• Cory Sarich’s hit on Hall wasn’t cheap. It was a hard hit, but Hall losing his balance played a major role in the outcome. I’m old school and would have loved to see someone go after Sarich, but the game has changed. I thought the Oilers did up their physical play after the hit, especially Lennart Petrell, but I do know that if Theo Peckham or Andy Sutton had jumped Sarich later it wouldn’t have stopped him from playing physical.
   
• I thought the Klesla hit on Jordan Eberle was cheaper and more dumb than the Sarich hit. I’d love to see the league crack down on those types of hits. Hitting a guy up high and slamming him into the glass is much more dangerous than a hard open-ice hit in my opinion. Klesla has lots of time to recognize the situation Eberle was in, but he still drilled him. Those are the hits the league should be looking at trying to get rid of.
   
• Peyton Manning signs with the Broncos, but please Lord, don’t allow my Dolphins to do something stupid and overpay for Tebow. If  they could get him for a 3rd or 4th rounder fine, but not a 2nd.
   
• It might have happened, but I haven’t seen any Oiler fans wearing the "paperbag" this year or last despite being 30th and 29th. Not sure if that is good or bad.
   
• Having Hartikainen and Petrell in top-nine last night gave the Oilers a different look. Neither is the most skilled guy, but I definitely noticed they were able to go to the net without much resistance. Whether it is one of them or another player, the Oilers need to inject some size into their top-nine, and ideally at least one guy in their top-six.
   
• That is the exact reason I don’t see any room for Linus Omark. The Oilers can’t have six small wingers in their top-nine and expect to be competitive. You can’t have all the similar style players and expect to win, unless you had three Eberles, Halls and Nugent-Hopkins, but that isn’t realistic. It isn’t a knock on Omark per se, just that I don’t think he is better than Hemsky or Eberle.
   
• Devan Dubnyk looked very relaxed these past three games. He didn’t allow any blatant "bad" goals. The key is seeing if he can play this way for another three weeks. Consistent goaltending will move them up the standings much quicker than adding a solid 3rd liner with size.
   
• Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but last night during Oil Change it looked like Kevin Lowe was the one negotiating with Hemsky. That doesn’t surprise me since Lowe and Hemsky have known each other since Hemsky was drafted in 2001, but is he calling the shots until the season is over, or was it just that Hemsky and Lowe had a better relationship? Personal relationships are a big thing in negotiations, so that would make sense, but with no contract extension for Steve Tambellini, right now, I do wonder who makes the final decision?
   
• I remember sitting in media row at the draft in Montreal when the Oilers traded Kyle Brodziak and saying it was a bad decision to choose Marc Pouliot over Brodziak. In the years since the deal, Brodziak has played 233 games and scored 43 goals and 106 points. He has 18 in 71 games this year and is on pace to score 20. Pouliot has played 51 games for three different organizations and tallied 7 goals and 18 points. Brodziak shoots right, kills penalties and is decent in the dot. Was a bad trade then, and it looks even worse today.
   
• Interestingly enough the Tyler Bunz signing today, could make the Brodziak deal look even worse, because I think Bunz will be a better pro goalie than Olivier Roy (one of the picks in the trade). Bunz will need some pro seasoning, but within the next year or so, I think he’ll end up ahead of Roy on the depth chart.
   
•  If the CHL could ever come up with something similar to March Madness it would be awesome. The format makes it one of the best tournaments in sports. I love watching the upsets, especially Lehigh beating Duke. Great drama.
   
• Will you go to an Oil Kings playoff game? If not, how come? They are the best team in the WHL and one of the favourites to win the WHL title. Their only concern is lack of experience, but you can’t get that until you play. Good luck to them and I’m looking forward to some great games at Rexall starting Friday night.

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