A couple weeks ago, I launched the Oilers offseason summer plan Photoshop contest and, as expected, you guys came through like you always do. Now that the deadline has past and the entries are in, it’s time to put the finalists up for a vote so that you may decide their fate.

Before we get to the finalists, I wanted to take a quick minute to say thanks to all of you for taking the time to put something together and send it in. I’ve said this a million times but I really love doing contests on the site. Seeing what you guys come up with is honestly one of my favourite parts of this job and it’s always a good day at work when I get to go through photoshop entries. As always, there were plenty of great entries and a bunch were arguably worthy of being finalists but I had to make some calls to try and put together the five best, or, at the very least, the five that made me laugh the most. Like I said, you guys always crush these contests and I’m grateful for the time you put in to make it happen.

Let’s get to the finalists.

This entry really touched me, ya know? How can the Oilers get back on the right track? How can they ensure they have the depth to get themselves back to the playoffs and make it past the second round? Clone Connor. It’s genius. If this team was filled with nothing but Connor McDavid’s then we’d surely win something! I think my favourite part about this entry is the spelling on the names at the top. I don’t know if they’re intentionally spelt wrong or not but I can’t stop laughing at Gary Brettman. BRETTMAN!

Sometimes the greatest lessons in life come from playing board games with your family. I remember getting into some heated battles with my family over Monopoly deals gone bad, and I’m thinking that’s how the boys at the OEG will settle some of their offseason to-do list as well. I picture everyone sitting around the boardroom table and trying through the options and it eventually gives someone a legitimate idea. At the very least, the offseason game plan board game should come with instructions to help guide Chia through the summer. You see, the goal is to learn while you play.

If there’s one thing Pistol Pete has been accused of in his tenure as Oilers GM it’s that he loves overpaying basically anyone that asks. The Oilers’ roster is littered with expensive contracts and now it’ll be up to Pete to find some steals with whatever space is left. With the Oilers taking the first exit to cap hell, Chiarelli is going to need to find some bargains to fill out the roster with guys that can contribute. Looking at this year’s UFA class, I don’t know what kind of value he’ll be able to find with the cap space available.

If there’s one thing that poked the bear this year almost as much as the team’s struggles, it was Taylor Hall’s dominance in New Jersey. To have our boys miss the playoffs while also watching Taylor Hall get nominated for the Hart Trophy was like a kick to pills for a lot of Oilers fans and I think this photoshop entry captures that sentiment. I think the picture is a metaphor for what Chiarelli has to do in the offseason, which, of course, is making the adjustments needed to get back into the playoffs. If he can do that, people won’t care as much about Taylor Hall again.

I really appreciated this one because of my love for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It’s an amazing show that I will watch for at least a few minutes any time I see it on and, actually, I even named my puppy Frank based on Danny Devito’s character of the same name. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll know that this is a scene where Charlie is trying to put things together with some kind of Beautiful Mind like wall arrangement and I think it’s probably somewhat close to what’s happening in Chiarelli’s office. I like the comparison. I like it a lot.

Now that you’ve seen the finalists and have had a moment to let your eyeballs soak things in, it’s time to pick a winner for this here contest. I’m going to set the voting up to shut down on Monday night at midnight and then I’ll get in touch with the winners from there. Since you guys have the tough job of picking a winner, I want to remind you of what these folks are playing for.

This time around, I’ve decided to change up the voting. Normally, we do it with the pollz on the side of the website but I wanted to try the same ranking system I use with the report cards to have you guys pick your favourites. Rather than selecting just one, it will be up to you guys to move things around or not vote at all. I don’t really know how this is going to work out but, I guess, we’re going to find out together. I’m excited to see how this one turns out. We vote.