We are currently witnessing a time honored Oiler ritual of muddying the name of a player as he heads out the door. Ales Hemsky is getting the same treatment that players such as Paul Coffey, Jason Arnott, Ryan Smyth v.1 and HeWhoShallNotBeNamed got on their way out the door.The media members who get paid by the franchise get out the long knives to stab the player in the back. Then the usual suspects in the media jump on board to grease the rails on said players run out of town. The goal is to put the franchise in the best possible light and frame the player as a malcontent. Usually, the fanbase is on board. This has been well documented on this site and others, and not the subject of this post.

( I would however, like to give Mark Spector a special nod in this specific case. Mr. Spector, in this fans opinion is doing a terrible job in his role as a journalist. His opinion carries weight and is capable of forming and changing opinion, if for no other reason than he gets airtime. He is using his position to advance a narrative pushed by the Oilers rather than any attempt at intellectual honesty or fact finding. If he was doing this in a subject that actually mattered, rather than sports, i would call it reprehensible. I understand the reason for Dan Tensor or Bob Stauffer to follow the party line. I don't understand Spectors.)

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Photo via Getty Images, all rights reserved.

Evgeni Malkin is out for the season with a knee injury. This is terrible news for a pro hockey player in the middle of his most productive years. On the other hand, a new opportunity has just popped up for the Oilers. You see, the way that the cap system works, is that if a player is put on long term injured reserve, his team is allowed cap relief up to his total salary. Effectively speaking, the Pittsburgh Penguins were up against the cap and now have Malkin's 8.7 million in cap space available for the rest of the year.

 Pittsburgh currently sits second in their division to Philly and second in points in the east with 72. Anytime you have Sidney Crosby on your team you are a threat to win the Stanley Cup. Ray Shero has a history of making moves to improve his team at the deadline.Pittsburgh is now in need of a top 6 winger. Preferably one that can fill the holes on either side of Sid that the Penguins have for ever been searching for.

Edmonton is in an opposite division and no where near the playoffs. Edmonton has 2 wingers in Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky that would fit like a glove beside Sid.

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Photo by Lisa McRitchie, all rights reserved.

And he said: " Son, this world is rough,and if a man is gonna make it he's gotta be tough, and I knew I wouldn't be there to help you along."

-Johnny Cash, A Boy Named Sue

 Sam Gagner is an excellent example of what Malcolm Gladwell and Daniel Coyle have been trying to tell us. The theory is that opportunity deep practice and high level coaching / mentoring from a young age can provide a person with extrordinary skills that often are mistaken for innate talent.

Sam's dad is Dave Gagner. He was a high round draft pick, a very good (if not elite) NHL player, and since his playing days has been involved in coaching and scouting in both the CHL and NHL.  Dave is also founded Custom Ice Rinks, Inc., a company that manufactures permanent and portable ice skating rinks. I only mention this because Sam has often spoke of his time spent on his home rink as a big factor in his development.

Lowetide often talks about comparables. He sites Doug Gilmour and Vincent Dampousse as the closest thing to Sammy. I have alway found these just a little bit off. The obvious comp to my way of thinking is none other than dear old Dad.

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Editor's Note:  Matt.N is a regular around these parts, so regular in fact, he's now looking for solutions for the tough minutes-playing, faceoff-winning, penalty-killing center desperately needed by the Oilers since 2007.  His FanPost is a novel idea and should generate some interesting conversation. 

Ever since Marty Sakic, Kyle Brodziak and Jarret Stoll got shipped out of town the Oilers have been running out a one armed Shawn Horcoff and a group of under sized, under aged and over matched players to man the middle. This has worked out a lot like the Dieppe Raid in 1942.  It was a complete failure on all objectives; however it has provided us with some valuable information for future use and taught us what not to do.

What every cheezie stained blogger, anti-Horcoff commenter and semi-literate fan has been calling for is a legitimate first line center. It has gotten to the point that the Oilogosphere has an annual desperate call for such luminaries as Dominic Moore, Jeff Halpern or Manny Malhotra to fill the gap. Fine players, but it would be a stretch of Van Meegeren proportions to include them in the top 30 centers in the league

So what exactly is it that we are looking for in a center? Typical answers would include size, puck distribution, face-off ability, defensive responsibility and, most importantly for the Oilers roster, the ability to play against and outscore the best centers in the NHL.

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One of the great things about the interweb is that whenever you have an idea, you can bet that someone smarter out there has already written about it better than you could. I have been kicking around the concepts of standardized scouting reports and also pirating established baseball concepts and employing them in hockey. These two articles hit both these ideas out of the park.

Japers' Rink

Puck Prospectus

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