BEEN TOO LONG…

It’s been awhile since my last post. The Fansided.com site was experiencing some technical difficulties that seem to cleaned up now, which contributed to my not posting as well. Sorry for the inconvenience! So… I thought I would go back and go through a few things that I have missed commenting on.

The first thing I want to discuss is the play of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. With the announcement that RNH has set a new franchise record for fastest rookie to reach 30 points in 28 games. The previous record was held by Jason Arnott at 38 games. This comes as a bonus to leading all rookies this season in scoring as well. Hopkins and Eberle seem to have the chesmistry that looks more like magic than skill. This season ticket holder has not seen the tic-tac-toe plays that these kids are putting together in a long time. Not to mention, it’s on a nightly basis! Granted they didn’t score on Calgary this past Saturday, but they did have some nice looks. I will make a bold prediction: RNH will be a 100 point player in the next few years. I don’t know how bold that is, being that he’s already on pace for 85+ points now.

With NHL re-alignment coming, personally I think this will make the league more fun to watch. As a fan whose goal it is to watch the Oilers play in every rink in the league, I was a little frustrated by the way the conferences are set up. What I like about the new design is that I can travel to see any team on any given year. Plus, the travel schedules will most lkely be grouped a little better as well, so that My wife and I can see more games in the same region, on the same trip than might be possible now.

Personally I don’t care what kind of issues individuals teams have with travel and fatigue. With what guys are getting paid nowadays, and the private charters they fly on now, I say suck it up. The re-alignment should not have been about that. What’s more important and improves the game in my mind, will be the re-ignition of old rivalries that seem to have fizzled out. Having inter-conference play-offs will not only accomplish this, but will create some new one as well! This is all good for the game. Getting a healthy amount of hate for your opposing rivals feels soooo good!!

Ben Eager finally showed up for the Oilers, and now has more points than Magnus Paajarvi who hasn’t. Eager has two goals now and seems to be understanding that he has to hit someone to make a difference in a game. Granted, he was injured for several games thus far, but it looks like he’s starting to figure out what the Oilers need in order for him to be effective. It couldn’t have come at a better time, with the Oilers now on a losing skid and a tough schedule ahead before Christmas.

Andy Sutton’s suspension was just right in my mind. Let’s face it, he’s a repeat offender…

I’ll be honest here, I like the fact that the Oilers now have a player that will play on the edge, but there needs to be some retraint shown by a gut thats 6′ 6″. he certainly didn’t need to leave hisfeet when he hit Ponikarovsky. The above video was from a previous incident last year, before he was a member of the Oilers, but I think it goes to show his attitude when it comes to these types of hits.

There have been a lot of calls for Ales Hemsky to be traded recently. I have never been a big fan of his. He has always frustrated me with his pass first mentality and his static play on the half-wall on the PP. But now it seems that he’s lost all interest in competein too. I say if Tambellini can find a partner to take him befor we lose him to free agncy at the end of this season, make a deal. The issue is what can youget for an injury prone player that is struggling mightily in a contract year?

Hopefully the oilers can turn this current slide around playing Phoenix on Thursday.

GO Oilers GO!