Todd McLellan and Glen Gulutzan spent the last two seasons on opposite sides of the Battle of Alberta, but that didn’t stop them from picking up the telephone, having a chat and deciding they’d travel back to Saskatchewan, where they both have roots, together to see what they could do to help in the wake…
To understate, it’s been awhile since the Edmonton Oilers drafted and developed a goaltender who turned out to actually be worth the wait. That would be Devan Dubnyk, who was taken 14th overall in 2004, navigated the minefield that was Edmonton’s minor league maze, graduated to the Oilers’ crease on a bad team during the…
What I wanted going into Thursday’s media availability with Edmonton Oilers’ CEO Bob Nicholson was a clear indication of what the plan was moving forward in terms of personnel in the hockey operations department. I didn’t necessarily expect it, but I hoped for some details about who’d be staying and who’d be on the way…
The Edmonton Oilers never did figure out what to do with speedy winger Jason Chimera, so rather than take the time to see where he might find a fit, they traded him to the Phoenix Coyotes in December of 2004 for two draft picks that turned into a bunch of nothing – second-rounder Jeff Paukovich…
On Sunday night at Elgar Petersen Arena, with the collective anguish of a prairie town hanging in the air and people holding each other and sobbing, Humboldt Broncos’ president Kevin Garinger ended his gut-wrenching address to those assembled in the aftermath of an unthinkable tragedy by saying, “Today and for every day forward we are…
I’ve got to admit, I had no idea what I was in for as I drove to Earl’s restaurant on 170th Street and 100th Ave. in late February of 2008 for a lunch meeting with three guys I’d never met to talk about getting involved with a website that I’d never heard of. I had…
To borrow from Captain Obvious, if the Edmonton Oilers intend to rebound from what’s been an unquestionably disappointing season, they’re going to need better years from a lot of players in 2018-19. Right near the top of this season’s lengthy list of guys who didn’t get it done, behind only runaway leader Milan Lucic, is…
Wrong place. Wrong time. If you subscribe to the theory that timing is everything, there’s not much argument Kirk Maltby’s arrival with the Edmonton Oilers for the 1993-94 season was about as lousy as it gets. With five Stanley Cups in the trophy case and the dynasty teams dismantled, Maltby joined an Oiler outfit that…
I already wrote that I don’t think Connor McDavid should win the Hart Memorial Trophy this season based on factors I considered important in the years I voted with the PHWA. That’s not to be mistaken for saying he can’t win it because the Edmonton Oilers aren’t going to be in the playoffs, just that…
While there are exceptions here and there, when it comes to truly great players, the common denominator isn’t the fastest feet, the softest hands or the highest hockey IQ, although every one of those traits matter. For me, what separates the very best from the rest is having a raging competitive fire in the belly…
At various times this season, some fans opined it made sense to have Edmonton Oilers’ GM Pete Chiarelli trade Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his $6-million salary to address holes in the roster. Others insisted that coach Todd McLellan should play him on the wing alongside Connor McDavid rather than have him languish as an overpaid and…
There’s no doubt in my mind that Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is not only the most exciting player in the NHL today, he’s the best player in the game. That said, there’s also no doubt in my mind that the sensational McDavid shouldn’t win the 2018 Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP.
