Greatest 20 minutes of hockey I've seen in my life

Found this on YouTube, and couldn't help but share it:



I've never seen such passion and excitement from both the players and fans of this city.

Over the hill and falling fast

That's Owen Nolan in his old San Jose days. Up until 2002, he was one of the NHL's most feared power forwards. Not only was he a consistent 25-30 goal scorer, he was a hard-hitting, big-body presence that wore out every defender he played against.

Nolan just signed a 2-year deal in Minnesota worth $2.75 million a year. Don't let the numbers fool you, that's just how much you have to pay for a borderline 2nd line player in today's NHL.

Nolan is part of the "Old Guard" of the NHL. These are players who up until the lockout were considered high-profile stars, but for some reason, either due to age or rule changes, have seen much-diminished roles in today's game. Here are a few others:


Michael Peca
Markus Naslund
Derian Hatcher
Jeremy Roenick
Rob Blake
Mike Modano
Mark Parrish
Todd Bertuzzi
Mike York
Bill Guerin
Glenn Murray
Doug Weight
Alexei Zhitnik
Alexei Zhamnov
Nikolai Khabibhulin
Sergei Fedorov
Adrian Aucoin

Guys that are gone:
Jeff O'Neill
Eric Daze
Ziggy Palffy
Tony Amonte

Take a moment to remember the days when these guys ruled the NHL. You gotta wonder why these guys weren't able to continue their dominance the ways guys like Sakic, Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Sundin have.

There's a common trend here. Gone are the big, slow defenseman who relied on obstruction and holding to dominate (Aucoin, Hatcher). No more will you see small, slow guys who are wizards with the puck dominate offensively anymore (Weight, York, Parrish).

However, some of the game's stars that should thrive with the new rules have struggled as well. The likes of Modano and Naslund should have been free to skate and shoot, while guys like Guerin and Murray wouldn't have had to put up with all the obstruction in front of the net. Zhitnik and Fedorov, both great European skaters, have seen great declines in their game (I guess Fedorov's is explainable by his age).

Some of these guys are going to be driven into retirement, kind of like Amonte and Daze. Others like Modano and Fedorov have done an excellent job of adapting to their diminished 2nd/3rd line roles.

Kudos to Nolan for showing although he doesn't have the speed to dominate in today's game, he's still got the physical presence and powerplay-ability to get a respectable 2nd/3rd-line job in today's NHL. It's no wonder these guys are staying. With the ways salary has been rising, some of these guys are getting paid the same amounts now as they would have got for their superstar talent before the lockout!

Evolution of the Oilers Powerplay

That's Craig Simpson, former "PP coach" of the Oilers from before the lockout up until the last season. He made some questionable decisions when it came to organizing an effective man-advantage, and is now a broadcaster with CBC.

Since the end of the lockout, the Oilers have found themselves amongst the league leaders in terms of amount of changes on their PP. Here's a short history of the team's PP lineups since the lockout:

2005-2006
Hemsky Dvorak Smyth
Pronger Bergeron (Stoll on 5-on-3's)

Torres Horcoff Pisani
Staios Stoll

We saw a lot of shifting in the year as the PP was at best mediocore all season long. But towards the end, thanks to trades, it had improved to:

Hemsky Samsonov Smyth
Pronger Spacek

Torres Horcoff Pisani (or Peca)
Bergeron Stoll (or Tarnstrom)

We saw the likes of Pisani and Torres thrive in their 2nd unit role, as well as have Stoll put up 31 points in a career year points-wise for him. The key to the team's success late in the season and in the playoffs was the ability for the second-unit to perform at an optimal level.

2006-2007
With the departure of Tarnstrom, Samsonov, Pronger, and Spacek, and the arrival of Lupul and Sykora, the Oilers saw tremendous changes to their PP, mostly negative ones at that.

Lupul Smyth Hemsky
Sykora Stoll

Torres Stoll Horcoff
Bergeron Tjarnqvist

With no Pronger to help out on the point, the Oilers PP suffered horribly. the infamous 5-forward unit was dismantled within a month, and the 2nd unit struggled to put up anything. Stoll once again put up respectable numbers, as well as Hemsky and Sykora, but the PP was a major weakness all season long.

2007-2008
Lowe re-tooled the Oilers in the off-season, bringing big-time offensive defensemen Sheldon Souray and Joni Pitkanen, as well as re-acquiring Dick Tarnstrom. Heading into the season, the powerplay looked like this:

Hemsky Horcoff Penner
Souray Stoll

Cogliano Gagner Torres
Pitkanen Tarnstrom

With an early injury to Souray, the PP was the league's worst for almost half a season. However with injuries came the emergence of the "kids", and the Oilers PP took off in the second half, looking something like this:

Hemsky Gagner Penner
Gilbert Pitkanen

Nilsson Cogliano Pisani
Grebeshkov Staios

Gilbert and Grebeshkov really stepped it up late in the season as viable powerplay options on the back-end, and the kids were able to prove themselves efficient given time on with the man-advantage. The most amazing part of this late-season surge was the fact that traditional power play performers like Horcoff and Souray were injured.

2008-2009?
With the departure of Pitkanen, Stoll, and Torres came injection of new blood with Visnovsky and Cole. Both proven PP-performers, one can't help but be optimistic heading into the upcoming season. Here are my predictions:

Hemsky Gagner Penner
Visnovsky Souray

Cole Horcoff Nilsson (Cogliano can be inserted for Horcoff in some cases)
Grebeshkov Gilbert

Why do I feel these lineups will work?

The first forward unit proved itself late last season to be a lethal combination, with Hemsky and Gagner working magic with the puck, while Penner proving to be an immovable force near the crease. With the addition of PP wizards Visnovsky and Souray, we should see a serious upgrade in PP-output from the first unit.

With the addition of Cole, the Oilers are given a real goal-scoring option and crease presence with Cole. Nilsson adds a play-making option to the unit, operating on the right side. Horcoff will thrive in a 2ndary scoring role, especially because Nilsson's setup on the right side will give him many a chance to let out quick one-timers from the slot. Grebeshkov takes on a Visnovsky-esque role on the backend, doing a lot of puck-handling, while Gilbert will be expected to use his point shot as often as possible. The only potential problem I see here is Gilbert and Grebs both being RH defensemen, and it'll be interesting to see how Grebs would operate from the left side.

With a scary 1st unit in place, the addition of a solid 2nd unit will do wonders for the Oilers PP numbers this coming season. And in the new NHL, there's no doubting that a top-10 powerplay is a major factor into making the playoffs.

Where does Lowe go from here?

With all the major free agents signed, the focus this off-season now shifts to trading. Teams have added major parts to their lineups, but are yet to fill out. As it stands, the Oilers look somewhat like this:

Forwards

Penner Horcoff Hemsky
Cole Gagner Nilsson
Cogliano Brodziak Pisani
Moreau Schremp Pouliot
Brule/Stortini

As I see it, Penner and Cole are interchangeable.

Lowe created quite a problem with the acquisition of another top-6 forward, cause in essence I thought that the top-6 had been set with Cogliano on the left wing.

Brodziak, IMO is ready to fill in that big-minute role on the shutdown line. His defensive game is up there with Stoll's, and I think he's ready for the position.

Cogliano, a guy I think is the most likely youngster to get traded in the next few years, is going to have to be relegated to a 3rd line role with Brodziak and Pisani. It's going to be a tough adjustment with him playing with lesser-skilled players, but if he's going to become a reliable 2-way player, he's going to have to learn to play with guys like these. And don't underestimate the goal-scoring ability of Brodziak and Pisani, they're not poor offensive players either. Both are capable of peaking at 20 goals this coming season.

What, if anything, do I think the Oilers need to address?
-Get a solid 2-way 3rd liner who has proven to be capable of handling those minutes Brodziak would otherwise have to handle, while being able to work with Cogliano offensively. It would be great to have a goal-scoring 3rd line.

Defense

Visnovsky Gilbert
Staios Souray
Grebeshkov Smid
Peckham/Roy

I think it's important to have two mobile, puck-handling defenseman on the top pairing. Visnovsky and Gilbert have both proven to be solid 2-way defensemen in the past, and it's only natural to have them handle the tough match-ups, seeing as how we really don't have a "shut-down pairing".

Staios brings some stability to the tumultuous defensive play of Souray, who I feel is a liability at even strength. This would be our primary penalty-killing pairing, using their big bodies and physical style to wear out the opposition.

Grebeshkov would be interesting paired with Smid, seeing as how Smid has been relegated to a sort of physical, shut-down role by Mac-T. Perhaps playing with the smooth-skating Russian will help Smid develop a similar offensive game, and hopefully he can fulfill the offensive potential he was hailed as having in his draft year.

What does this D-corps need?
Shut-down defensemen.

Goalies
Garon
Roloson
Delauriers

We wouldn't have such a big problem on our hands if we could simply just send Deslauriers to the minors till we find a suitor for Roloson. However, he would have to pass waivers, and the Oilers have invested too much time and resources into developing the kid to let him go.

I guess the team's going to be forced to carry 3 goalies, and that might be a problem seeing as how we have a 23-man limit on the roster.

Lowe fires back at Burke.

For those of you that missed it. You can catch Lowe's interview with Bob Stauffer of The Team 1260 at:

Just A Game

WOW. After an entire year of silence and dismissals of any hatred, Lowe unleashed on Brian Burke.

Just days ago, Burke once again opened his big mouth. Asked about his recent re-signing of Corey Perry to a hefty, $5.6 million/year contract, Burke immediately took shots at Lowe. He blamed Lowe for the recent inflation in salaries for RFA's, citing last summer's offer sheets to Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner as responsible for players like Perry, Getzlaf, and Malkin receiving expensive contracts.

Lowe defends himself in the broadcast, arguing that paying for what a young player is GOING to bring is better than paying a 30-year old veteran for what he has BROUGHT. This is a very important point, and I think a major reason why one should side Lowe on this issue.

Also in the interview (I don't want to spoil it):
-Blames Burke for the downfall of the Canucks since the lock-out, saying he left it in shambles
-Mocks Burke's cockiness, arguing the cup-winning team was built upon kids drafted by Bryan Murray, and the Pronger trade being abnormal under the circumstances.
-Says the Pitkanen trade was always in the plan, and that an offer was never on the table.

Overall, I like Lowe finally standing up for himself. Honestly, I hate to say it again, but I think the arrival of Katz has done tons for this organization's confidence. The Oilers are now a big-money, aggressive, in-your-face team, and the league's starting to take notice.

The Hossa/Jagr Ordeal.

I guess Katz gave Lowe the thumbs-up to throw his money around. We saw the Marian Hossa sweepstakes go down to the last minute, when the superstar winger chose a shot at the Stanley Cup with the Wings at a price of $7.2 million for one season over a supposed 8-9 year, $80 million deal being offered by the Oilers.

If that was the case, I am glad as HELL to see Hossa with another team. I'm sure Lowe isn't stupid. A cap hit of $8-9 million for that term for someone like Hossa would have crippled this team for sure. He's a sure-fire talent, but he's been nothing but a complementary player to many of the game's established stars. From Alfredsson to Kovalchuk to Crosby, he's always been given an opportunity to play with a superior star. Who knows how he would have done with the Oilers?
I'm sure Lowe was in the running, but his offer was in the same range as the Wings' offer. Hossa turned it down for a stint at the cup, but hopefully he reconsiders next season when Lowe surely makes a similar offer for his services.

As for Jagr, I was really hoping to land him on a one-year deal. He's smart for choosing the ridiculous offer from Omsk, but a one-year contract would have been excellent for the Oilers. It would have JUST fit under the cap, and given us a real chance to contend this season. Better yet, we would be free of his contract at the end of the season, in prime position to take a shot at Hossa.

Katz's first 48 hours have been tumultuous, and hopefully the strides he aimed to make do come true over the coming months and years. As for throwing ridiculous amounts of money at high-profile players, I just hope Lowe approaches this realistically, and takes into account he's got young stars in the making that are going to need to be paid in the next few years.

New Owner. New Attitude.

On July 2nd, the Oilers unveiled their new owner. Darry Katz, Gagner-esque mullet and all, finally showed his face to the public, and with it came much hope for the future.

I know there are some that question the wisdom of having another single owner, however the enthusiasm and promise we see in Katz is nothing like Pocklington.

There's too much to like with the new owner. He's promised to lay down $100 million on a new arena. He's promised to spend to the cap. He respects and commends the EIG, regardless of the saga they put him through with their troubles. Don't forget that he showed confidence in the ability of Lowe and Mac-T to get the job done here with the Oilers. His slogan, "Let's have some fun", is a refresher from the "Let's make some money" attitude of the EIG.

I think the addition of Katz is going to give the team a real swagger. He brings the big bucks, and the will to interact with and improve Edmonton's image and economy.

All I got to say is let's see what happens under Katz's ownership. At least that EIG-saga is over, and his hands-off approach may give Lowe some more freedom to do what he thinks will make the team better.