Capital Sports by Robin Brownlee

Unusual coaching approach may be best for Oil

Robin Brownlee, Capital Sports — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:49:07 -0400

Maybe two heads are better than one when it comes to replacing Craig MacTavish behind the Edmonton Oilers bench.

With everybody guessing who’ll end up on GM Steve Tambellini’s short list to fill the void, is it thinking too far outside the box to consider the possibility it won’t be one man, but two?

I’m thinking along the lines of a head coach and an associate coach, as opposed to a head coach and two assistants. Let’s, for argument’s sake, use two candidates who’ve already been interviewed — Pat Quinn as head coach and Tom Renney as the associate.

Considering Quinn and Renney both have history with Tambellini, it’s not a stretch to suggest they might be a fit as a tandem, with an assistant coach — it’s still my thought MacTavish assistant Kelly Buchberger will be back — as the third man.

If you believe in the model established by the Detroit Red Wings, why not? The difference is the Red Wings have loaded up with middle-managers in recent years as opposed to coaches, but the concept is the same — get as many good hockey minds on the staff as possible. It works in Murder City, why not here?

That’s a question Tambellini, not to mention owner Daryl Katz, should be asking before announcing who gets the big job, or big jobs, before the draft, which is the expected timeline for a hiring.

If the Oilers go that route, Quinn and Renney might have the inside track, although Brent Petersen, now an assistant with Nashville and somebody who also has history with Tambellini, and either Scott Arniel, who is with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, or Geoff Ward, an assistant with Boston, would fit the bill as an associate to Quinn.

And, while I’m at it, does Mark Messier, a close friend of Katz, fit into the picture down the road? Messier would rather go the management route than coach. Is there room for him here?

Stay tuned.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the newsbreaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country; edmontonletters@metronews.ca.

MacTavish may not be totally gone

Robin Brownlee, Capital Sports — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:56:38 -0400

Craig MacTavish is done as coach of the Edmonton Oilers after being relieved of his duties April 15, but does that mean he’s off the payroll and out of the organization altogether?

I’m not convinced about the latter, and I wonder if MacTavish and president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe were discussing the possibilities a week ago in Las Vegas or if they were just hanging out in Sin City.

MacTavish will get his full salary, about $1 million, for the 2009-10 season. The question is, will he earn it in a position in hockey operations or simply be paid out while he takes a year off?

MacTavish’s ties within the organization run deep, from owner Daryl Katz to Lowe and GM Steve Tambellini. If MacTavish, who has yet to speak with reporters since being let go, wants to make a move into management, my guess is he’ll get the chance.

Tambellini spent last week assessing hockey operations from top to bottom, including assistant coaches, assistant general managers Kevin Prendergast and Rick Olczyk, the scouting staff, and players.

Stay tuned.

ESKS GEARING UP
The Edmonton Eskimos will wear retro jerseys for three home dates at Commonwealth Stadium this season.

The first date is July 16, when the Esks will wear jerseys circa 1963 against the B.C. Lions. They’ll add other touches, such as making the video screens and scoreboard black and white, and there’s a possibility retro concession items will be added. Does that mean hotdogs for 25 cents?

Here and now, it was obvious the signing of Jesse Lumsden in February would change the face of coach Richie Hall’s offensive backfield, but it’s still a bit of a surprise that the Esks released A.J. Harris Friday.

Harris played 11 games with the Esks in 2008, picking up 557 yards on 99 carries and adding 422 yards on 37 receptions. He had six touchdowns.

Apparently, the feeling is imports Ciatrick Fason or Arkee Whitlock, both former Minnesota Vikings, will be a better fit.

The CFL’s Canadian draft takes place Saturday. The Esks don’t have a pick until the second round, 11th overall.

WHILE I’M AT IT . . .
The uniforms unveiled by the Edmonton Capitals of the Golden Baseball League are trimmed, not surprisingly, in the colours of the Oilers. All in all, the new threads for Katz’s baseball team look sharp.

One question, though, for local designer Sheehan May: What’s with the caped superhero shoulder patch? Call me dim, but what does this still-unnamed “Capital Man” have to do with baseball?

After four seasons and two CIS hockey titles, Alberta Golden Bears coach Eric Thurston must have set some kind of unofficial record for being in limbo before having the “interim” tag removed from his job title by the U of A Thursday. It’s Thurston’s gig now as he takes over for Rob Daum.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the newsbreaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country; edmontonletters@metronews.ca.

Crawford should do his homework on Oilers

Robin Brownlee, Capital Sports — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:43:15 -0400

So, Marc Crawford wants to throw his hat into the ring as a head-coaching candidate for the Edmonton Oilers. Considering Crawford was the 1995 Jack Adams Award winner for coach of the year, won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996 and has a history with Oilers GM Steve Tambellini dating back to when they were teammates with the Vancouver Canucks in 1985-86, he’s one of the favourites to take over from Craig MacTavish.

But one tip for Crawford, who is working as an analyst with Hockey Night in Canada: If you want make a good impression with fans and Tambellini, stop calling the Oilers’ best player “Alex” Hemsky, and their goaltenders Dwayne “Rolofson” and Jeff “Desjarlais.”

I’m not a fan of Crawford’s because, as a coach, he’s long had a habit of looking down his nose at media types, until, of course, he’s out of work and becomes one of us. Of course, playing patty-cake with reporters isn’t high on Tambellini’s list of prerequisites, so Crow has a shot.

My best guess is Crawford, Brent Sutter, Pat Quinn, Brent Petersen and Todd Richards end up on Tambellini’s short list.

MCSORLEY IN TOWN
Marty McSorley, Dave Semenko and Chris Joseph are hosting a hockey school at the Trans-Alta Tri-Leisure Centre in Spruce Grove April 28-30 in three sessions. It’s open to children aged 10-13 and also has men’s and women’s sessions. For information visit www.NHLTraining.com.

As an aside, and given that the status MacTavish’s assistant-coaching staff is up in the air, McSorley, who had a losing record as the head coach in Springfield of the AHL in 2002-03 (34-38-7) and 2003-04 (26-43-9), asked, perhaps, a telling question when we talked Saturday.
“How much does an NHL assistant coach make?” inquired McSorley.

WHILE I’M AT IT
Still no word on the fate of Charlie Huddy, Bill Moores and Kelly Buchberger, but I can’t see Tambellini saddling a new bench boss with a staff of assistants he hasn’t picked. ... There’s more buzz about the Edmonton Capitals of the Golden Baseball League opening camp May 11 at Telus Field than there was at any time during the tenure of Dan Orlich, who sold the former Cracker-Cats to Daryl Katz last off-season. ... The biggest name on manager Brent Bowers’ roster right now is Lou Pote, who pitched for the Triple-A Trappers and won a World Series with Anaheim in 2002.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the newsbreaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country; edmontonletters@metronews.ca.

MacTavish dodges speculation

Robin Brownlee, for Metro Edmonton — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:33:14 -0400

The Craig MacTavish resignation watch will go on another day or two, but nothing he said at Rexall Place yesterday leads me to believe he’ll be back for his 10th season behind the bench with the Edmonton Oilers.

After three straight years out of the playoffs, MacTavish sounded like a coach frustrated that he did everything he could to get more out of this edition of the Oilers, but, ultimately, failed.

That said, the only options remaining are to significantly change the mix of players on the roster — a group that only faintly resembles the 2006 Stanley Cup finalists already — or find a new coach.

That, even with last week’s vote of confidence from owner Daryl Katz, is exactly what fans can expect to unfold after MacTavish sits down with GM Steve Tambellini this week.

While MacTavish refused comment on his plans, including speculation he has already tendered his resignation, he addressed the obvious — it’s been a frustrating and disappointing season.

“There were a lot of inadequacies in our game,” MacTavish said. “The thing that was maybe most disappointing for me was our culture took a hit here in terms of our work ethic and our selflessness.

“This year, there were a lot of nights as a coach I had to ask for more and, sometimes, the tank was pretty empty.”

After a torrid 14-5-1 finish to 2007-08, MacTavish said during the pre-season he expected the Oilers to contend for a Northwest Division title. The Oilers never came close to meeting that expectation as they finished 38-35-9 for 85 points.

That left the Oilers 11th in the Western Conference, 15 points behind the Vancouver Canucks, who won the division.

MacTavish and assistant coaches Charlie Huddy, Bill Moores and Kelly Buchberger never did manage to coax consistent efforts from the mix of players on the roster despite juggling lines almost game by game.

Shawn Horcoff had an off-year offensively. Ales Hemsky had stretches of brilliance and then disappeared here and there. Sam Gagner got nothing done in the first half.

Dustin Penner was in and out of MacTavish’s doghouse and the lineup, playing first line some nights, fourth line on others. Penner finished with 17 goals after scoring 23 last season and 29 the season before with Anaheim.

Special teams were abysmal. The power play finished ranked 23rd after a promising start. The penalty killing never did rise above being lousy, finishing ranked 27th.

So it’s next-year time again. Don’t hold your breath expecting MacTavish to be a part of it, at least not behind the bench.

Worlds
• Shawn Horcoff and Dwayne Roloson have been named to Team Canada for the World Hockey Championship. Ales Hemsky and Ales Kotalik will play for the Czech Republic, while Tom Gilbert and Patrick O’Sullivan will play for the U.S. and Denis Grebeshkov will suit up with Russia.

Mac-T likely out; Braidwood’s adventure in the boxing ring

Robin Brownlee, Metro Edmonton — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:39:46 -0400

If things unfold as I expect they will, it won’t take the dominos long to start tipping in the wake of the Edmonton Oilers missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

The Oilers put an exclamation mark on their stretch-drive swoon Saturday with a 4-1 loss in Calgary against the Flames, a result that leaves them 11th in the Western Conference with a 38-35-9 record and out of the post-season for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

Players will meet at Rexall Place today, tell us one more time what went wrong and then scatter for yet another extended summer. Who’ll be back is yet to be decided, but expect significant changes.

I wouldn’t count on Craig MacTavish being back behind the bench. Every indication I’ve got is MacTavish, despite a vote of confidence from owner Daryl Katz, will step aside after failing to get as much as he expected from a team he picked to be Northwest Division contenders.

With Kevin Lowe stepping back from day-to-day dealings at the start of the season when he became president of hockey operations, it’ll be up to Steve Tambellini to orchestrate the changes that are bound to follow.

MacTavish stepping aside will throw the status of assistant coaches Charlie Huddy, Bill Moores and Kelly Buchberger into question.

Likewise, Tambellini will take a long look at his scouting staff, who are overseen by assistant GM Kevin Prendergast. Again, expect change.

As for player moves, well, that’s a whole other column, and I’ll take a look at that next weekend after some of the dust settles.

Suffice to say, after taking this season to assess a team and a hockey-operations staff that has been built by Lowe since he became GM in 2000, Tambellini will make his mark.

Bad idea In the tradition of Ed (Too Tall) Jones and Mark Gastineau, Eskimos defensive lineman Adam Braidwood proved conclusively, again, that just because you’re big, strong and a professional athlete doesn’t mean you have any business inside a boxing ring.

Braidwood got knocked out 1:07 into his match on the Blunt Force Trauma fight card at the Shaw Conference Centre Thursday by 41-year-old Lee Mein, who’ll never be mistaken for anything but a journeyman. Best stick to tormenting quarterbacks. They don’t hit back.

Farewell to Frank Condolences to the family of former Eskimo Frank Morris, who passed away Friday.

Morris played with three of Edmonton’s Grey Cup teams in 1954, 1955 and 1956, and went on to act as the team’s director of player development from 1973-88. Morris was a real gentleman and a friendly face around the press box at Commonwealth Stadium. He’ll be missed.

While I’m at it Rod Phillips, the radio voice of the Oilers for 36 seasons, hasn’t yet decided if he’ll retire, but he’ll take a few weeks to think it over and announce his decision in May.

Texts, Facebook and slim hopes

Robin Brownlee, Capital Sports — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:42:28 -0400

Non-stories get more play than they should when there’s no legitimate news to pass along, and we saw an example of that last week with the Oilers playoff hopes all but mathematically over.

With no playoff match-ups to discuss and Craig MacTavish deemed a goner by at least one local columnist, one item grabbed the headlines before the Oilers clipped Vancouver 5-3 Saturday to keep their fading post-season hopes alive.

Textgate, as it has been called, was sparked when Oilers owner Daryl Katz, frustrated by speculation around MacTavish’s expected demise, sent a five-word text message to 630 CHED radio’s Bob Stauffer.

It read: “MacT is not going anywhere.” Stauffer checked with Katz, then released the message on the air.

Now, a vote of confidence in the coach by the owner certainly is legitimate news, but the responses that followed?

Well, not so much.

Writers who would have taken the text and ran with it, claiming an exclusive scoop for their outlets, were so sour Stauffer had the inside track that Katz’s backing of MacTavish became secondary.

Instead, the spin was how Katz misstepped by delivering his message through a “conduit” of the team. Katz was accused of embarrassing Kevin Lowe, who had to explain the context of the message to reporters in a post-game scrum, and of making GM Steve Tambellini a puppet by coming out with his support of MacTavish.

Hogwash, all of it.

The motivation for the diatribes in the aftermath is simple: Stauffer has access to Katz as a source — he’s had it dating back to when he was this city’s most vocal critic of the Oilers during his days at TEAM 1260 — and those screaming the loudest don’t. End of story.

The fact is, Katz sent the text to take the focus off MacTavish and put it back on what little is left of the playoff race.

When the season is done, MacTavish and his coaching staff will be evaluated. And there will be changes. Count on it.

All talk
Media outlets took notice when almost 10,000 people joined a Facebook group organizing a “MacTavish must go” protest scheduled outside Rexall Place Saturday.

In the end, seven “protesters” showed up, meaning they were outnumbered by media, who didn’t stick around when it became clear the rally was a non-story. It just goes to show, commitment to a cause when you’re sitting around in your pyjamas tapping a keyboard at home is one thing, getting off your backside to see it through is quite another.

Jacques’s comeback a remarkable story

Capital Sports by Robin Brownlee — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:08:44 -0400

If you like feel-good stories about fighting back from adversity, you’ve probably already taken note of J.F. Jacques’s comeback story with the Oilers.

Jacques, 23, played just his fifth game of the season last night against the Wild, but the fact he’s back on the blades at all is good news for the six-foot-four, 227-pound winger considering he’s overcome off-season surgery to repair a bulging disc in his back.

The injury, suffered in a minor-league scrap in January of 2008, not only put his career on hold, but threatened to end it.

Jacques, selected in the third round of the 2003 entry draft, has bounced up and down between the AHL and the Oilers since draft day, which has been difficult enough.

Unable to make the kind of impact he’d hoped for at the NHL level — Jacques faced Minnesota with just one goal in 57 games with the Oilers — he’s seen younger prospects like Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano zip past him on the depth chart. Then, the injury. When rest and physical therapy didn’t solve the problem, the decision was made that he would have a discsectomy. The procedure was done in Denver last September.

“I’ve got a really old back for a guy my age,” smiles Jacques.

COMPETITION?
Fresh from being named CIS coach of the year with the Alberta Golden Bears, it's probably a lock that Eric Thurston will have the interim tag removed from his coaching credentials and be re-signed, no?

With two CIS titles to his credit and an 84-26-2 conference record (.759) since assuming the position after Rob Daum left to join the Oilers in 2005-06, you’d think so.

Still, with the Bears bounced from the 2009 CIS finals in two games, I wonder if there’s a decision to make if somebody like, say, former Oiler Dean Clark, WHL and CHL coach of the year with the Calgary Hitmen in 1998, was to throw his hat in the ring?

Clark, 45, was let go as coach and GM of the Kamloops Blazers early in the 2007-08 season after a group including Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan took ownership of the team, and he’s been in Edmonton since.

Clark’s a sharp guy who should be behind somebody’s bench.

Roly the MVP goalie

Capital Sports by Robin Brownlee — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:16:31 -0400

It’s called Old Man Power. Hall-of-fame pitcher Nolan Ryan showed some in 1993 when he slapped around Robin Ventura. George Foreman did likewise in 1994 when he knocked out Michael Moorer to win the IBF and WBC heavyweight boxing titles. Dwayne Roloson is doing the same thing now with the Edmonton Oilers.

The 39-year-old goaltender has defied his birth certificate by backstopping the Oilers stretch drive charge to the playoffs.

A 5-4 shootout win in Chicago Friday was his 27th consecutive start, a stretch in which he’d fashioned a record of 13-8-6 with a 2.77 goals-against average.

Not as dramatic as when a 46-year-old Ryan pummelled Ventura after he charged the mound, or when a 45-year-old Foreman, behind on the cards of all three judges, KO’d Moorer in the 10th round, but just as impressive.

Deemed by many observers an over-priced back-up to Mathieu Garon when this season began, Roloson has been Edmonton’s MVP, hands down, as the Oilers have clawed back into post-season contention.

“He’s an absolute warrior,” said coach Craig MacTavish, who made it 28 straight starts for Roloson by giving him the nod against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center yesterday.

With 55 games in the books, Roloson is about to become the oldest goaltender in NHL history to appear in 60-or-more games in a single season.

Roloson is already one of just six stoppers to play in 60 games past the age of 37, joining Curtis Joseph, Ed Belfour, Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek and Tony Esposito when he appeared in 60 games for the Oilers in 2006-07.

While Roloson isn’t the best technical goaltender and isn’t blessed with unbelievable reflexes or physical tools, he’s as focused as a player can possibly be and he battles with everything he’s got.

Put focus and fight together, and you've got a goaltender playing the best hockey of his career at an age when Father Time and history dictate that it shouldn’t happen.

If I’m GM Steve Tambellini, it's a no-brainer to offer Roloson a new one-year contract when the season is done.

BUY ME SOME PEANUTS
As somebody who covered the Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League for six seasons, including two PCL championships, I’ve been to just two games since the Triple-A left town for the Northern League and, now, the Golden League.

A lot of that had to do with the user-unfriendly ownership of Dan Orlich, but I’ll be back at Telus Field for opening day now that the Oilers have taken over. I have a feeling a lot of other people will be, too.

WHILE I’M AT IT
If the NHL wants to be taken seriously about eliminating head shots, then hits like the blindside, cheap shot that Chicago’s Ben Eager delivered to Liam Reddox at the United Center Friday have to be answered with suspensions in the double digits, not three-game slaps on the wrist.

In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the newsbreaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country; edmontonletters@metronews.ca.

Giddy is not the word

Capital Sports by Robin Brownlee — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:25:40 -0400

Are we having fun yet? Back in the pre-season, one tabloid columnist in town wrote, “Get giddy. The next few years are going to be a lot of fun in Edmonton.” He then proceeded to pick the Edmonton Oilers to not only return to the playoffs after two straight years out, but to win the Northwest.

A lot of people felt the same way at the time, but with the Oilers staggering down the stretch drive with just three wins in their last dozen games after a 3-2 overtime loss to Colorado at Rexall Place Saturday, the term “giddy” doesn’t come to mind. Thirteen points back of the division-leading Flames after their third straight loss and fourth OT defeat in the last six, the Oilers awoke Sunday clinging to eighth place with 73 points. With 14 games left, the Oilers might yet find a way to keep a post-season date, but let’s face it, this

isn’t a team that’s going anywhere in the playoffs except to the first tee box after four or five games against San Jose or Detroit.

JUST SAYING
Sheldon Souray hasn’t worn a visor during his NHL career, having chosen to take it off when he left junior, like many players do. Souray, however, told me last week he will consider putting the visor back on next season in the wake of the eye injury suffered by Oiler captain and close friend Ethan Moreau.

Call me crazy, but why do players who’ve worn a visor all through minor hockey and their junior careers take it off in the first place when the reach the NHL?

WHILE I’M AT IT
About 60 per cent of players in the NHL wear visors today, compared to about just 15 per cent in 1998-99, meaning there’s about 250 players out there still risking their vision for no good reason.

All eyes on Moreau’s condition

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:17:24 -0400

The initial reports about the extent of Ethan Moreau’s eye injury aren’t good, and the severity was obvious when the Edmonton Oilers captain stayed down on the ice after being hit by the stick of Antti Miettinen in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Anybody who followed Moreau’s career in Edmonton silks has seen him get up off the ice spitting blood and teeth. We’ve seen him skate to the bench with a dislocated right shoulder and a broken leg. Saturday, he stayed down after Miettinen lost his balance and struck Moreau in the right eye with his stick.

“We don’t have much further to say about Ethan other than he has gone to the hospital and it looks pretty serious,” coach Craig MacTavish said after the game. “He went under his own steam. It looks like the stick gave him a gash on the socket. According to the doctors you could see where it raked across the eye.”

If there’s good news, it’s that Moreau was released from hospital yesterday without surgery being required. Doctors will monitor the situation and assess damage to the eye over the course of the next week. It’s unlikely we’ll have a firm diagnosis before the team leaves for a four-game road trip today.

BUY OR SELL?
If the Oilers make a deal before Wednesday’s trade deadline, it’ll be for help on the left wing. Already looking to bolster scoring from the left side, where Dustin Penner and Robert Nilsson have been disappointments, the void got bigger with the loss of Moreau.

While I suspect the Oilers will be buyers, the challenge for GM Steve Tambellini is to fill that need without creating another hole in the lineup. As much as he’s struggled, does Tambellini trade Erik Cole, which leaves only Fernando Pisani and Zack Stortini on the right side, or keep him for the stretch drive and risk losing him for nothing as a UFA?

JAGR AVAILABLE?
The latest talk in the Oilers ongoing pursuit of Jaromir Jagr is that Jagr could be free to sign with any NHL team after July 1 because his Russian League team, Omsk, is rumoured to be having financial difficulties and is considering voiding his contract. In that situation, Jagr would become a free agent.

WHILE I’M AT IT
If Cole is moved, I still think his likeliest destination is Carolina, but if the Oilers want Tuomo Ruutu, they will have to sweeten the offer with somebody like Nilsson or Marc Pouliot ... Olli Jokinen is on his way out of Phoenix and the Oilers are one of many teams who have inquired about him ... While Cole is Tambellini’s likeliest bargaining chip, he won’t be the biggest if the decision is made to move Denis Grebeshkov or Tom Gilbert for scoring help ... The Oilers are in Ottawa on trade deadline day, so a move to acquire Senators’ defenceman Christoph Schubert would be as easy as lugging his equipment down the hall between dressing rooms at Scotiabank Place.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

It’s the same old story

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:05:11 -0400

Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t the Oilers supposed to be in contention for the Northwest Division title this season instead of engaged in yet another struggle for their playoff lives?

After Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to Calgary, the Oilers awoke clinging to eighth place, 13 points behind the division-leading Flames and just six points ahead of the 15th-place Colorado Avalanche. In other words, right where they always are as March approaches.

What a surprise!

It’s an annual rite of spring that the Oilers hit the stretch drive needing to squeeze out every point from their final 20 games just to latch on to seventh or eighth place. It’s been that way for more than a decade.

It wasn’t supposed to this way.

Not with the new CBA and a level economic playing field. And, before you bring up the 2006 Stanley Cup run, don’t forget that’s a roll that began with an eighth-place finish.

“Everybody has been excited for this day for a while now,” a wildly optimistic Craig MacTavish said as the pre-season opened.

“A lot of years I’m up here trying to generate optimism and enthusiasm. This year, I’ll be interested in quelling it a little bit.”

Consider it quelled.

WHILE I’M AT IT
A difficult road schedule to begin the season was supposed to be the Oilers’ undoing, but it’s their 13-12-3 record at Rexall Place that has them in trouble ... I’m guessing the return of Fernando Pisani from a broken left ankle this week will prompt GM Steve Tambellini to get a head-start on trade deadline day ... Erik Cole remains Tambellini’s biggest bargaining chip and he’s drawing interest from at least a half-dozen teams, with Carolina and Boston leading the pack ... In case you haven’t noticed, hard-nosed Theo Peckham, who got the call from Springfield of the AHL after Denis Grebeshkov joined Lubomir Visnovsky on injured reserve, is a keeper and he’ll be, at worst, the team’s sixth defenceman next season ... If there’s a team that wants a sweetener in a deadline deal with the Oilers, Marc Pouliot or J.F. Jacques will be the sugar ... Memo to Marc Crawford of the CBC: it’s “Ales Hemsky,” not “Alex Hemsky” ... The good news is the Oilers’ penalty killing has improved and moved all the way up to 27th place ... The bad news is the power play has dropped to 20th.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Who’s a seller these days?

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:17:15 -0400

With the Edmonton Oilers in the thick of their annual push for one of the final two or three playoff berths in the Western Conference, the situation dictates GM Steve Tambellini will be a buyer at the NHL trade deadline.

The problem is, Tambellini needs to find a seller, but that’s easier said than done when you consider 13 of 15 teams in the conference, as of today, have at least an outside shot of making the playoffs.

Instead of just a stretch drive tweak, the Oilers most obvious needs are to fill the void created by the loss of Lubomir Visnovsky, out for the season after shoulder surgery, and Denis Grebeshkov, who could be out as long as six weeks with a high-ankle sprain.

But it’s a tight market, especially in the west.

“Teams are looking for energy players. Teams are looking for defencemen. They’re looking for top-six forwards,” said Tambellini, whose job has been complicated by the injuries.

“It’s difficult to move players.”

Before Visnovsky and Grebeshkov went down, the feeling was Tambellini would try to deal for a forward who could help the penalty killing or maybe somebody who could add scoring from the left wing.

Now, unless Tambellini addresses the back end, coach Craig MacTavish will have to lean very heavily on Sheldon Souray, Tom Gilbert and Steve Staios and hope Ladislav Smid, Jason Strudwick and rookie Theo Peckham can handle minutes they wouldn’t normally play.

THE BEST INTENTIONS
It’s a laughable example of skewed priorities when people are calling for fighting bans at all levels of hockey, including the NHL, while paying lip service to penalizing more dangerous plays.

Yes, mounting the soap box in opposition to fisticuffs is a hot-button topic, but until those who make the rules do away with hits from behind and head shots, arguing that cause is putting style ahead of substance.

Instead of looking at concussions caused in fights, where punches are poorly leveraged and seldom cause damage beyond the cosmetic, the NHL has to do away with head shots delivered by way of body checks. Likewise, hits from behind.

The fact is, a 210-pound player skating full speed and planting an elbow on the point of the chin of an opponent skating as fast as he can the other direction is more likely to cause a concussion, or worse, than a punch during a fight.

And, please, spare me the “Keep your head up” argument.

There’s a big difference between putting somebody on their backside with a big hit between shoulder and hip level and burying an opponent because he had his head down.

That doesn’t mean it’s open season ... at least it shouldn’t.

WHILE I’M AT IT
Memo to sluggin’ Sam Gagner, who got pummelled by Jack Johnson in the first period but came back to score in a 3-2 shootout win in Los Angeles Saturday: keep the gloves on, please.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Oilers’ power play failing to get it done

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:31:22 -0400

For a guy who was supposed to be the odd-man out when the season began, goaltender Dwayne Roloson won’t be going anywhere between now and the NHL trade deadline March 4.

At the same time, the way things have been going, it’s too bad Edmonton Oilers’ GM Steve Tambellini doesn’t have the option of trading his entire power play because, frankly, it’s been horrendous lately.

While the 39-year-old Roloson did his part with 37 saves in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild, the power play continued to be a liability. How so?

Well, while Sheldon Souray opened the scoring on a 5-on-3 man advantage, the Oilers gave up a short-handed goal, as Antti Miettinen put Minnesota up 2-1.

In seven games since the NHL all-star break, the Oilers have a grand total of three power-play goals. Worse, they’ve given up three short-handed goals. In other words, Edmonton’s 21st-ranked power play is only breaking even.

“Roli played great again,” said Sam Gagner, who scored his first goal in eight games to force overtime. Not so much the power play, again. After allowing the goal by Miettinen, the Oilers had a man-advantage late in regulation time that carried over to OT. No cigar.

“Obviously, we would like to have scored there,” Gagner said. “We had other opportunities during the game. We can’t dwell on those.”

Maybe not, but while Roloson has been playing his backside off, Craig MacTavish’s power play better get untracked, and the sooner the better, because breaking even with a man advantage won’t get this team into the playoffs.

KEEPS ON TICKING
Nice to see Bryan Hall, the voice of the Edmonton Eskimos since 1965, will be back behind the microphone for one more season as the Esks’ play-by-play man on 630 CHED and will have a role in choosing his successor. Hall has inked a four-year contract extension.

While Hall, 74, takes some ribbing around town for his commercial-laden broadcasts, he’s got those money-making spots because he can still sell like few others and he works longer hours than people half his age.

WHILE I’M AT IT
Petr Sykora, who just hit 20 goals for the 10th straight season, loved playing with Ales Hemsky and wanted to stay in Edmonton, but the Oilers let him get away. Now they’re paying Dustin Penner $4.25 million a season and looking for another top-line left-winger because it’s obvious Penner’s no fit with Hemsky.

Brilliant.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Bandwagon rides like a roller-coaster

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:02:18 -0400

Say what you want about the Edmonton Oilers, there’s seldom a dull moment for people riding the roller-coaster that doubles as the team’s bandwagon.

Take the last three games, for example. On Tuesday, the Oilers suffered the worst defeat on home ice in franchise history, a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres.

In the wake of much obligatory consternation following that embarrassment, they bounced back with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday with one of their most complete efforts this season.

Back on the ice for a matinee at Rexall Place against Nashville yesterday, the Oilers lost 2-1 to a Predators team that’s been lousy on the road all season, 10-15-2, and that had won just four of its previous 14 games.

A bad time to come off the rails again.

“We have to take the responsibility to take care of our own business,” said coach Craig MacTavish. “We haven’t done that for a few years here.

“When you get a game like that where you can drive a nail in, you get the game. You can always exhibit the urgency and the intensity. The one thing you want to show in a game like that, as we saw in the Minnesota game, is the intensity from everybody.”

Despite being humiliated by the Sabres, the Oilers faced Nashville having won six of their previous eight games. As for intensity against the Predators, there was precious little.

Instead of building on an 8-4 record in January their first time out of the blocks this month, the Oilers too often looked flat and disinterested — they weren’t as close on the ice as they were on the scoreboard.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Taking it outside could take away the boredom of all-star weekend

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:09:33 -0400

I wouldn’t lose sleep if the NHL decided to do away with the NHL all-star game and simply give the players four or five days off to rest and heal in preparation for the stretch drive.

Of course, as yawn-inducing as the emotionless all-star version of the game has become — surpassed in boredom quotient only by Saturday’s skills competition that featured, fittingly, players sleep-walking through a shootout-style competition — that’s likely not going to happen.

For what it’s worth, I’d rather see a regular-season game played outdoors with two points on the line on the last day of the schedule before the pause that’s usually reserved for all-star festivities.

For fans needing a spectacle to break up the monotony of the season, the NHL should pick a city, pick the teams and pick the venue and make it the gala event that the all-star game once was.

Then, give everybody a break.

Wouldn’t you rather see Boston play Montreal at Fenway Park or the Oilers face the Calgary Flames on a frigid day at Commonwealth Stadium than watch a game devoid of the qualities — intensity and physicality — that makes it great? I would.

Instead of suspending Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk for opting out, Gary Bettman would be better advised to dump the all-star format and take the game outside, with points up for grabs.

Surely, the NHL could fulfil its obligations to its many worthy charities and sponsors and provide a little more pizzazz with an outdoor game.

COGLIANO SHINES
Oilers forward Andrew Cogliano showed fans what the faithful at Rexall Place already know by winning the fastest skater competition before Saturday’s Youngstars game, blazing around the ice in a time of 14.31 seconds.

Cogliano, 21, wasn’t even the fastest skater at the Oilers skills competition — Erik Cole was, but the sophomore outlegged five other skaters to win the race. Cogliano was nowhere near the record set by Mike Gartner 15 years ago. What’s amazing about that is Gartner set the record of 13.51 seconds at the age of 34.

WHILE I’M AT IT
While Montreal remains the likely destination for Vincent Lecavalier if Tampa Bay decides to trade him, is there anybody not named Ales Hemsky you wouldn’t put in a package to get him if you were GM Steve Tambellini? ... Expect an announcement this week that the Oilers have purchased the Edmonton Cracker Cats of the Golden Baseball League from Dan Orlich for $400,000 ... When the NHL takes another look at the issue of fighting, it should start by repealing the instigator rule and institute penalties for any player who intentionally removes his helmet before a fight ... If the Oilers, who hit the break at 24-19-3, can beat the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow, they’ll have four straight wins for the first time since opening the season with a quartet of victories.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Brule handling seems strange

Robin Brownlee, for metro edmonton — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:40:00 -0400

Of all the questionable decisions the Edmonton Oilers have made with players this season, the handling of Gilbert Brule ranks up there in terms of head-scratchers.

Brule played his 152nd NHL game against St. Louis last night, meaning he is just eight games from having to clear waivers to move between Edmonton’s roster and the minors.

You’d think, seeing as Edmonton traded Raffi Torres to Columbus to get the talented speedster, there’d be some sense of urgency in wanting to assess Brule before that 160-game mark to see if he’s in the plans.

But there was Brule last night, stuck on the fourth line with Kyle Brodziak and Steve MacIntyre while Liam Reddox played alongside Dustin Penner and Shawn Horcoff.

Mind-boggling.

“It’s in the back of my mind,” Brule said of the waiver rules under the CBA. “I look at my games played and it’s part of the rules, but I’m just trying to go out there and play the best I can with the chances I’m given.”

Now, there’s no disputing the Blue Jackets rushed Brule into the NHL as an 18-year-old after drafting him sixth overall in 2005, so patience is something of a virtue.

Still, with just eight games before teams can claim Brule before any assignment to the minors, does playing him on the fourth line make sense? Well, no. Unless you’re coach Craig MacTavish.

Brule, now 22, desperately wants a shot here. He’s an Edmonton boy, after all. When Ales Hemsky went down with a concussion, it looked like a perfect time to get that shot. Not so fast.

“I’d like to play more, obviously,” said Brule. “I’d like to show my stuff.”

BILL OF GOODS?

The focus on the Oilers shortcomings has been on the players and the way MacTavish has used them, but let’s not forget the bigger picture. While Kevin Lowe has stepped back from day-to-day dealings since being named president of hockey operations, leaving Steve Tambellini to take over as GM, this is the team he built.

Every player on the roster, with the exception of Ethan Moreau, arrived after Lowe took over as GM June 9, 2000. The collection of players here has been drafted on Lowe’s watch, traded for or acquired by Lowe and signed to contracts with him calling the shots.

With optimism abounding in pre-season, we were led to believe Tambellini was being handed the keys to a shiny new sports car and that fans were in for quite a ride. Instead, it looks like Tambellini’s got a clunker in need of a full-scale rebuild.

That falls on Lowe.

WHILE I’M AT IT

If Rob Schremp isn’t in the plans here, and he isn’t, it’s time to move him … With Jeff Deslauriers due back from the conditioning assignment in the AHL, are the Oilers any closer to resolving their three-goaltender situation?

- In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

New year, new Oiler attitude?

Capital Sports by Robin Brownlee — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:30:39 -0400

To put a hockey twist on an old axiom, the Edmonton Oilers went out like lambs in 2008 but looked like lions ringing in 2009 against the Dallas Stars at Rexall Place Saturday.

Beaten 6-4 by the Calgary Flames on New Year's Eve, the Oilers cracked a new calendar with one of their better performances this season in a 4-1 win over the Stars to improve to 18-16-3.

It’s not just that the Oilers won, but how they won. The Oilers deservedly maligned 28th-ranked penalty killing blanked Dallas on five attempts. Their ham-handed centres, ranked 29th in the face-off circles coming in, schooled the Stars, going 33-27 (55 per cent) on the dot.

More surprising, Dustin Penner, the easy-going behemoth who too often plays small, scored his 10th goal of the season and tossed Landon Wilson of the Stars around like a rag doll in a one-sided altercation. Yes, he did.

A new year, indeed.

“We talked about starting fresh, looking at this as a new year,” said Sheldon Souray, who scored the 2-0 goal.

“We talked about turning the page. We talked about looking at everything since Jan. 1 and not looking back at the penalty killing stats, etc. It’s a new year.”

Obviously, one game, especially one in which the Oilers were outshot 39-19, doesn’t constitute a turnaround. But, as they begin a stretch in which they play 10 of their next 13 games at home, it’s a start.

“We need to come out every night and show the same kind of enthusiasm," said Erik Cole, who opened the scoring and is starting to roll with three goals in his last four games.

“This is a key stretch of games for us to start building something, put some wins together.”

HEAD GAMES
Until Ales Hemsky emerges from the concussion-induced fog he's in and declares himself clear-headed and ready to play again, the Oilers should be concerned. I know I am.

Knocked goofy on a hit along the boards by Jordin Tootoo against Nashville on Dec. 28, Hemsky came back to finish the game, but he’s since sat out three straight. Concussions, history shows too well, are unpredictable in terms of prognosis.

The latest Oiler example before Hemsky was Jarret Stoll, who saw his career derailed during the 2006-07 season by a concussion on a relatively innocent hit against Vancouver after initially getting buzzed by Sammy Pahlsson of the Anaheim Ducks.

Go back a bit further, and Paul Comrie had his career ended by a concussion during the 1999-2000 season while with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Comrie, like Hemsky, finished the game in which he was injured. He never played again.

WHILE I’M AT IT
The Oilers believe 2008 first-round pick Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats is the best goal-scorer they've drafted in a very long time, and after his dazzling semi-final performance against Russia at the World Junior Championship Saturday, it’s difficult to argue that assessment.

In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the
news-breaker and insightful voice for
sports fans in Oil Country.

Nilsson deserves heat; Lowe behind the bench?

Robin Brownlee, for metro canada — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:30:00 -0400

Robert Nilsson’s been given plenty of rope to show he’s capable of being as consistent as he is talented, but the enigmatic Edmonton Oilers forward has run out of slack with embattled coach Craig MacTavish.

After benching Nilsson for the third period of Friday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks for what he deemed indifferent play, MacTavish was to-the-point when asked about planting No. 12’s backside on the pine.

“A non-competer. No competitiveness,” MacTavish said. “We try and coddle the competitiveness out of him, but he just didn’t have any again tonight. I’ve had enough and seen enough of it.”

As prolific as Nilsson was last spring with Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano as the team roared down the stretch, he’s been a big disappointment with 4-6-10 and a minus-8 rating as the 14-14-3 Oilers prepare to take on Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes tonight.

While some fans might explain Nilsson’s poor performance as a sophomore slump, that’s letting him off the hook. Nilsson’s played 155 NHL games over parts of four seasons and he’s three weeks away from his 24th birthday, so he’s hardly in the same category as Gagner, 19, and Cogliano, 21.

With the team struggling and MacTavish under the gun, the question now is simple: What do the Oilers do with Nilsson? Sit him out, again? Send him to the minors? Demote him to the fourth line? Trade him?

I’m not sure what, if anything, GM Steve Tambellini could get for Nilsson on the trade market because his value is definitely down. But if I was sitting in the chair occupied by Tambellini, a trade is the option I’d be looking at once the Christmas roster freeze is lifted.

THE LOWE DOWN?

With frustrated fans calling for MacTavish to be fired, one juicy rumour, courtesy of Ottawa Sun scribe Bruce Garrioch, is that president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe could step behind the bench. The key choice of words, of course, is “could.”

Well, yes, it’s true Lowe could step behind the bench.

And I could become prime minister. Likely? Nothing I’ve heard from people in-the-know leads me to believe that’s in the cards.

Lowe stepped back from the day-to-day grind by bringing in Tambellini. I can’t see him taking two steps ahead by jumping back behind the bench. Truth be told, Lowe only spent the 1999-2000 season as head coach because he wanted the experience on the way to becoming GM. He’s a manager, not a coach.

WHILE I’M AT IT

MacTavish’s inclination to change up his lines is downright baffling at times. He finally gets results by putting Dustin Penner, Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky back together, then he breaks them up. What’s that? You don’t think that frustrates the players to no end?

Speaking of questionable line combinations, why did it take MacTavish 30 games to get Erik Cole into his top-six forwards on right wing, where he’s more comfortable?

Penner making Mac-T look good

Robin Brownlee, for metro canada — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:01:54 -0400

Dustin Penner obviously didn’t like the way the message was delivered by coach Craig MacTavish, but it’s abundantly obvious the big Edmonton Oilers’ winger got the gist of it and has taken it to heart.

Called out in the newspapers and kicked upstairs to the press box for two games for what MacTavish considered substandard play and insufficient results, Penner has responded by playing his best stretch of hockey since arriving from the Anaheim Ducks at the start of last season. Penner’s goal just 49 seconds into Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks stood as the winner and gives him 10 points, including five goals, in the 10 games he’s played since taking a seat against Colorado Nov. 15 and Detroit two nights later.

“Obviously, there was a positive impact from the situation three weeks ago,” Penner said. “I got a chance to re-focus.”

Publicly flogging any player has its risks, and MacTavish was criticized in some corners for it — and for sitting Penner out for two games instead of just one — but there’s no getting around the results.

In my mind, it’s how MacTavish handled the situation after publicly showing up Penner that made it a masterfully calculated stroke. By putting Penner back on left wing alongside Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky on his first line, MacTavish put him in a position to succeed.

It worked. Penner, the line and the Oilers have, despite a couple of hiccups, been playing markedly better since.

Saturday’s win over the Canucks has the Oilers at 4-1-0 in their last five games and 14-12-2 overall as they begin a long stretch at home.

“We’ve recaptured, I think, the chemistry we had last year and we’re building on it,” Penner said.

BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS

The win over the Canucks improved the Oilers to 4-4-2 at Rexall Place and was the kind of effort MacTavish has been demanding for weeks. The Oilers were more intense and robust than they’ve been in a long time.

They won battles for the puck. They threw pucks at Curtis Sanford and mucked for rebounds and quality scoring chances. They forced the issue.

“That was pretty close to a perfect game,” said captain Ethan Moreau. “We initiated the physical play. They were responding with us, but we came out with an edge.”

Inserting wide-bodies Zack Stortini and Jason Strudwick up front on the fourth line in place of Liam Reddox and Rob Schremp had a lot to do with that.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Rollie’s play making things tough for GM

Robin Brownlee, for metro canada — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:29:11 -0400

Dwayne Roloson is as marketable as any 39-year-old puckstopper can possibly be, but do the Edmonton Oilers really want to get rid of him to solve their three-goaltender situation?

Roloson was stunning with 41 saves in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Sharks in San Jose as the Oilers made it three straight wins for the first time since they won four straight to start the season.

In the last month, Roloson’s gone way beyond showing other teams he could be a low-cost pickup for anybody needing a veteran back-up or fill-in starter. Truth is, he’s been better than either Mathieu Garon or Jeff Deslauriers.

Long term, Roloson’s obviously not in the plans because of his age, but what about here and now? At 13-11-2 and with a chance to make a move in the standings over the next 10 games with seven of those at home, what to do?

Does GM Steve Tambellini pick up the phone and see if there’s any takers for Roloson or does he ride him the rest of the season and try to move Garon? It’s a tough call, but juggling three goaltenders just doesn’t work in the long term.

LUMP OF COLE
Nobody is going to accuse Erik Cole of not trying, because that’s not the case, but he continues to struggle mightily in terms of offence.

With one assist to show for the two-game swing through California, Cole has 3-5-8 in 26 games. The three-time 20-goal-scorer hasn’t found the back of the net in 11 games and has just one assist in his last six.

It’s the worst start of his career.

“It’s tough to feel real positive about things when you’re not contributing as much as you’d like,” said Cole, playing right wing on a line with Ethan Moreau and Kyle Brodziak. “Hopefully, it’s around the corner.”

After failing to fit on the left side with Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky, Cole has looked better with Moreau and Brodziak, but his $4-million salary is steep for a third-liner.

WHILE?I’M?AT?IT … I haven’t been a big Dustin Penner fan, but with 4-6-10 in the eight games he’s played since coach Craig MacTavish put him in the press box Nov. 15 to 17, fans have seen how good he can be … Rob Schremp, who has three assists in three games since being recalled from Springfield of the AHL, and Gilbert Brule, summoned before the San Jose game, have a window of about a month to prove they belong in the line-up every night before Fernando Pisani and Steve MacIntyre return from injury.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Oilers showed hustle for Mac-T

Robin Brownlee, for Metro Edmonton — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:07:46 -0400

If the Edmonton Oilers had really quit on Craig MacTavish, if the players had tuned him out and wanted him fired, they had the perfect opportunity to push him one step closer to the door Saturday in St. Louis.

With all eyes on the under-achieving Oilers, the heat clearly on MacTavish after a lacklustre and frustrating 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings and GM Steve Tambellini looking on in the Show Me State, the Oilers fell behind the Blues 2-0, and looked awful doing it. Then and there, you could almost sense MacTavish teetering at the tipping point all coaches eventually arrive at — the moment when it becomes clear it isn’t working any more, it’s time to go, it’s over. But, instead of laying down and taking a drubbing, the Oilers stormed back to score four consecutive goals in a 4-2 win. Fold? Not a chance. Quit? No way. They played their backsides off.

That’s not a team that wants the coach fired.

“Gritty comeback,” said MacTavish. “It’s not the way that we drew it out at the start, but we battled back hard and paid a bigger price than what we had in some of the previous games.”

WHILE I’M AT IT
Eskimos’ GM Danny Maciocia will do his due diligence in finding a head coach to take over from him on the sidelines, but Winnipeg defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall is his first choice among short-listed candidates, and they’ve already talked ... don’t be surprised to see receiver Jason Tucker return in a coaching or scouting capacity with the Esks in 2009 if the broken neck that ended his season prompts him to call it a career.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Oilers’ true test ahead

Capital Sports by Robin Brownlee — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:07:07 -0400

If the Edmonton Oilers can’t make a move into a playoff spot in the Western Conference over the next 20 games, it's a neighbourhood they don’t belong in.

After surviving an opening 20 games in which they played 14 games on the road, the Oilers take a 9-9-2 record against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday to begin what is easily the softest segment of their schedule. They play 13 of their next 20 games at Rexall Place. Four of those games come against the Vancouver Canucks, who just lost Roberto Luongo to a groin injury that could keep him out for all of them. Three more come against Dallas, who have been mediocre at best, and will have to get along without Brenden Morrow, who just tore up a knee and is gone for the season.

IT SAYS HERE
The Oilers have no shot at making a move unless they get more from their top six forwards. Outside Ales Hemsky, nobody is playing well enough. Dustin Penner, who has already been called out, Shawn Horcoff, Erik Cole and Sam Gagner have to be better.

WHILE I’M AT IT
Fernando Pisani won’t need surgery on his broken left ankle, but he’ll be out at least six weeks ... A bigger concern is Lubomir Visnovsky, who injured his knee in a collision at practice Saturday and will be assessed today.

Lots of questions for Eskimos

ROBIN BROWNLEE, FOR METRO — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:59:20 -0400

After two years out of the playoffs, the Edmonton Eskimos performance this season represents a quantum leap over 2007, but Danny Maciocia’s team didn’t cover nearly enough ground to stand a chance when it counted against the Montreal Alouettes.

The question, after getting humbled 36-26 at Olympic Stadium in the East Division final Saturday, is where the Esks go from here. Can they build on a 10-8 record and win over Winnipeg in the East semifinal, or do they take a step back toward their 5-12-1 mark of 2007?

Obviously, only time will tell, but it was worth contemplating as the Esks cleaned out their lockers Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium still stinging from coming up short against the Als.

Will Maciocia be back as coach or kick himself upstairs? What about veterans Dan Comiskey and Shannon Garrett? The Esks also have to re-sign receiver Kelly Campbell and offensive lineman Patrick Kabongo, who will draw interest from the NFL.

“I’m not going to make a decision here on whether I’m going to coach or not,” said Maciocia, who didn’t silence all his critics by making the playoffs and beating Winnipeg. “I’m going to see how the organization feels.”

And, so, we’ll wait.

LITTLE BIG MAN

Big men who play small can be especially frustrating to fans, not to mention coaches, and Edmonton Oilers forward Dustin Penner certainly fits that description.

So much so coach Craig MacTavish sat Penner and Kyle Brodziak out for Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche, sending a clear message.

“We need more competitiveness throughout our line-up,” MacTavish said. “Sometimes it’s not only a message for the two who are sitting out, but for the other four or five guys who can’t afford to play a game where they are not factors. We need more jam, more competitiveness out of those two for sure and out of others.”

After scoring two goals in the first game of the season, Penner had just one goal and one assist in his next 15 games when MacTavish sat him, inserting Liam Reddox and Jesse Boulerice.

The frustrating thing about Penner, who is six-foot-four and 240 pounds, is that when he’s not scoring, he doesn’t bring anything else to the table — he plays soft and seldom imposes his physical presence.

“It’s always the bare minimum,” MacTavish said of Penner. “Those are the results you get when you bring the bare minimum. Hopefully this will help him be more consistent.”

From where I sit, Penner hasn’t come close to earning the $21.25 million US offer sheet he signed before last season. He should wear a balaclava on pay days.

WHILE?I’M?AT?IT …

While Penner and Brodziak got seats on press row against Colorado, there were other candidates, namely Shawn Horcoff, Robert Nilsson and Fernando Pisani.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Can Mr. Perfect make it 6-0?

ROBIN BROWNLEE, FOR METRO — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:06:21 -0400

If Ricky Ray’s playoff history means anything, the Edmonton Eskimos have to feel pretty good about themselves heading into Saturday’s East Division final against the Montreal Alouettes. And they should.

Ray completed 27 of 37 passing attempts for 303 yards in a 29-21 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday, and he upped his mark in CFL division finals and semifinals with the Esks to 5-0.

Still unbeaten is Ray.

By becoming the first West Division team to win a playoff game since crossover system was put in place in 1996, the Esks set up a showdown between the CFL’s top two passers — Ray and Anthony Calvillo.

Ray, who is 2-1 in Grey Cup finals, didn’t have a touchdown pass against the Bombers, but he did a skilful job executing the ball control offence drawn up by Danny Maciocia and offensive co-ordinator Rick Worman with a turnover-free performance in difficult weather conditions. Ray was flat-out better then Winnipeg’s Kevin Glenn.

“We put some drives together. We came in here knowing we couldn’t throw the ball 40 or 50 times. We needed to run the football,” Maciocia said. With frigid temperatures and gusting winds, Ray kept the ball away from the Blue Bombers by utilizing backs Calvin McCarty and A.J. Harris, both of whom chewed up yardage and time on swing passes. McCarty caught seven passes for 52 yards and Harris four passes for 38 yards and had a pair a rushing touchdowns.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Alouettes humbled the Esks in the first meeting of the teams back on Sept. 21 as Calvillo strafed Edmonton's defence to the tune of 32-for-38 for 414 yards in just three quarters of play. The Esks romped 37-14 in the rematch at Commonwealth Stadium Oct. 31, but Calvillo was among a half-dozen Montreal regulars sitting out with the East Division title already in hand.

Esks must win to silence coach’s critics

Capital sports by robin brownlee — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:51:00 -0400

The Edmonton Eskimos 37-14 win over a team dressed up as the Montreal Alouettes on Halloween was a tidy way to finish the regular season, but it won’t mean as much to coach Danny Maciocia’s future as this Saturday’s East Division semifinal cross-over playoff game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

With the Alouettes resting half-a-dozen starters, including Anthony Calvillo, the Eskimos put an embarrassing 55-9 loss to Saskatchewan behind them — Ricky Ray marked the franchise’s 1,000th game by connecting on his first 15 passes at Commonwealth Stadium as Maciocia’s men finished the season 10-8.

So, the Esks are last in the West again, but back in the playoffs as they head to Winnipeg, where they’re 2-8 in their last 10 trips. The Bombers, meanwhile, finished 8-10, but won six of their final eight games after a 1-6 start.

I’m guessing anything less than a win against the Blue Bombers Saturday and a rematch with the “real” Alouettes will have Maciocia’s critics up in arms again.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Oilers making it work despite themselves

Capital sports by robin brownlee — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:41:21 -0400

Am I the only one amazed that the Edmonton Oilers are off to a 4-0 start after completing a home-and-home sweep of the Calgary Flames thanks to a 3-2 in at Rexall Place Saturday?

More unexpected after a lukewarm preseason is that the Oilers have done it without putting together a complete 60 minutes and with several key players struggling to get going.

Some observations . . .

The line of Erik Cole, Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky hasn’t looked like a fit. While Cole has adapted to the move to left wing, Hemsky is struggling mightily in his usual spot on the right side. Horcoff has two goals, but looks tentative.

Captain Ethan Moreau didn’t show much in pre-season but he’s found his game. With a goal Saturday, he's tied for the team scoring lead with 1-3-4 and is plus-4. Moreau said he’d be ready to go when it counted.

Steve MacIntyre has provided big bang for the buck. He’s averaged just five shifts and 2:31 in ice time per game, but his presence has been immense. MacIntyre’s second-period hit on Boyd Gordon and ensuing fight with Brandon Prust Saturday was a game-changer, igniting a three-goal outburst.

I don’t recall one cheap-shot or a glove stuck in the face of Hemsky, Robert Nilsson or Andrew Cogliano since MacIntyre used Jim Vandermeer as a punching bag in pre-season.

While Jeff Deslauriers got the win in his first NHL start in a 4-3 decision in Calgary Friday, he’ll need to string together more wins before GM Steve Tambellini sends Dwayne Roloson packing. Deslauriers looked shaky at times in his debut.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH
Is it any wonder the Edmonton Eskimos came out on the wrong end of a 43-28 score against the B.C. Lions Friday to drop to 9-7? Not a bit. The final score flattered them. The Esks weren't good enough on special teams. The offence didn’t even threaten to run the ball. Defensively, they didn’t generate any pressure. With a chance to sweep a home-and-home series with B.C. and take the season series, they were wanting in all three facets of the game.

Even with A.J. Harris back, they generated just 32 yards rushing. Most of that came from Ricky Ray when he was running for his life. Harris had five carries for nine yards. The Esks had no sacks. While they knocked Buck Pierce around and had him hobbling, they were a step late. The Esks let Paul McCallum extend a drive when he ran for a first down, leading to a TD pass to Geroy Simon. There was no outside containment and nobody was close to McCallum when he slid to the turf.

WHILE I’M AT IT . . . the Oilers haven't started 5-0 since 1985-86 . . . Sam Gagner (knee) and Sheldon Souray (bruised thigh) will accompany the team on a three-game road trip that begins in Chicago Wednesday.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

MacIntyre fighting his way on

Capital sports by robin brownlee — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:44:27 -0400

For a guy who hasn't played five minutes as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, hulking Steve MacIntyre made quite an impression in his debut in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames Friday.

MacIntyre, a six-foot-six, 265-pound enforcer who'd spent his entire pro career punching for peanuts in the minor leagues before the Oilers plucked him from Florida on the waiver wire, likely earned himself an NHL job with his dismantling of tough Jim Vandermeer.

While fans, not to mention coach Craig MacTavish, have debated the merit of using a roster spot for a tough guy, there’s no argument about the impact MacIntyre’s beat-down of Vandermeer had on his teammates.

“You can’t not be impressed by that fight,” said Shawn Horcoff, who watched from the press box. “He’s a guy who can serve a role for our team that we haven't had in a while.”

After Vandermeer got the better of Marc Pouliot in a fight, sending him to the dressing room needing stitches over both eyes, nobody needed to tell MacIntyre what had to happen next.

MacIntyre, 28, who can knock an opponent goofy with either hand, knows why he’s here. That grasp of the job description is why he’ll be on the 23-man roster to the start the season.

While MacIntyre played just 4:48, his debut prompted somebody on the popular fan website HFBoards to start a “Steve MacIntyre Appreciation” thread. As of 10 a.m. Sunday it had 164 comments posted and 4,907 views.

TOUGH CALLS
Between MacIntyre's obvious value and having three goaltenders on the roster, it’s stacking up like Gilbert Brule and Rob Schremp will be among MacTavish’s final five cuts today or Tuesday.

With MacIntyre as the 13th forward and Jeff Deslauriers turning in an outstanding performance Friday and looking ready for primetime as Mathieu Garon’s back-up, Brule and Schremp will pay the price until MacTavish can find a way to unload Dwayne Roloson.

Unless I’m reading things wrong, Taylor Chorney, Theo Peckham, Mathieu Roy, Brule and Schremp will be the final five cuts.

DIFFICULT SEASON
A season to forget came to an abrupt end for Edmonton Eskimos defensive back J.R. LaRose in the third quarter of Saturday’s 36-22 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Commonwealth Stadium.

LaRose, 24, suffered a badly broken right leg on a punt return and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, taking the shine off a comeback win the Eskimos absolutely had to have. He will be lost for the season.

LaRose, a local product who won a CFJL title with the Edmonton Huskies in 2004, lost a family member to a drowning incident during training camp in June.

WHILE I'M AT IT . . . At 8-6, the Esks can guarantee themselves no worse than a crossover playoff berth win one more win in their final four games, a stretch that starts against the B.C. Lions in Vancouver Friday.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Line shakeups a good move

Capital Sports by Robin brownlee — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:46:20 -0400

Edmonton Oilers’ head coach Craig MacTavish doesn’t need advice from me, and he’s never asked for it, but he’s making the right call in taking a second look at his decision to play Ethan Moreau, Fernando Pisani and Dustin Penner as his third line.

That combination never worked for me on paper, and after a couple of so-so efforts in which they showed no chemistry and got few results, it isn’t really working for MacTavish, either.

“It hasn’t been a very good line in the two games they played,” MacTavish said. “I’ll probably give it another shot.

“It’s tough on the face-offs. We’re giving up a lot of chances on defensive zone face-offs and that’s probably not something I’ll live with without making a change there.”

Granted, it’s pre-season, so there hasn’t been an abundance of intensity — some would suggest there hasn’t been any. It’s not unreasonable to think that’ll change Oct. 12 if the line stays together.

That said, I don’t see a fit. Pisani is out of position at centre and so is Penner, moved from left wing to right wing. Expecting Pisani to become even adequate on face-offs in the next two weeks isn’t reasonable.

For what it’s worth, my third line would see Penner on left wing and Pisani on right wing flanking Kyle Brodziak. Brodziak is capable of taking more minutes, is defensively reliable and has a clue on the dot.

That would mean moving Moreau to left wing on the fourth line with Zack Stortini and either Marc Pouliot or Gilbert Brule at centre.

WALTZ ON BY
The most disconcerting thing about watching the Eskimos lose three of their last four games to drop to 7-6 is their inability to defend against the rush.

The Eskimos feeble run defence was front and centre again in a 30-23 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday as they gave up 156 yards along the ground. They’ve allowed 524 rushing yards in their last three games.

That’s an even more ghastly statistic than their knack of coughing up fumbles and interceptions in recent weeks. The Bombers averaged 5.8 yards a carry.

If there’s a silver lining heading into Saturday’s rematch at Commonwealth Stadium, it’s that Ricky Ray slipped out of his funk with 434 passing yards against the Bombers. Good thing, because with A.J. Harris on the shelf, Edmonton’s running game isn’t good enough.

WHILE I’M AT IT ... Ray moved ahead of Warren Moon as Edmonton’s all-time leader in touchdown passes Friday, making it 145 TD strikes with a toss to Maurice Mann ... It’s a good thing there’s so much optimism with the Oilers these days, because they’re going to need it with 12 of their first 15 games on the road ... Oilers HHOF broadcaster Rod Phillips, who just celebrated his 67th birthday, sounds invigorated and like he’s having fun again alongside new analyst Bob Stauffer.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Pisani stepping onto centre stage

Capital Sports by Robin brownlee — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:10:22 -0400

Moving into the middle after spending the last 12 years playing right wing will require a major adjustment by Fernando Pisani, but it’s a far better position than he was in a year ago — on the outside looking in.

The big news from the first two days of Edmonton Oilers training camp came when coach Craig MacTavish announced Pisani will start the pre-season at centre, flanked by captain Ethan Moreau and Dustin Penner, on his third line.

Pisani, 30, hasn’t spent significant time at pivot since 1995-96, when he had 103 points with St. Albert of the AJHL before spending four years in the college ranks with Providence.

“Basically, the last time I played it was back in junior,” said Pisani, who did step into the circles for seven face-offs last season. “He (MacTavish) just threw it out to me and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try it.’”

While Pisani has those dozen years of rust to shake off when it comes to face-offs and adjusting to life in the middle, it’ll be a far easier transition than he made in 2007-08.

Everybody knows that story — Pisani missed training camp and the first 26 games after a bout with ulcerative colitis. Pisani is healthy as a horse now, thanks to drug therapy. Relatively speaking, dusting off his face-off skills will be a walk in the park.

“There’s a lot more skating involved as a centre,” Pisani said. “It’s a lot more work as a centre than as a winger, I’d say.”

With Jarret Stoll and Marty Reasoner gone, expect Pisani to lean on Shawn Horcoff for tips and extra practice on the dot.

NO MYSTERY
While pre-season, which starts tonight against Vancouver, has been much anticipated after a long summer, there are really only two jobs open on the 23-man roster.

MacTavish’s first three lines are set. His top unit will be Horcoff in the middle with Erik Cole and Ales Hemsky. Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Robert Nilsson will stay together. Moreau, Pisani and Penner will be the third line. Kyle Brodziak will centre the fourth line with Zack Stortini on right wing. Rob Schremp and Marc Pouliot will contest the left-wing spot, with the loser being the 13th forward.

MacTavish’s defensive pairings will be Steve Staios and Sheldon Souray, Lubomir Visnovsky and Ladislav Smid and Tom Gilbert and Denis Grebeshkov. Jason Strudwick or Mathieu Roy will be the seventh man.

COULD’VE BEEN WORSE
The final score of 40-4 was ugly enough, but the Edmonton Eskimos could easily have lost by 50 points to the Montreal Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium yesterday.

The Esks should be thankful the Alouettes eased up in the fourth quarter, pulling Anthony Calvillo after he went 32-for-38 for 414 yards and two touchdowns.

One question after this mismatch: Could the Eskimos, 7-5, miss the playoffs? If you check the standings, and take into account Ricky Ray is obviously banged up, it’s a legit question.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.

Garon ‘excited’ for season

Capital Sports by Robin brownlee — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:57:12 -0400

Mathieu Garon sounds ready to pick-up where he left off before an ankle sprain kept him on the shelf for the Edmonton Oilers final 11 games last season.

Garon, who took the starting job from Dwayne Roloson and went 26-18-1 with a 2.66 goals-against average and a ridiculous 10-0 record in shootouts before the injury put him out, can’t wait for training camp to open Saturday.

“I’m really positive,” Garon said. “I’ve been talking with most of the guys this summer and they all feel the same way. I’ve never been this excited to start a season with the way we finished last year.”

Garon looked more than capable of being coach Craig MacTavish’s No. 1 stopper before he got hurt. Still, with the Oilers on the hook for $3 million with Roloson and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers pushing both of them, Garon has a battle on his hands.

“I had a good year, but I have to prove it all over this year,” Garon said. “Being in this position, you don’t get a break. I can’t wait for the challenge. That’s hockey. You start over every year.”

With a salary of $1 million in the final year of a two-year deal, Garon is a bargain. If he regains the top job and has the kind of first half he did a year ago, he could hit the jackpot with a contract extension

CLOSE, BUT …
As sloppy as it was, the Edmonton Eskimos 38-33 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Saturday was entertaining as Jason Goss stole the show with three interceptions, 144 return yards and two touchdowns.

On an afternoon when Ricky Ray and Casey Printers both threw four interceptions, Goss was the difference as the Esks moved to 7-4 in another nail-biter against the Tiger-Cats.

It doesn’t matter how good the Esks are or how bad Hamilton is (they’re 2-9), the Tabbies are always a handful at Commonwealth Stadium.

HURT PARADE
• Winger J.F. Jacques is looking doubtful for training camp because of a herniated disc in his back.

After showing improvement this summer, it was hoped Jacques would avoid surgery to fix the damage that kept him out of the second half of the schedule with Springfield of the AHL last season.

• A.J. Harris left Saturday’s game in the first quarter with a sprained right knee. He’ll have an MRI to determine the extent of the damage.

IT SAYS HERE … Goss had five interceptions for 164 returns yards in 18 games with the Esks last season, so he almost matched that output in one afternoon … forget which lines Erik Cole, Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky are on when camp begins, they’ll play together when the season opens.

– In a decade covering the Edmonton sports scene, Robin Brownlee has been the news-breaker and insightful voice for sports fans in Oil Country.