We’ve heard Craig MacTavish talk about the future of both Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky and if you read between the lines, neither player is likely to be back with the club next year.  Of course both players have value and could be an attractive trade option for another NHL club, especially Hemsky.

Obtaining something in return for either player would be the preferred route to take for Mac-T, but sometimes plans don’t always go the way we want them to and a buyout may be in order.

There are others that could be facing the notion of being bought out by the Oilers, to then be a free-agent and at the mercy of the other 29 NHL clubs.  If someone desires that player’s services and puts in a bid to take on some of the remaining owed salary, that former Oiler could be changing addresses sooner than he thinks.

But who could those other players be?  Ryan Smyth has had his name as a potential buyout candidate along with Horcoff and Hemsky.  What about center Eric Belanger who can’t seem to stay healthy enough to be worth his cost effective salary of $1.75 million.

Those are the most obvious choices that come to mind so for the time being, let’s pretend you are the GM of the Oilers.  If you had only one compliance buyout to use this summer, who would you use it on?

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Appearing on The Team 1260 with Mark Spector, MacTavish made it clear that the future in Edmonton likely doesn’t have Horcoff or Hemsky in it stating “an ideal scenario would be to move them on and wish them the best in the next destination.”

MacTavish did say that he has a lot of “respect” for both players and that the organization wants to receive something in return for what he deems “valuable” players.

If both Horcoff and Hemsky are “valuable” players then why are they not part of the plan for the next season in Edmonton?  Or is this a case of kind words before the Oilers cut ties with their captain and number 83.

Horcoff has two years left on his 6-year deal that hits the Oilers salary cap for $5.5 million annually.  To say he’s lost a step or two in his game would be accurate given his offensive numbers over the past few years.

Last season he played in 31 games and registered 12 points.  The year prior he played in 81 games and put up just 34 points.  Season before that – 47 games and 27 points.  In 2009-10 – 77 games and just 36 points.  You get the idea.  Not exactly the type of offensive contribution you’d expect from a guy making over $5 million a year.

But Horcoff does bring value to this club in the form of faceoffs and penalty killing.  One of the Oilers top faceoff men, he has become a reliable option to win a key draw late in the game. His ability to defend the Oilers zone when down a man is also a strong suit for Horcoff, something that he has hopefully passed on to the younger players.

In this game though, sometimes the bad outweigh the good and the fact is that Horcoff is making too much money to be putting up less than average numbers.  The result will be either a trade or a buyout I’m thinking.

The same goes for Ales Hemsky.  Still just 29-years old, it feels like we’ve been watching number 83 dangle around opponents for a lifetime.  Actually it’s been a decade but he too has seen his numbers decline thanks to injuries and now it may not be worth it to pay him $5 million annually.

There are some Oiler fans that believe Hemsky still brings great value to the Oilers.  His ability to stick handle in a phone booth and create a scoring chance from a relatively dead situation is unique.

But his health is concering given the fact that he hasn’t played a full season since 2005-06 when he played in 81 games.  Since then the most he’s played was in 74 games back in 2007-08.

Hemsky still has value, absolutely.  Which is why it makes sense to try and trade him versus buying him out and allowing him to walk away and get nothing in return.

It’s hard to say what the  return  would be  for the Oilers. In need of some help on the blue line they would be wise to target a defenseman that could step in and play as a number four or five guy.  That might be too much to ask for, but Hemsky is a player that can still put up the points if he can stay healthy.

Change is coming and it’s a welcomed sight if it’s done correctly.  Part of me will miss seeing Hemsky use his slick hands to finesse the puck between a defender’s legs.  But the old way wasn’t working and having no playoff hockey for an eighth straight season isn’t really an option either.

Thanks to Horcoff and Hemsky for their service and all they’ve done for the Oilers.  If this is truly the end of their time in Edmonton, thanks for the memories and best of luck at your next stop.