The Edmonton Oilers have signed Gilbert Brule to a two year deal. This is a significant signing as Brule is a versatile player whom brings a physical presence, solid fore-checking and the ability to score on occasion. Offense was a big part of Brule’s game while playing junior for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League with his most notable year being in 2004/05 amassing 39 goals and 87 points plus 167 PIMS in 70 games.

The Columbus Blue Jackets liked what they saw in Brule and drafted him #6 Overall in the 2005 entry draft. He also played seven games with Columbus scoring two goals and adding two assists in that very year. Gilbert played his first full season the following year with Columbus playing more of a 3rd and 4th line specialty role with the club but eventually fell out of favor of the Jackets in 2007/08 in being sent down to Syracuse after he had played 61 games with Columbus.

Brule became expendable in the eyes of the Jackets which prompted the Edmonton Oilers to make a deal in 2008 swapping Raffi Torres for Brule in which at the time most felt it was a salary dump on Edmonton’s part.  Gilbert spent most of his time in Springfield in the AHL and was called up for 11 games in 2008/09 where he had 3 points in 11 games.

The 2009/10 season was his most productive season by a landslide, he played 65 games and had 17 goals and 37 points and was quickly becoming a fan favorite amongst Oiler nation as they started to fall in love with the intensity that Gilbert brought to every single game he played. Not only were the Oiler’s and fans noticing what Brule was doing on the ice last year but so were other teams as his name was a hot topic near the trade deadline but G.M. Steve Tambellini decided to keep the rugged forward.

One would expect Brule to get more ice time this upcoming season and I fully expect him to surpass his yearly totals in points from last season. Many may feel this is a minor deal for Edmonton but all in all the signing of a solid role player with his capabilities may just open up a few more eyes this coming  season.

Trent Kondo
NHLHS Edmonton Oilers Correspondent
tkondo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @TK0N

Many NHL prognosticators predicted a post season berth for the Oilers with their off-season moves and coaching staff adjustments, bringing in players like Nikolai Khabibulin to solidify the goaltending. The team also brought in a past proven winner plus offensive spark plug and home town boy Mike Comrie. The additions of legendary coach Pat Quinn and Tom Renney as his assistant also looked like a pure genius move by G.M. Steve Tambellini.

Right winger Ales Hemsky led a cast of what seemed to be a decent forward depth squad with player’s such as Dustin Penner, Sam Gagner, Shawn Horcoff and Patrick O’Sullivan and what looked to be a solid back end with Sheldon Souray, Lubomir Visnovsky, Tom Gilbert, and Denis Grebeshkov.

Edmonton started off well going 6-3-1 in their first 10 games with all signs being indicative towards a successful season upcoming for the Oilers but unfortunately this was not the case as the wheels started to fall. The team finished the month of October posting a record of 7-6-1 and over the next three months had a nauseating 9-25-2 record including the month of January where Edmonton did not even record a single victory.

The downfall can easily be blamed on injuries to Hemsky, Khabibulin and Souray along with underachieving of big money man Shawn Horcoff and supposed sniper Patrick O’Sullivan therefore leaving the reigns to Dustin Penner, youngster Sam Gagner and speedster Andrew Cogliano. Not a great scenario by any means especially now having your franchise player, number #1 goaltender and best defenseman on the shelf for an indefinite amount of time. All of the aforementioned issues and unfortunate occurrences for Edmonton spelled a 30th place finish overall and obviously dead last in the Western Conference with a mere 27 wins on the season.

In all honesty, if the Oilers were completely healthy with their full roster it’s hard to fathom if Edmonton would have been a serious contender or even participate in the post-season this year as the forward depth is just not there and the lack of solid stay at home defensemen was most definitely a key to being one of the most scored upon teams in the league. The top 4 d-men for the Oilers are pretty much considered offensive defensemen and more of a liability defensively which really is not a good nucleus to have in today’s game.

The Oilers, realizing there was no hope for post season play, then began the movement for next season stating there will be a complete rebuild of this club from the bottom to the top. They were not kidding around either in saying that as it all began quickly by moving Visnovksy to Anaheim for Ryan Whitney and a 6th rounder, Grebeskov to Nashville for a 2nd round pick, and Steve Staios to the Calgary Flames of all teams for Aaron Johnson plus a third round pick.

Add in the trade demand by Sheldon Souray after the season was over plus the firing of long time trainer Ken Lowe, Kevin Lowe’s brother and equipment tech’s Lyle Kulchisky and Barrie Stafford which a combined 84 years of service altogether for the Oiler franchise. As one can see family members and long time service means nothing if the team is not winning.

Edmonton cleared up a bit of cap space and will have even more if they can dump Souray’s contract on to another team and furthermore will have to decide on a few upcoming unrestricted free agents in the likes of Fernando Pisani, Aaron Johnson, Mike Comrie and Jason Strudwick in which I expect none will be brought back and will go elsewhere trying to find more money or a team not in rebuilding mode. They will also have 8 restricted free agents with the most notable being Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and Gilbert Brule who will be available to entertain offers from other clubs which can be matched by the Oilers or simply let them go on their way to another club.

In ending it was a season of purgatory so to speak for the Edmonton Oilers and their fans but need to be positive as the future looks bright with the likes of Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Chorney and yes either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin in the upcoming NHL entry draft.

Trent Kondo
NHLHS Edmonton Oilers Contributor
tkondo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @TKON

Back-up goalie, Curtis McElhinney got the nod and his first start for Anaheim. McElhinney faced 36 shots, blocking 34 of those and put up a promising performance in net that should give Ducks’ fans faith in the future of goaltending for their team. Newly signed Nick Bonino played his first NHL game in a Ducks’ uniform and didn’t take long to settle in. Although he did not score a point, he did make it onto the stat sheet with his first 2 penalty minutes and a shot on goal.

George Parros played an excellent game, notching the first goal for the Ducks at 8:18 of the first period.  Parros delivered the physical play he is known for with some big hits and a brawl against the Oilers’ Zack Stortini, as well as showing off his skating and passing ability.

George Parros vs. Zack Stortini – 03/26/2010

The Ducks held a 1 – 0 lead up to 5:52 of the second when Gilbert Brule put a shot into the net on McElhinney’s glove side. The 1 -1 stalemate lasted until the middle of the third when Corey Perry came to life for the Ducks scoring two power play goals, with Teemu Selanne adding assist on both. Ducks’s defencemen Brendan Mikkleson and Sheldon Brookbrank tried to keep things interesting by taking penalties at 18:08 and 19:31 of the third giving Edmonton, with their goalkeeper, Deslauriers pulled, a six-on-three. Marc Pouliout took advantage with 19.4 seconds remaining in the game, but there just wasn’t enough time left for the Oilers to overcome the deficit.

My Ducks’ Three Stars:

3 – Teemu Selanne – assisted on the game winner as well as Corey Perry’s other power play goal

2 – Curtis McElhinney – with 34 saves, the Ducks couldn’t have done it without him

1 – Corey Perry – 2 power play goals in the third, one of which was the game winner, need I say more?

Honorable Mentions:

George Parros – played one his best games in quite some time

Troy Bodie and Kyle Chipchura – for almost scoring short-handed goals

Notes:

Ryan Getzlaf sat out of the game nursing a sore ankle.

Todd Marchant and Jason Blake were healthy scratches.

This was Corey Perry’s first 2-goal game since November 3^rd, 2009.

Teemu Selanne has 3 assists in the last 2 games. Selanne needs only 2 more goals to pass Jari Kurri on the all-time goal scoring list.

The Ducks next game is Monday, March 29^th, 2010 against the Dallas Stars in Anaheim. Teemu Selanne will be honored in a ceremony before the game.

As of this writing the Columbus Blue Jackets sit 14th in the Western Conference and 26th in the entire League.  With only four wins and eight points in their last ten games, the ship seems to be sinking.  GM Scott Howson likely will move his expiring contracts before season’s end leaving a player like Raffi Torres of great interest.

Through 52 games with the Blue Jackets Torres posted 26 points. Through a full NHL season those totals project for 40 points, right around his career high of 41 in 2005-2006.  The 28-year-old also projects to score 20 goals for the third time in his career and could in theory flirt with 30 goals.

In his limited playoff experience he holds a similar pace with 11 points in 22 games with the Oilers and two points in four games with Columbus.  Although limited, his ability to endure a Stanley Cup run should play a larger role in determining his value.

During the 2008 offseason the Oilers traded Torres to the Blue Jackets for then forward prospect Gilbert Brule.   The Jackets acquired a trusted veteran while the Oilers received a nice building block for their future, essentially a win-win situation for both teams.  If the Blue Jackets receive another young asset then it could possibly swing the trade in their favor.

An interesting destination would be Pittsburgh, where GM Ray Shero always seems to buy at this period.  Torres as well as Alexei Ponikarovsky likely top the list of affordable and useful wingers for his elite centers.  Of course, Ilya Kovalchuk probably will be moved or announced off the market before lesser wingers get moved.  Teams who miss out in the Kovalchuk sweepstakes may take home Torres as a consolation prize.

The price most likely will be a prospect or draft pick, depending on what Howson wants back.  This player does not represent a first-round draft pick’s value despite his 5th overall selection.

Torres makes the remainder of a 2.250 cap hit, which on March 3rd will be less than 500K.  Only six teams at this point cannot afford this grinding winger so overall interest should be high.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove

• The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks in overtime on the second goal of the night from Troy Brouwer.  ”We had exactly the right start that we wanted,” Brouwer said. “We had a little hiccup in the middle of the game, but we were able to fend them off and pull it out in overtime.”
• Blue Jacket fans reminded the team that the game lasts 60 minutes as Columbus fell to Los Angeles 4-0.  ”This is painful,” left winger R.J. Umberger said. “We heard the boos, and rightfully so.”
• After climbing their way back into the playoff picture, the Red Wings fail to keep a solid foothold on their position with only one win since mid-January.  ”Lately we’ve been finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win,” captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.
• The Predators and coach Barry Trotz claim no fear when facing the Red Wings tonight.  ”We’re not afraid of the Detroit Red Wings and we haven’t been in a number of years,” Trotz said. “But we respect them because they have been so dominant as a team and organization for so long.”
• Alexander Steen scored his twelfth goal of the year to push the Blues past Edmonton 2-1.  ”We didn’t want the game to go any longer than it needed to, but you’re not going to knock a team out, especially when we didn’t feel that we were at our best,” Blues coach Davis Payne said.

Northwest

• Another shootout loss brings the Flames losing streak to nine games. “We know shootouts can go either way but these are two road games where we were playing two good home teams so we’re going to stick with it and keep going,” said captain Jarome Iginla.
• The Avs bored themselves to a 1-0 loss against the Wild.  ”They always seem to play a boring trap game,” Chris Stewart said. “They just want to keep it close and hope you make a mistake and capitalize. We let that happen tonight.”
• Even though Gilbert Brule and Mike Comrie returned to the lineup the Oilers lost. “Maybe the addition of guys will make the team play little bit on the defensive of the game and that will help us get a better result,” Oilers coach Pat Quinn said.  Too bad for Quinn the offense couldn’t muster enough to win.
• Wild backup Josh Harding persevered to give his team a 1-0 victory and the first road win of the new year. “If I was him, I know that I’d want the other guy to battle pretty hard, too. But the team made it easier on me than maybe it looked out there,” said Harding.
• Canucks Depth blueliners Nolan Baumgartner, Aaron Rome and Brad Lukowich need to dig deep for this upcoming road trip.

Pacific

• Despite his scars Teemu Selanne still puts a smile on his face as he practices with the Ducks.
• Mike Modano played with over 300 linemates in his illustrious 20+ season career.  This year is no different as he shifts from playing the top line to the fourth on a nightly basis. “He definitely has the experience where he can adapt his game,” said captain and on-and-off linemate Brenden Morrow.
• The Kings won four in a row now with their recent drudging of the Blue Jackets. Although out shot in the first ten minutes of the game, defenseman Matt Greene fired one in and changed the game.    ”The whole game changed,” Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “The energy changed and we didn’t grab it back.”
• Robert Lang scored the game winner in shootout, putting one past fatigued netminder Miikka Kiprusoff.  ”You’re either gonna beat him, or you don’t,” Lang said. “Everybody has their moves. He likes to poke-check and likes to be aggressive in the net, I saw him getting ready, and I froze him a little.”
• Even though the final score appeared close, coach Todd McLellan believes their poor start contributed more to their loss.  ”The start was unacceptable,” McLellan said.  ”We’re all going to talk about how hard we fought and that we worked our way back into the game, but that start was unacceptable.”

Central

• The Hawks look to play well against the Sharks tonight.  ”Looking back at our trip so far we’ve had some really good games and some games we’ve been really bad,” defenseman Duncan Keith said. “Our goal now is to have another really good game in San Jose.
• Two players will miss tonight’s Blue Jackets game with the flu. Derek Dorsett also remains out for the time being.
• Brad Stuart sustained a sprained left shoulder last night, just two days after the return of defenseman Niklas Kronwall.  ”It doesn’t feel great, but I could have finished the game, it was just at that point, why risk making it worse,” Stuart said.
• The Predators know what they need to do to return to their early season form after losing four straight.  ”We have to get back to our entire group buying into it. There are certain parts of our game that our strong, but right now the intensity and commitment haven’t been there,” said goaltender Dan Ellis.
• Only a powerplay tally by Christian Ehrhoff separated the Blues from another victory.  ”We were in position (to win) and they found a way to get the extra (goal) on the power play,” Blues coach Davis Payne said.

Northwest

• The losing streak hits eight with their recent loss to the Stars 4-3 but there were positives to this loss.  ”We played as a team, as a group of five out there, offensively and defensively. We were moving the puck, skating the way we had been earlier when we had success for two periods . . . but we were tentative in the third, we shelled it up there,” said Jarome Iginla.
• Ryan O’Reilly does not need to score to be trusted in Colorado.  ”With Ryan, you don’t necessarily see the results on the score sheet,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said.
• Both Mike Comrie and Gilbert Brule should return to the Oilers lineup.  ”This is a way to pass on that extra message. It’s been a pretty good comfort zone on a team that has lost so many games. They’ve never had to worry about not playing,” said coach Pat Quinn.
• Antti Miettinen and Pavel Datsyuk played a shooting match last night, trading goals in the first period
• Even though the Blues shut down the Sedin twins, Mason Raymond scored two goals.  ”It’s not by accident,” said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. “If there’s one player on our team right now who’s going the extra mile as far as trying to improve himself as a player, it’s Mason. He’s spending a lot of time with our skills coach before practice, working on his skills. He’s even coming in on his days off. There’s a reason why he’s having the success, he’s putting in the extra time.“  

Pacific

• The Capitals dominated the Ducks in the third period leading to a 5-1 victory but the third period started 1-1.  ”It’s a 1-1 game,” said Corey Perry. “We had them right where we wanted them going into the third. We gave up one quick one and then all of a sudden bang-bang-bang.”
• Mike Ribeiro may return to the Stars lineup soon.
• Helene Elliot of The LA Times runs down tonight’s Kings-Blue Jackets matchup.
• The Coyotes scoring two goals in the final 90 seconds to tie Detroit could be the turning point of their season. “I think we were a bit more fragile as a team last year,” said Daniel Winnik. “All the young guys we had, not just used to making those kinds of comebacks like that, especially against a team like Detroit.”
• Huge matchup tonight between the Sharks and Blackhawks, with winner claiming first place in the league.  ”It’s a lot bigger than that,” Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We have a chance to tie for first, and that’s a huge game.”

Based on Matthew Pouliot’s series on Circling the Bases, I have decided restore the rosters for every NHL team. Like Pouliot, I have established some ground rules for my selections.

1. Each team contains players they originally drafted or signed before any other NHL team. This includes players drafted and not signed, as well as European free agents coming over at an older age.
2. I have chosen to leave retired players off the list, and lean toward players in the AHL rather than those deported (KHL, SEL, DEL, etc.).

Essentially I am choosing the best available players for a team to succeed in the current NHL season. All 30 teams will be covered, with grades assigned to forwards, defense and goaltending. After all 30 articles are written, they will be ranked in order. This series’ intent is to reward or shame NHL scouts.

You would expect a more talented roster with nine first round picks and eight of those in the top 10.  Unfortunately, this is a very green team with Rick Nash the most experienced of the Blue Jackets draft picks.  While that fact would not necessarily be a bad thing to have, the next player on the list played almost half the games and already left your organization, definitely a bad thing.

On a team that for the most part is still waiting for their prospects to develop, it’s hard to say exactly what their strength is.

Forwards:

So many players playing out of position and on lines that they should not be on which speaks volumes about the Blue Jackets drafting struggles.  Nash is the only established NHLer playing where he should be.  The forward corps is full of potential, but potential only gets you in the door.  Producing is what keeps you on the roster.

Rick Nash – Gilbert Brule – Jakub Voracek

Nikita Filatov – Derick Brassard – Tim Jackman

Alexandre Picard – Dan Fritsche – Jared Boll

Tom Sestito – Andrew Murray – Derek Dorsett

Bench - Maksim Mayorov

With very little production help for Nash, this team is going to struggle to score goals.  Providing Filatov returns to the Blue Jackets next season, and Ken Hitchcock loosens his reigns, Nash may finally get some scoring help.  Filatov is a naturally gifted scorer and I watched in amazement a few years ago as he dazzled in the World Juniors for Russia, scoring eight goals in 2009.  With six top 10 draft picks, you hope that this squad can fulfill its potential.  Only time will tell.

Grade: C

Defence:

Definitely not the strength of the scouting staff to say the least.  With only 1 bona fide Top four defensemen drafted, this corps is going to give up a lot of shots.  Hopefully they buy the goalies very nice Christmas presents.

Rostislav Klesla – Aaron Johnson

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen – Kris Russell

Marc Methot – John Moore

It was a struggle to find 6 NHL calibre defensemen that the Blue Jackets have drafted and I’m still struggling to find them.  Aside from Klesla, who’s currently on the IR, the defence is filled with 3rd pair defensemen at best.  Top pick John Moore has yet to play an NHL game and is currently playing in the OHL.

Grade: C-

Goaltenders:

If I had to pick an area of drafting strength, I guess I’d have to say it was in between the pipes.  Leclaire and Mason could be a very formidable duo on any roster.  I don’t think I can stress COULD any more then I’m about to.

Pascal Leclaire

Steve Mason

Dan LaCosta

With both goalies having career save percentages hovering around .900 and a very inexperienced defence corps playing in front of them, they will constantly be facing 35-40 shots a night and giving up 3+ goals a game.  Combine that with a forward group that is going to be struggling to score goals and it means both goalies are going to have to improve significantly for Columbus to have any success.  Mason currently is in the middle of what hopefully will just be a sophomore slump.  If he can find the “I don’t know what” that he had in his rookie campaign that produced a 33-20-0-7 record with 2.29 GAA and 10 shutouts, the goaltending situation in Columbus greatly improves.  If Leclaire can remember that stopping a puck with your face hurts when you’re not wearing a mask and can get into more than a handful of games, the situation almost takes care of itself.

Here’s hoping 2010-2011 is better for Blue Jackets goalies then 2009-2010 was.

Grade: B-

Jose Simoes
NHLHS Storyteller
jsimoes@nhlhotstove.com