Edmonton Oilers: Fans need to have patience as the season unfolds

Injuries hit the Edmonton Oilers hard

In the early going, Jujhar Khaira has picked up where he left off the last 3 seasons and been rather forgettable.  He was demoted to the taxi squad and the next guy in line – Gaetan Haas – was supposed to get a chance to be a full-time guy but then he ended up getting injured.  This then left newcomer Devin Shore, who originally came here on a PTO, to take the spot until Haas is ready to play.

As much as I can’t stand Mike Smith, his injury has been a kick in the pills to our goaltending corps, and the yanking of Anton Forsberg on waivers by Carolina – who chose not to re-sign him after last season – was another blow to the goaltending corps.  Forsberg was later put on waivers again and claimed by the Jets, so he’s not suiting up for the Oilers again unless he goes on waivers again.

Why you would re-claim a player you had previously let walk in the 1st place is a mystery to me, but that’s what Carolina did.  It was hoped we could claim Aaron Dell as help, but New Jersey snapped him up before we had a chance to.

This leaves Mikko Koskinen’s backups as career minor leaguer Stuart Skinner and AHL bubble player Troy Grosenick.  This means until Smith’s ready to go the Oilers will likely have to ride Koskinen unless Holland can trade for a guy with at least a modicum of NHL experience.

The Oiler’s anemic PP in the early going can in part be attributed to the injury of James Neal, an elite producer on the PP.  Fortunately, we have some good news in this area as he’s back.  That should help the PP get going back to its #1 ways again. This is a lot of player movement to experience, and inevitably it will have an impact on the start of the season.