2010 NHL Predictions: Edmonton Oilers
Written by Anthony Moretti - Google +
The Edmonton Oilers are set to groom the younger generation of the league with some of the best young talent making their squad this season. They have revamped into a dynamic team that not only shows promise in the future but also promise in the present. Their first round picks from 2008, 2009 and 2010 were all in the opening day line-up and after seeing Jordan Eberle’s first career NHL goal I know Oiler fans must be smiling at the many great treats the future will bring.
The Oilers active roster to open the season includes 14 of their 24 players under the age of 26. This is a team that hasn’t seen the post season since 2006 but with an average age of just over 23 years-old per player and a nice mix of veteran players such as Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky we may start to see a winning attitude in the Oil Country that we haven’t seen in some time. Hemsky missed the majority of the 2009-2010 season with shoulder surgery but seems to be set to return to his point-a-game production that he saw prior to the injury.
Nikolai Khabibulin will presumably be between the pipes for the majority of the starts this season and that is of great benefit to the team as he has posted less than a 90% save ratio in only two of his 14 season in the NHL seasons. The bad news though is that he is carrying some baggage with him into the 2010-2011 season. He missed the majority of the season last year due to ailing back problems and now he is dealing with an appeal for a 30-day jail term in a DUI conviction.
The Oilers battled with many issues last season but one that stands out as a main concern is that fact that they were last by a long-shot in goals allowed. They surrendered 284 goals in the 82-game season, 20 more than any other team in the league. Edmonton opponents potted five or more goals on 16 occasions in regulation time and all but one of those matches resulted in a loss as the Oilers struggled to outscore the opposition. With the addition of a healthy Khabibulin in net instead of Jeff Deslauriers, who had the fourth highest GAA last season despite only ranking 20th in the shots-against category, the Oilers will have an opportunity to win many more games this season.
With Sheldon Souray now playing in the AHL some question if he will be missed on the blue-line but he had a terrible season for Edmonton before he had the season-ending injury to his hand. Souray had a –19 rating in just 37 games and managed only 13 points, well below his career average. Defenseman Ryan Whitney in comparison has excelled since joining the Oilers last season. He posted 11 points in just 19 games and had a +7 rating last season after being acquired from Anaheim. Another ex-Duck that should add to his career year last season is Dustin Penner. The 245-lbs forward with a scoring touch led the team with 32 goals and 63 points last season. The stars look aligned to send to the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Looking at the Odds
The Oilers are listed at 85 t0 1 by Bodog and rightfully so they are simply to young to make any noise in the post season should this be the year they make it back.
Where I see value on the Oilers is early in the season right now the consensus is this team is better but by how much? Odds makers have the their hands full with the Oilers as this group really is an unknown. Personally I like the Oilers to have a strong start but youthful exuberance fades with the grind of an 82 game season and so will Khabibulin’s health and eventually inexperience gets the better of this team.
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