilers. I just want to talk about what I have (affectionately) called UFC 100: Disappointment.

To be honest and fair, I haven't watched the undercard bouts, and I liked 3/4 of the maincard fights, but the "Main" Event Lesnar v. Mir 2 was a MASSIVE let-down.

I want to talk about the first 3 fights on the card first:

Yoshihiro Akiyama v. Alan Belcher

I don't really have much to say about this fight. Belcher caught Akiyama with a really brutal groin kick, so kudos to Akiyama for still dominating the fight. I also don't understand how this was a split decision and not unanimous in favour of Akiyama, I felt he really dominated the fight.

Michael Bisping v. Dan Henderson

There was a lot of bad blood going into this fight for Dan Henderson. Bisping had been doing a good job of bad mouthing and getting press for the match, at the expense of Henderson and the Americans (who lost TUF 9). I have to admit to being a Bisping fan, and I actually was liking the way the fight was going for him. With the exception of a poor start (and a VERY good one for Henderson) I felt Bisping did a good job of controlling the fight. However, Bisping made one small mistake andwalked right into Henderson's wheel house, and took a right hook to the side of the head so hard he was out before he hit the mat. The only thing I have that's bad to say about this fight is the TOTALLY unnecessary "Falcon Punch" Henderson delivered to Bisping after he had obviously KO'd him. Now in the heat of the fight, I can understand following a guy to the ground, but that was overkill, and it isn't good for the UFC's image. I wasn't a fan of the UFC for a long time, mostly because I thought it was too brutal, but after watching a lot of MMA (and becoming obsessed with it) I can understand following a fighter to the ground, I mean you have to make sure you finish the fight, right? But for the (new) fans watching the UFC for the first time, that punch only served to validate the "Human Cock-Fighting" argument. I definitely place some blame on the Ref for not stopping Henderson from delivering his flying elbow.

Georges St-Pierre (GSP) v. Thiago Alves

To me, maybe because I am such a huge GSP fan, any fight with GSP in it always has the making of a great fight, and this one didn't let me down. GSP totally dominated Alves (who never had a chance anyways) and won it by decision. The fact that GSP pulled his groin in the third round and still beat the hell out of Alves only puts the exclamation mark on the match. However, probably most importantly GSP acted like the fighter the UFC needs more of, humble, appreciative, and gentle. While this kind of fighter will not bring in the money, like say a guy such as Brock Lesnar, GSP is the image the UFC wants and needs.

Frank Mir v. Brock Lesnar 2

This was the one fight that I didn't like, and it was truly god awful. If there is any fighter I like more than GSP it's Frank Mir, however, while I was upset that Mir didn't win, it didn't factor that much in this decision. This was the most hyped fight I have ever seen, Mir v. Lesnar 2 posters were every where. You couldn't watch/listen/read an article on MMA that didn't mention it. The fight started off ok, there was a little awkward stand up, and it seemed to confuse Mir, then most of the rest of the fight was spent with Lesnar laying on Mir punching him in the face. To Mir's credit he almost dropped Lesnar with a vicious knee in the second round but to no avail, the first round repeated itself. Now this was a disappointing fight for a hardcore fan, I can only imagine how disappointed first time viewers might have been. Mir v. Lesnar was supposed to carry the UFC into the future with a new wave of fandom, and I doubt that's what will happen now. On top of the boring/brutal fight, all the crap Lesnar said at the end of the fight like "who knows, maybe I'll get on top of the wife too" and insulting the sponsors. This fight was just plain horrible for the UFC. Instead maybe the UFC should focus on the sportsmanship displayed by Mir throughout this whole thing. He promoted the fight without being arrogant or abrasive, he offered to touch gloves before the fight, he was gracious in defeat, and stood there while Lesnar put on his show. Last night Mir and GSP were the ultimate display of what a UFC fighter should be.

I guess all I can say in conclusion is I can't wait for Mir v. Lesnar 3 (which is probably inevitable) and hope Mir (or anyone else, but mostly I hope Mir) can give Lesnar a good ole piece of Humble Pie.

Magnum PS

This is Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, here-by known as MPS or Magnum PS, was the 10th overall choice in the 2009 entry draft. I wanted to learn more about him, and I figured you guys might want to as well. According to his Wiki page MPS made his Elitserien debut on September 24 at age sixteen, five months, and twelve days, becoming the fourth youngest player in Elitserien's history. Which if you ask me is impressive, and puts him among some elite company.

While MPS' totals in the SEL have not been the most impressive (nor are his Desjardins conversions) but looking at his numbers in international tournaments, and playing against kids his own age MPS looks incredible, scoring at around a PPG pace.

I like MPS' flash and size, but for me the jury is still out on whether or not he will be a great player. I would like to see MPS play one season in the SEL, so we can gauge his performance against men, then play in the CHL for a year. That seems like a better option then 2 years in the CHL and one in the AHL if you ask me....

The Heatley Saga

A long time ago, in a land far, far away.... Enough of the Star Wars references I want to give my take on the Dany Heatley crisis. My take is pretty simple: I want Dany Heatley. I like Cogliano, Smid, and sometimes it seems like I am the only Penner fan out there (then I go read Willis) but these guys can't bring to the table what a player the calibre of Heatley can. It basically works that the Triple H line will go out, maybe player checkers, maybe gets the PvP assignment, and Heatley works his magic, which is basically outscoring any level of toughs he's put out on the ice against. Cogs, Smid can't/don't outscore opponents, and while Penner has shown some ability to be able to out produce opposition at 5v5 in a PvP role he'll never do it at a Heatley rate. That being said, I would not exactly be upset if the deal doesn't go down. Keeping the guys involved in the trade means the Oilers keep some depth. As an added bonus for me, I feel that there is a lot of untapped potential in a guy like Penner that we didn't seen under MacT. Now I don't have insiders and all my information is 3rd hand, so I don't want to comment on any of the more shady sides of Dany's character. It's pretty simple for me: we need a guy that can pot goals, and wont waste Hemmer's contract.

Horcoff and his Contract

Ah, here we go again, it is about time someone do a full breakdown of Shawn Horcoff and his new contract, and I shall try my best.

Now, I am not as good at operating stats as Jonathon Willis over at Oilersnation and Coppernblue, but I can still make a convincing argument. But let's digress and get into a little bit of back story. In the summer of 08 Shawn Horcoff signed a 5.5 mil, front loaded, 6 year contract extension due to pay him 7 mil in the upcoming season. Before given the extension Horcoff was on pace for a near PPG season.

Fast forward one year, and Horcoff stunk up the ice worse than a skunk. So the debate becomes, can Horcoff live up to his contract? While, if you look at last year, the answer has to be no, however, Horcoff has a history of bouncing back after bad seasons (at least post-lockout). So now the argument becomes a lot more intriguing.

Now prior to the lockout Horc was an established 40-50 2nd line guy, and he was consistent in that role, so it would seem that this is the position he is suited for (especially if Horcoff's up and down nature is any indicator of the future). However, I don't have any solid numbers to back up any of my assumptions (more on this later). It is reasonable to assume that Horcoff may have had bad Qualteam, with good Qualcomp, and that could help explain his point totals.

But, let's focus on the last 3 seasons, here are Horcoff's raw totals:

GP G A P

2006-07 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 16 35 51

2007-08 Edmonton Oilers NHL 53 21 29 50

2008-09 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 17 36 53

Let's also take a look at the Qualcomp, QualTeam, and TOI numbers:

QualComp QualTeam TOI SH TOI PP TOI/G +/-per 60

06-07 - 0.057(10) 0.24(2) 3:25(2) 3:32(4) 20:49 (1) -1.26(6 worst)

07-08 - 0.02(4) 0.05(4) 2:47(4) 4:10(1) 22:13(1) 0.26

08-09 - 0.04 (1) 0.18(2) 3:17(1) 3:44(2) 21:21(1) 0.5

So here are my observations:

-In 06 Horcoff played weak opposition with strong teammates and was outscored massively. To me this would seem like Horcoff isn't quite the defensive specialist we all thought he was (which was something I suspected). However in 08 an 09 Horcoff improved his defense and was slightly positive in both cases with equal opposition and teammates. However, I wonder if this is because of Dustin Penner (because Penner has great numbers in all these areas, in similar situtations as well).

-I think the "Horcoff needs less icetime, specifically on the pk, to be able to score points so he can live up to his contract" argument is bogus. Why? Because only played 8 seconds less per game this year than his ppg season the year prior, and that's only about 10:30 seconds more per game, so his minutes remain virtually constant. A possible reason is for his drop in point production is he flux in PP time (+50 seconds and -40 seconds respectively, and in 07 08 he logged 20 seconds more than Hemmer on average), and that's about a whole games difference. Take into account Horcoff's PGFON/60 mins and he would have only 5 extra points.

In conclusion there is no ascertainable reason as to why Horcoff doesn't score, except the fact that he's inconsistent on the offensive side of things, and that is why there is no reasonable way to assume that Horcoff can live up to his contract.

Drafting @ #10

This is Ryan Ellis. Ryan opened the eyes of many fans, and scouts, at the 2008-2009 World Junior Hockey Championships with a spectacular all around performance. Ellis was originally brought on to the team as the 7th defenseman, there only to play a powerplay specific role. However, much to every ones surprise he flourished in a defensive role as well.

Well I count myself among Ryan Ellis' biggest fans, it is important to realize that to expect Ellis to step into the roster this very year and be able to contribute is very unrealistic.

I am also a big believer in drafting the best player available at your selection, and not drafting for need (that's what UFAs and trades are for) and for me, if MPS or Schenn or someone of their calibre doesn't drop to the 10th position, then Ryan Ellis is the best available player in the draft.

Now whether or not Edmonton chooses to keep Ellis (who is much better than Chorney or Petry) or use him as trade bait latter on is up to them but this kid has the chance to be a top defenseman in the NHL (think Brian Rafalski).

Here's a link to Ellis' numbers for the last 2 seasons in the OHL

http://www.mynhldraft.com/2009/NHL-Draft-Profiles/Ryan-Ellis

his +/- numbers also experienced a major improvement this year going from 30 in 08 to 52 in 09. While some of those totals may be due to the fact that Ellis increased his point totals, I think it definitely shows that Ellis' biggest weakness, his defensive game, is showing improvement. It is important to remember that he was facing higher competition, most likely with better linemates as well, this year.

Now, I am no statistical expert, and I couldn't find a way to calculate this (so this is done as my best estimate of what I read at behindthenet), but if Ellis were to play into the NHL his Desjardin's numbers would be somewhere around 30-40 points in around 70-75 games, with close to an even +/-. Not bad for a smallish 19 year old defenseman.

The Leadership Question

It seems to me that this is one question that was raised throughout the season by many of the fans, that I think is the biggest issue facing the Oilers that can't be resolved with a simple trade, or player signing. The problems with the current leadership group need to be evaluated before the Oilers can make any decisions about what to do with their current core. Players such as Ethan Moreau, Steve Staios, and Shawn Horcoff have carved themselves out a niche as the leaders amoung men in the Oilers locker room. Perhaps unfortunately for the team (or maybe just for me) I have serious doubts as to if Moreau and Co have the ability to be the best possible leaders for the Oilers. Now to be perfectly fair, I don't know the players, I don't talk to them, and I don't spend time in the dressing room, and to make it even harder for me to prove a point, there are no stats that can quantify leadership, so everything I have to say is pure speculation. As I spent the long, cold winter nights on my basement futon watching various Oiler games it just seemed to me that in the later parts of games, and in the crunch at the end of the season Moreau and Co weren't up to the task. To start with Captain Oiler himself Moreau spent much of the most important moments in each game busy fiddling his thumbs in the penalty box. While these penalties were annoying (and the argument could be made that they cost us games) the penalties become more understandable (note not bearable) if you consider what Moreau can bring to the on-ice leadership department, which is... well not a lot. Moreau lacks a lot of things that bring offense to a team, so in these situations he brings what he is good at: grinding. Grinding which inevitably leads to penalties. I wouldn't necessarily remove Moreau from the leadership group, but he isn't C material. As for Staios, well he struggled all year long, his blocked shots were down (by around .4/game), his hits were down (-14), and really other than these things what does Steve Staios bring you on the ice? Shawn Horcoff is a little bit more of a mystery. I think he can bring the scoring touch on the ice, to a certain degree, so I am more inclined to attribute this to an off year. Horc is someone I wouldn't take off the leadership group but I would be giving him a short leash. So what do you do about the leadership group? I would suggest giving the C to a guy like Souray, and perhaps give Staios' A (partially because he shouldn't have it, and partially because I don't think he's here at the start of the season) to a kid. What are your thoughts?

Goaltending and the Oilers

After much thought and consideration over what an appropriate title might be for this post segment, like Fantasy GMing, or Armchair GM (unfortunately these have been taken by others such as the immortal Robin Brownlee) I have decided to title this post "Goal tending and the Oilers".

Now that I have explained my lack of creativity, I would like to discuss one of Edmonton's big question marks for the upcoming campaign: Goal tending. I guess an appropriate place to start would be why I don't like the options that seem to be the most easily accessible to the Oilers.

Dwayne Roloson (Or Rolofson if you're Marc Crawford):

Before we go anywhere with this discussion I should reveal a secret: I am not a fan of Roli. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the stuff he has done here, but we should all be honest with ourselves here, Roli is a rapidly aging, average-at-best goaltender in the NHL. I could go into a statistical breakdown of Roli's career, or I could sum it up in one word: INCONSISTENCY. I am sure all you Oiler fans remember the Roli of 07-08.

Roli does have some upsides though, he's a "battler" and a "warrior", which is the right kind of attitude for a leader to demonstrate to his team (assuming Roli is a leader in the Oilers dressing room). However, there are also reports that while he's playing Roli's a great teammate, but when he's not playing he can be little bit of a distraction. This is a big reason I don't want to see Roli back here, because next season JDD has got to get substantial action in net.

Another big reason I don't want Roli back is because, reportedly, he is looking for a 2 year contract; and for a 40 year old, inconsistent, journeyman goalie, I am very doubtful that there is any way that deal could work out for the Oilers (unless of course, Roli some how maintains this seasons form).

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (JDD):

I don't know where to start with JDD. I guess you could say I am also not a fan of JDD's, however, I think he has some potential as a capable NHL goalie. For next year I don't see how you can have JDD as any more than a 15-20 game back-up, he was totally unimpressive this year (minus his game against NJD). JDD also has had lack luster career numbers, here's his best season as a pro (excluding the ECHL):

07-08 Springfield Flacons GP GAA Sv% W L OTL

57 2.90 .912 23 26 5

Now to be perfectly honest, these numbers are a little deflated because the Falcons are a mess. But this was also JDD's 4th year as a pro (JDD's best junior year was by far his 3rd year by the way). Just looking at the available trends in JDD's numbers and you get the vibe that he is a late bloomer, and that's fine, but this team should be in a more "win-now-mode".

So what other options lay out there? Well there is a myriad of choices, it would seem like guys such as J.S. Guigere can be snatched from Anaheim, or Martin Biron via UFA, however, I want to cover only one option in this blog (I might discuss guys like Biron or Giggy at a different time): Josh Harding.

Harding is the RFA backup in Minny, and consensus around the league is that he is ready to be an NHL starter. Harding has lots of things going for him: his numbers are spectacular (he did play in Minny... but WOW), he's young (one year younger than JDD, one older than DD), and he has decent experience at the NHL level.

I see Harding as a risk/MASSIVE REWARD situation. Give him a 1-2 year deal. If it doesn't work out then there's little harm done, if it does Harding will be the first bonafide number 1 the Oilers have had since Tommy Salo.

This shit just pisses me off

I think the problem is we have a coach who doesn't know where to play his players and how. It is the end of the season almost, and all year long he has been throwing players in the blender and he was just quoted as saying we should be expecting to see some mixups here in the line up again. This time of year, all other NHL teams are fine tuning their line ups, getting ready for the playoffs, and coaches giving individual practices to the respected lines so they know what their role is. Our coach is still trying to figure out who to play where and with who. He has been coaching for 9 years- he should be BETTER than this by now. He is still the same coach as when he started. No improvement whatsoever. His 10 year old coaching theories don't work in today's NHL. The game has changed- he hasn't. Every coach deals with lazy players, injuries, etc- so don't use that as an excuse for MacTavish either. When you put a cole on the wrong wing, play penner on the 4th line as a grinder and reddox on the first line, It pisses me off. Cole exploded for points in Carolina. It seems players come here and get into this funk or lose their mojo. Is MacTavish the Mojo drainer? I don't know. But instead of getting rid of all our players year after year, why not trying to build a team around someone else other than MacTavish, Staios, Moreau and Horcoff? How does anyone except our hockey players to play when they don't even know what they are supposed to be doing? Nilsson was quoted in an interview, when he came back, saying that MacTavish didn't explain to him what his role was on the team. I mean, when you have Liam Reddox on the top line- does ANYONE know what their role is? lol And Roloson better get a game off here soon. 20+straight starts for a 39 year old, not only is he fatigued but when you are playing tired and worn out you are more open to injury by making a wrong play at the wrong time due to fatigue. I think all of our veterans are classy guys, but there comes a day when if your number one guys aren't producing on a consistent basis year after year, then you may need to try to shake things up. We have to stop rewarding players for "dedication" here and reward players who can produce on paper. And if our coach doesn't get us anywhere year after year, maybe it would be a good idea to give someone else a chance. Fans are getting sick and tired of this crap already in Edmonton.

Craig MacTavish, Our coach.

kotalik horc hemmer nilsson gags poopoo head o'sullivan cogs piss reddox brodz storts so.. our genius of a coach puts our newest acquisition, supposedly brought here to help our offense.. on the 3rd line after playing only 2 games with us. And he puts nilsson back in on second. AND WE WONDER WHY WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE. If you aren't going to bench all the other guys, quit benching Penner. It's obvious that he is lazy but who hasn't been this season? You are wrecking the guy's already fragile confidence and the more you call him out and the more you bench him the more you are going to wreck the guy until you get to the point where he won't even want to play for you... oh too late. Look at Gagner- What did MacT do with him? Gotta let them play it out right. Lots of the guys on the team play just as lazy as penner but because MacT has called him out, we the fans, are now also on his back, when realistically we should be on everyone's back equally. This is more Mactavish's fault then Penners fault. The whole damn team is underachieving not just one guy. Instead of benching and calling him out all season and watching this team under perform night after night, MacTavish should have resigned from coaching for just ONE month this season and allow kevin Lowe to take over and see if ANY difference was made. He didn't need to get fired but we could have saw if it would have made a difference. If the whole team was playing awesome and it was only penner that was lazy i may be MORE critical of him. But i am only NOW starting to realize that perhaps Penner's problems are not because he is "lazy" or "fat", but it's because of a whole plethora of issues. Also trying to play up to a skill level you probably dont have is stressful enough, but who in their right mind would turn down a 4.5 million dollar multi year contract when u were making 450 000 the year before? Take this: You are on the Oilers. You haven't been having the best season. But you look around your locker room and realize that neither have all the other guys. For some reason, YOU get called out to the media, to a whole city, and your coach says you are lazy and out of shape. WOW, that hurt. I have a bit of hatred for this guy now, but im a classy guy so im just gonna agree so i dont start something. I keep watching my teamates play like shit.. why isnt the coach going after them? oh well.. continue to play. Second time around, he benches me and calls me out again. WTF. why me!? what about everyone else. This is a team effort, im not the only one on the team. Benches me again. Now i feel like i dont even belong here to play hockey. I feel the coach doesnt like me and its embarrassing for me to talk to the other players cause i feel like less of a man and a bad hockey player because i keep getting called out and no one else is. Why show up for optional practice? Who gives a shit- I dont like playing for the guy anyways and i have NO respect for my coach. THAT is why penner didnt show up for optional. At first i was pissed off at penner for now showing up, but now, i cant blame the guy. Look who is coach is and look how is coach has treated him this season compared to other equally shitty players. Look at our stats on PP, PK, F/O, etc- they suck and guess what boys and girls? Penner didnt make up those stats himself. And to have a coach that gives optional after a HORRIFIC collective team play that night before is absolutely ridiculous. NO ACCOUNTABILITY. We have a coach in the stretch drive who has a team play with NO heart, NO passion, NO effort against the sens and he has a fucking optional the next day!? WHAT does that say to the team. it says THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES.. UNLESS YOUR NAME IS DUSTIN PENNER. We NEED Penner if we are going to make it to the playoffs no matter how bad his season has been, but the way MacT treats him, he is just not going to want to play at all. It's probably also making it awkward for other team members having to be around this situation and talk to Penner about it, etc. Way to help the guy out MacTavish. Just like you did with Garon and just like you did with Schremp. MacTavish is a horrible person because what he has cleverly done, is turn everyone on Penner when really, we should be focusing on the team as a whole, because surely there are other players (just look at the stats even last 5 games on oilers.com) who have been playing just the same as penner. cole goes back to the canes and has been lighting it up. coincidence?

Rindog's Rant #3

Let’s take a look at the systems that MacT employs with the Oilers. First let’s look at the defensive zone focus. It is no secret that MacTavish stresses that his wingers collapse down very low in the defensive zone. Most times you will see both wingers well below the hashmarks. If we were to look at any positives that this system might bring – we could stretch it and say that it does clog up any short cross slot passes for one-time attempts by the opposition. However, if you watch any of the Oilers games you will clearly see the ease in which the opposition can get a little cycle going and then pass the puck to their wide open defensemen for an attempted shot (scoring chance). Not only does this system allow for a ton of shots against, it allows the opposition Dmen to hold the blueline more often (because the forwards are collapsed so low - they aren't a threat to get pucks fired around the boards). More easy opposition pinches mean more time spend without the puck; which in turn means more chances against. If you look at any other successful team you will notice that the wingers make a conscious effort to stay up higher on the opposition defensemen and only collapse when the puck makes its way to the front of the net. By staying up higher, the defending team forces the opposition to try and create a scoring chance down low in a crowded area (very hard to do). It also forces the opposition Dmen to back out of the zone earlier (for fear of getting beat out of the zone by the closer wingers). What does all of this actually mean in terms of winning and losing? I am going to use shots attempted (which includes shots, blocked shots & shots that miss the net) as an interesting stat. In the last 24 games the Oilers have been out shot (attempts) by a margin of 1406-1164. That means that the opposition has attempted 242 more shots over that span (or an average of 10 shots [chances] per game more by the opposition). Why would a coach purposefully implement a system that is allowing the opposition to continually create more scoring chances? Aren’t scoring chances what determines the outcome of a game?Does MacTavish not see that his defensive system is not working? The Oilers are 25th in the league in shots against. OFFENSIVE SYSTEM: The system that MacT uses in order to try and generate scoring chances is almost non-existent. He tries to employ a dump and chase approach, but does not allow his wingers to fully execute the “chase” part of that system. As an outsider, it seems obvious that our forwards are taught to make sure they do not get caught too deep in the opposition end. For the many seasons that I have watched MacT coach the Oilers – it has looked more like a dump and sit back mentality. There is a myth that circulates around the NHL that the Olers are a fast team??? True – we have fast players, but we are anything but a fast team. A fast team uses it’s speed to drive the puck wide and support the puck carrier. A fast team does not flip the puck in when they are at the blue line (in hopes of getting it back). Sure there are going to be times where the puck has to get deep. But more often than not – the puck is in our possession and the forwards dump it in with no real plan? If you watch teams like Detroit, SJ, Buffalo or Chicago, they almost always have one of the defensemen joining the rush to push the opposition back and create space for entry into the offensive zone. A perfect example of this was demonstrated by our very own Oilers at the 11:29 mark of the first period against the Leafs on March 7. Cogliano gained the zone with speed and another forward pushed the Dman back while Grebeshkov charged into the offensive zone. Cogliano stopped up and hit Grebeshkov with a nice pass that ended up being bobbled (would have been a great chance otherwise). While I commend the Oilers on this attempted zone entry, it needs to happen more than once every couple of games to be considered a “system”. When Chicago came into our rink and beat us on February 3rd, I counted more than 20 times in which a similar system was used by the Blackhawks. It’s no secret that they out chanced us 69-46 on that night. We are currently 28th in the league in shots for. When you couple that with the previosly mentioned stats regarding shots against (25th) – is it any wonder why we never seem to dictate a game? The systems that MacT uses are totally at the mercy of what the other team does that night. If the other team struggles to finish (or our goalie is hot) – we have a good chance to win. If the other team has any kind of finish or if our goalie isn’t at the top of his game – we rarely have a chance to win. How many times this year have you sat back after a game and said to yourself, “Boy, we sure deserved a better fate?” There is only one team in the entire NHL (Wild) that has fewer shots on goal than the Oilers have. When you consider the offensive minded defenseman that we have – you have to scratch your head??To go even further – there is only one team that is currently in a playoff spot that has allowed more shots on net than we have. However, the Panthers are 17th in the league in shots for. The Panthers atleast seem to be willing to give up scoring chances in order to try and create some of their own. Our coach doesn’t have a system that allows our players to take risks to get chances, yet we give up the 2nd most shots in the league?? There have only been 3 games in the last 24 (TB, NSH, PHO) that we have out chanced the oppostion. Unless our players can turn into consistent 20% shooters - we are always going to be battling from behind with the systems the coach uses. Can someone please remind me why Craig MacTavish is such a good NHL coach???

GDITL 65 Leafs v Oilers

It's game day in the Legion! Tonight's opponent for the Edmonton Oilers are the infamous Toronto Maple Leafs. Here are some things you should know about the two teams tonight: Edmonton's leading scorer (Ales Hemsky) has one more point (52) than Toronto's leading scorer (Jason Blake) who has 51. Good news for those of you who are concerned over our special teams Edmonton has the 11th ranked road powerplay in the league operating at 19.6%. Even better is that Toronto has the worst home penalty kill in the league at 72.1%. However, that's where the good news ends, because Edmonton has the 28th ranked road penalty kill (at least Toronto doesn't have a good pp). Toronto is without a regulation loss in 8 straight games (5-0-3) and Edmonton has lost 4 straight road games. The Leafs have also won 3 straight (including 5-3 earlier in the year) against Edmonton and 5 of the last 6. So this game is going to be far from a lock. I can't find any information on the line up tonight for Edmonton so its reasonable to assume that it will be the same as it was against Ottawa. Edmonton's leading point getter against Toronto is Ales Kotalik who has 22 points in 32 games followed by Sheldon Souray who has 13 in 33. Hopefully our boys get something going tonight. Enjoy the game! PS: Ethan Moreau gave an interview to Jason Gregor yesterday, and he said he would be able to skate with the team next week. He will also be required to wear a visor for the remainder of the year.

Oilers boost offense, ready for the push

March 4th, the official deadline for any transactions in the NHL, started with a deal that saw Ottawa and Columbus dealt away their respective underachievers. After that, it wasnt that exciting at all. Calgary was the only team that made a significant move in acquiring center Olli Jokinen (who i wanted the Oilers to get), and defenseman Jordan Leopold. The trades made Calgary just that much better in my humble opinion. Then it was the Anaheim Ducks, who sold 2 of their top 3 shutdown forwards to San Jose (Travis Moen) and Chicago (Sami Pahlsson). Perhaps the Phoenix Coyotes was the most busy team on the deadline day, making a number of trades that most people agreed to be great moves by Maloney. It was obvious that the Oilers were one of the least involved teams out there, and with the expectations from the fans (mostly me) going in as buyers, they certainly didnt entertain anyone. Really? Think again. The last time the Oilers made a deadline deal was when the city saw one of their most beloved athletes Ryan Smyth (Smytty) got dealt to the New York Islanders at the 11th hour. This time, it certainly wasnt a worse timing. The Team 1260 first broke out the news that the Oilers have made a deal. A lateral deal, according to hockey analyst Robin Brownlee. He also hypothesized the fact that Erik Cole would be involved in a deal to send him back to Carolina for center Tuomo Ruutu. Well, Robin had a part of that right. TSN later reported that the Hurricanes had acquired forward Patrick O'sullivan from the LA Kings, and seconds after, the Hurricanes dealt O'sullivan to the Oilers along with a 2nd rounder in exchange for long-time Cane Erik Cole, who just became an Oiler July 1st last summer in a deal that sent Joni Pitkanen to Carolina. Cole, who struggled all season with the Oilers, was speculated to be a trade bait on deadline day. Cole will be rejoining his old teammates, including Eric Staal, who had a lot of success with Cole a few years ago. As for O'sullivan, who himself is a young forward at the age of 24, will be joining a young team that ideally would be an easy transition for him. O'Sullivan was fifth on the Kings with 37 points, and was fourth among the club's forwards in ice time per game at 19:25 per game. In 188 NHL games, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound native of Winston, NC, has 41 goals and 109 points. He is a player who likes to shoot, and shoot from anywhere he can. He has a great amount of skills, and a pretty quick player as well. Moreover, O'sullivan is also a very reliable penalty killer according to LA Kings forward Jarret Stoll, who was a PK partner of O'sullivan's this season. It is still a mystery as to why Dean Lombardy was willing to part ways with this talented forward. O'sullivan was supposed to be in the future plans of the Kings along with rising star Anze Kopitar, hard hitter Dustin Brown, Russian sniper Alexander Frolov, and high potential defenseman Drew Doughty. By no means O'sullivan is not in that category, but it is also a great opportunity for him to join an Oilers squad that also has a few young guns who will be very good in the future. The details of this trade: - Hurricanes acquire F Patrick O'sullivan and LA 2nd round pick from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for F Justin Williams. - Oilers acquire F Patrick O'sullivan and CAR 2nd round pick from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Erik Cole and EDM 5th round pick. Are the Oilers done? You would guess so if you were watching the deadline show for the last 6 hours. They were not finished. 30 minutes later, TSN reported that the Oilers had acquired forward Ales Kotalik from the Buffalo Sabres. Kotalik, 30, a native of the Czech Republic, is indeed a countryman of Oilers star forward Ales Hemsky. When asked about Hemsky, Kotalik replied, "We're friends for a long time," "We've always talked about the possibility about if I get the chance to play in Edmonton. He was the first guy who let me know that I got traded. I didn't hear about it from any officials from any team. I got a message from him, 'Welcome to the organization.' I didn't know if he was kidding. Then I got a call from (Sabres GM) Darcy Regier and the coaches and then it became official." Kotalik was a big part of Buffalo's playoff run in 2005-06 season in which saw the Sabres lost the the Hurricanes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, by recording 4 goals, 11 points, in 18 games played. Then the Sabres repeated again in the 06-07 season, in which Kotalik also contributed to the Sabres clutch offense. This season, Kotalik has 13 goals, 32 points, in 56 games played. With in those 13 goals, 8 of them were scored on the power play. He is a strong player down low and can cycle the puck fairly well. At 6'1'', 230ibs, it certainly wouldnt be easy for the opposing defensemen to move him. The 2nd Ales for this team isnt known for his passes like the 1st one. He is comparable to former Oiler Jarret Stoll, who played a big role at the point on the Oilers PP for many seasons. Kotalik also has a very heavy and accurate shot, and can be used as an interim replacement of Lubomir Visnovsky on the Oilers' mediocre power play. The details of this trade: - Oilers acquire F Ales Kotalik from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for CAR 2nd round pick. Ideally, the team's offense would see an improvement, especially in the power play department. By adding these two offensive forwards, and subtracting Erik Cole, the Oilers hope that it will be enough to push for the playoff run late in the season and hopefully make an impact in the post-season. Although it is still too early to judge on whether or not with the additions the Oilers are going to make an impact, these moves certainly improved the team for this season, and should be, again, "should be" able to get the mighty Oil back into the Stanley Cup playoffs that they missed for 2 straight seasons.

Alon's Random Ramblings

Holy Alliteration Batman! While I'd love to go off on a tangent completely unrelated to our precious Oilers and write my first post about the greatest super hero ever, Batman, I feel obliged to write about the Oilers. So how about them Oilers? They really are a strange beast aren't they? Can't win when they need to, and then come out and play hard one game too late. Story of their lives isn't it? However, this horse has been beat to death already so I am going to talk about something else entirely... Dan Tencer Nothing against Mr. Tencer, but sometimes in his defenses of MacT he says some very silly things. Such as something to the effect of coaches who verbalize their feelings, such as MacT, are just as effective as coaches who get angry on the bench. Let's get this straight, a coach who wants to tell me that I suck nicely, is just as an effective as a coach who kicks me in the ass and tells me to be better, or else... YA RIGHT! I don't know how many of you Legion readers out there have played sports at any level, but that is totally not true. In my years of minor sports a "verbalizing" coach (hey! verbalizing is a word!) is a fine and dandy thing to have when you are trying to pump yourself up before the game, but in the game? No, no, no! That's a different story! "Chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever" only works for so long my friends. When I am in the game, playing like Penner perpetually plays (alliteration points to me) I want my coach jumping up and down punching the glass, kicking garbage cans, and ripping the tounge out of Harvey the Hound's mouth! That's effective! Hell no am I going to get back on the ice and dog it around after that! (Pun points to me! This is turning into an English lesson isn't it?). I find it strange that more people haven't made this connection? Look at this year? What was our best game all year? I think the first San Jose game was easily our best game all year. Who did we play before San Jose again? Oh, thats right, Dallas! What happened that game? MacT got so mad that he was going to pull a Tie Domi and fight a fan! Coincidence? I think not! Case in point, rambling receded and finally score one for the A-lon! ps: Alon is like Allan only with the "o" instead of the "a", I just wanted to end with a rhyme.

Start with a Positive!!!!

What has been the single most positive thing about the Oilers this year?