Although the Edmonton Oilers are currently playing at a level unthought of before the season began, it would be wise to remember that they are still in the course of a rebuild.  Sacrifices can and must be made in the short-term in order to achieve long-term gains. 

There has been a lot of debate on where Oilers forwards Linus Omark, Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky fit into the franchises future.

 For clarity, Let's take a look at the Oilers forwards, both those on the team and in the prospect pipeline.

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With the 1st Overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers are proud to select...

Adam Larsson

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Western Hockey League appears to be the consensus Number One pick, but if I'm running the Oilers, I lean towards a franchise defenseman. They say that offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships. Edmonton has the offense, or at least, they will in a few years. Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle will form a dynamic two thirds of a top line, while former 6th overall pick Sam Gagner can still develop into a solid supporting play-maker. Magnus Pajaarvi and Linus Omark have apparently bright futures, perhaps flanking fellow swede Anton Lander, a two-way pivot and born leader. Tyler Pitlick has power-forward potential down the middle, and could fit nicely with gritty wingers Curtis Hamilton and Teemu Hartikainen, who also have a bit of scoring upside. 

Things are different on the back-end, where few prospects stick out as having top-paring potential. Ryan Whitney is a number-one defenseman for sure, but lacks consistency. Jeff Petry, Martin Maricin and Colton Teubert all have varying degrees of upside, but none figure to be more than solid top 4 blueliners. This is where Larsson comes in. Joining the above group as well as perhaps a fellow countryman/defenseman/2011 1st round pick (Oscar Klefbom or Jonas Brodin) immediately improves the outlook for the Oilers in their own zone. In my mind, this pick could well determine whether Edmonton wins a Cup in the next few years. 

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In 2007 Ottawa Senators leader extraordinaire Daniel Alfredsson scored an overtime goal against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, allowing the team to march on to the Stanley Cup Final for their first time since their re-joining the National Hockey League in 1992. It was an magnificent moment for the Senators and their fans. Finally: vindication. This club COULD go all the way. I remember exactly where I was at that moment, watching the game, picturing the image of our beloved Alfie hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup being on millions of Pepsi cans. 

Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there.

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Time goes by so fast. The 2010-11 season will be my 4th as a rabid hockey fan. It seems like only yesterday I was learning the game, watching my 'hometown' team struggle, find their way and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. 

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The Vancouver Canucks have been lauded for their moves to bolster their defense by trading for Keith Ballard and signing Dan Hamhuis this summer. Some in the media have even gone so far as to declare the Canucks the favourite for the 2011 Stanley Cup.

It's true that the team is set in goal, on the blueline and in their top-six forward ranks. But there are some skeptics out there who wonder about the third and fourth lines. Is there enough depth here for a Cup run? Let's take a look.

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I'm sure that many Ottawa Senators fans have looked wistfully at Stanley Cup Champion and Unrestricted Free Agent Antti Niemi. While certainly not one of the league's best netminders, Niemi has proven himself to be a starting goaltender, albeit on an elite team. While he may not have won the Cup for his team, he didn't lose it for them either.

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Most of you have never heard of this guy. I hadn't until today.

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So the latest buzz is that Aaron Asham is likely to sign somewhere before the end of this week. Ilya Kovalchuk has signed, most likely opening the proverbially floodgates.

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So Bob Boughner, winner of two consecutive memorial cups with the Windsor Spitfires, is joining the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. What does this mean for Ottawa? Well, it reminded me of something I had suggested a few weeks back.

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Probably...but with most of the media and blog focus on the Flyers and Blackhawks, it's fun to have a bit of Senators speculation. Especially one that doesn't involve Anton Volchenkov.

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Note: I'm not advocating for any of these things. But Bryan Murray will do them anyway.

Anton Volchenkov will be re-signed at the last minute on June 31st or July 1st to a 5 year, 25 million dollar deal.

Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton will move on via Free Agency.

Alex Kovalev, Filip Kuba and Pascal LeClaire will remain in Ottawa.

Bryan Murray will draft Emerson Etem.


Discuss.


Apparently my post needs five more words...

There's been a lot of talk about how green the Ottawa Senators defense and goaltending is. This is true.

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first off...I just want to say...if you don't like this idea, if you don't believe in the method I'm proposing...just stop reading and walk away. I'm hoping this post will be a negative free zone.

What I'm suggesting may seem crazy to some, or just pointless, but it's harmless and worth a try!

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With the Ottawa Senator's regular season wrapping up Saturday night in Buffalo, it has now been 2 full seasons since General Manager Bryan Murray traded Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a 1st round draft pick that later became (essentially) Chris Campoli.

Since the centrepiece of the return for Meszaros was Filip Kuba, and the latter two acquisitions have been relative non-factors, I've decided to compare Filip Kuba and Andrej Meszaros' performance over the last two seasons, in the hope of judging the impact of the trade.

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Ice Edge Holdings has admitted that it has lost investors since it first made a bid, leading to reports that the finances are no longer there. It's also known that they are having trouble securing a new lease (although there are conflicting reports here).

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The Mayor over at Sens Town wrote an article today on how he thinks our vaunted Captain, Daniel Alfredsson the First. should sit out the next two games in Florida, and play his 1000th game at home against the Sabres.

You can read the article here for his reasons: http://www.senstown.com/2010/04/should-we-sit-alfie.html

This makes sense. Why play him on the road against two poor excuse for franchises? He can rest, gear up for the play-offs, and then get the honour he deserves at home against a real franchise. It's not like the games in florida really matter.

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57.7

Yes, on the latest edition of CBC's Satellite Hotstove, it was reported that the salary cap for the 2010-2011 season will be around 57.7 million, an increase of approximately 900,000.

So what does that mean for the Ottawa Senators? I checked Capgeek.com to find out!

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Milan Michalek is expected to return to the Ottawa Senators line-up soon. Possibly on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers. At the very latest, he should be back by the play-offs.

So the question is, where do you insert him into the line-up?

You just can't bump Peter Regin off the top line right now as he has been way too hot. He has developed more chemistry with Jason Spezza in the last 6 games or so than Michalek has all season.

So there is likely two options: Put him with Mike Fisher and Alexei Kovalev or with Chris Kelly and Chris Neil.

Both have their pros and cons:

His presence on a line with Fisher and Kovalev might infuse some energy and offense into a line that has struggled in that department as of late.

However, Milan might have the same chemistry issues with Alexei as he had with Spezza. Jason and Kovy are similar players.

However, The Watermelon Warrior and Mike might just have a ball using their speed and grit to crash the net, with Kovalev getting the puck to them.

Michalek is also a turnover machine: he often overskates on his rushes, turning over the puck. This has resulted in a -11 rating. Alexei is also known for turnovers as he often tries to do too much with the puck. Do we really want them both on the ice at the same time?

 Kelly and Neil, on the other hand, would always have his back defensively, givingMilan more freedom.

Plus, Michalek's game is closer to Jarkko Ruutu's than that of Matt Cullen who currently plays with Fisher and Kovalev and would have to be bumped down should Michalek join that line. So he might fit on the Two Chris's line better.

But Cullen's defensive awareness would also fit well with Kelly and Neil.

Or of course there's always the option of forming a new line, with Matt joining Nick Foligno and Jesse Winchester or Zack Smith, allowing Milan to join Mike and Alexei as well as keeping the Ruutu, Kelly, Neil line that has been so effective intact.

What do you guys think?

Ok, so with one win in their last six games, there's not a lot of positive things to write regarding the Ottawa Senators. I'm a born optimist though, and I'm just waiting patiently for them to right the ship. which they inevitiably will. In the meantime, I though I'd have some fun and look at potential line-ups for Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.

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[Ed. Note: The following is a FanPost written by a community member. The level of analysis GelatinousMutantCoconut put into the post is certainly notable and noticeable, and for that reason it's been promoted to the front page. For more info on FanPosts or FanShots, check out the SBN Welcome Guide.]

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson vs Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson

Alfredsson isn’t the same force, but he’s still an elite ageless wonder. Spezza’s game seemed to decline until fairly recently, when he finally realized he could shoot the puck. Michalek is a downgrade in terms of goal scoring from Heatley, but brings better defense, speed and grit. Though less offensively dominant, I like the current incarnation a bit better, especially for playoff hockey (Though hopefully Michalek isn’t doubly cursed come playoff time. After all he is a former Shark. Scary.)

Cullen-Fisher-Kovalev vs Schaefer-Fisher-Comrie

Certainly a HUGE upgrade. Fisher is having his best year, Cullen is so much better in all areas than Schaefer, and Kovalev, when he wants, can do things Mike Comrie can only dream of. Again, 2010 wins it, though much more emphatically.

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