Second Time Around
With the Edmonton Oilers opening rookie camp today, we’re still a long way from knowing what the 2019-20 edition of the Oilers is going to look like when the season opens Oct. 2 with so much up in the air, except maybe in goal.
About That Knee
With all the consternation about whether Connor McDavid and his injured posterior cruciate ligament will be ready for the opening of Edmonton Oilers’ training camp, we got a significant update from TSN 1260 reporter Tom Gazzola late this afternoon.
About the Blue
So, what’s the Edmonton Oilers’ blueline going to look like for this coming season? While that depends, of course, in large part on how far along the development curve several prospects have moved and how they perform after training camp opens, new associate coach Jim Playfair gave us a pretty good sneak peek today.
Lay off it, son
As Toronto area writers seem prone to do at least once every off-season, Globe and Mail columnist Cathal Kelly delivered his version of hanging cheese — a slow curveball without enough bend in it — Monday when he suggested that Edmonton Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid just doesn’t look happy in his work. Oh my.
Irreconcilable Differences?
You can file this under things that will likely never happen, which is probably a safe bet, but if former NHLer and current 630 CHED analyst Rob Brown was King of the World, he knows what he’d like to see happen in the much-publicized impasse between Jesse Puljujarvi and the Edmonton Oilers.
Poker Face
Even though absolutely nothing has changed in the impasse between Jesse Puljujarvi and the Edmonton Oilers since he first made it known publicly that he wants a fresh start someplace else, the Finnish winger and agent Markus Lehto keep re-stating their position. We get it, Jesse. So does Oilers’ GM Ken Holland.
This, That and the Other Thing
With competition for eyeballs being as hot as it is, a lot of pundits in various sports have taken to calling themselves “insiders.” When it comes to consistently predicting what’s happening or is going to happen with the Edmonton Oilers, I can probably list all the people who have the real inside dope on one…
A Night of Thanks
I was sharing a few laughs with Barrie Stafford last week at the gala for Craig Simpson’s Never Say Never Golf Tournament and the conversation ended the way it always does whenever I see the former Edmonton Oilers’ equipment manager. “If there’s anything you need, let me know,” Stafford said.
Joe Murphy: A Year Goes By
It’s been over a year since we first found out former Edmonton Oiler Joe Murphy was destitute and homeless, living rough on the streets of Kenora, Ont. It’s a revelation that was as stunning as it was sad. Former NHL players, Stanley Cup winners, men who’ve earned millions of dollars, just don’t end up this…
What About Sam?
Much of the talk as these dog days of the NHL off-season drag on is that the next order of business for Edmonton Oilers’ GM Ken Holland is to find himself a third-line centre. I wonder, might Sam Gagner be a reasonable facsimile if Holland can’t find the pivot he’s looking for?
At Random: Trading Places
With former Edmonton Oilers Milan Lucic and Cam Talbot wearing Calgary Flames jerseys this coming season, there’ll be an extra couple of storylines added to the mix when the 2019-20 edition of the Battle of Alberta unfolds.
The Big Shot
There’s no cheering in the press box, but as reclamation projects and feel-good stories go, they don’t get much better than the one Zack Kassian is spinning when you look at where he’s been, where he is and the potential of days still to come as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.