Edmonton Oilers

During the time Fernando Pisani laced them up for the Edmonton Oilers, he was never the team's best player. Never their best forward, never their best right winger. Why then, do we miss him so? Because of the character of the man and the splendid way he played the game. I believe the reason we loved Fernando Pisani as an Oiler can be summed up in that one stunning goal he scored in Raleigh those years ago: turning to forecheck and force the play as the puck left the opposition zone, using that big brain and moving laterally along their blue and, cheating only a little while remaining stealth and looking for a turnover, and then pure skill with a quick and deadly stick to intercept the pass before it went offside. A few quick strides and then glory!It is possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.The Edmonton Oilers drafted Pisani out of St. Albert, a bedroom community to the Alberta capital. The club drafted a few St. Albert Saints over the years (Mark Messier, Mike Comrie, others) and Pisani continued the tradition in the 8th round of the 1996 entry draft. Although he was picked deep in the 1996 draft, Pisani was regarded as a top recruit for the NCAA (ranked #8 by the Hockey News) and settled on Providence.He played 4 years in college, and then turned pro at the turn of the centry with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. GETTING NOTICEDIt took awhile for Fernando to get noticed; Jim Harnock mentioned him at HF in April 2002, saying he had established himself as a legit pro hockey player. By June 2003 people were gushing: Guy Flaming:  March (2003) was a great month for Oiler rookies. The emergence of Fernando Pisani was as fortunate as it was unexpected. Quite often a player excels in the AHL but not at the highest pro level. Pisani, another Edmonton product playing at home, had become a fixture with the parent club since early in 2003 and had earned his way into the lineup in place of Dan Cleary. Fernando scored twice against Anaheim early in March and then notched his first career hat trick against the Washington Capitals. It was the first three-goal performance by an Oiler since 2001. Pisani had another two-goal night on April 3rd versus the San Jose Sharks. It took 2 and a half seasons for Pisani to make his way to the NHL after turning pro, but once he forced his way to the NHL he quickly became a much relied-upon 2-way winger for the Oilers under Craig MacTavsh. Pisani on the ice represented calm waters. He helped introduce men like Jarret Stoll and Raffi Torres to the NHL, much like Shawn Horcoff did in 2010-11 with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.  TRYING TIMES  After that wonderful Stanley Cup run, Pisani had some health issues (described in the commercial above) and at one point it sounded as though his hockey career was over. Incredibly, he found a way to recover his NHL career and flourish. It is one of the truly inspirational stories in team history, and one we'll remember a long time. LEGACYAs a player, Fernando Pisani represented Edmonton more than any forward in recent history. He's from the area, he played most of his hockey career within a few miles of Edmonton, he's a hard working guy who put in a full day's work without bitching and he proudly wore his city and his heritage. He was mentor to a generation of Oiler kids, and he was a coach's dream, never balking at the opportunity to help the latest wayward soul the GM brought in. And when life gave Fernando Pisani a sock in the jaw, he went after it the samw way he forechecked the hell out of those Hurricanes in Raliegh that fateful night. And we'll never forgot that moment, or the man. Fernando Pisani.

SASKATOON - Bo Horvat scored on a short-handed penalty shot in the first period and Jake Patterson made 32 saves Thursday as the London Knights defeated the host Saskatoon Blades 6-1 in the tiebreaker game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

Craig MacTavish apparently did a question and answer type segment last night with Oilers season ticketholders last night in which the issue of buying out Shawn Horcoff came up. As is summarized in these two tweets from Twitter’s @regwald. The gist of it is that Horcoff’s future in Edmonton isn’t certain and that the Oilers [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Jonathan Quick made 24 saves in his seventh career playoff shutout, and the Los Angeles Kings moved to the brink of their second straight trip to the Western Conference finals with a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 on Thursday night.

How well did Oilers coach Ralph Krueger handle his centres this year? Did he get the most out of this group? When it came to doling out time on ice to his centres, Krueger handed the most even strength ice-time to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, as well as the most difficult assignment to the kid. If only RNH could have played the entire game, Krueger and the Oilers would have been set.

Jakub Kindl scored on a power play in the second period, Daniel Cleary had an empty-net goal and Jimmy Howard made 27 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings hold on for a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, putting the NHL's best team during the regular season on the brink of elimination.

I don't think it’s going to take Craig MacTavish long to make some of the bold moves he talked about when he was unveiled as the new GM of the Edmonton Oilers, and I still believe one of those moves could come behind the bench.My suggestion on May 12 that MacTavish might, or at least should, consider moving head coach Ralph Krueger back into an associate coaching role if he wants to take a run at one of the available or soon-to-be available coaches out there – Lindy Ruff, Dave Tippett and, now, Alain Vigneault – to improve the Oilers, drew a mixed response.Dismissed by some when I wrote the piece, discussion and speculation arounf town about the possibility – and that's all it is because I've made it clear nobody within the organization has given me the drop that such a plan is in the works – has picked up steadily since then.Jason Gregor and discussed it last week and again this week on his show. I've heard the idea debated on TEAM 1260's morning show and on the Jason Strudwick Show. TSN's Ryan Rishaug has touched on it more than once on all three shows. Rishaug believes, as I do, that MacTavish has to at put in a call if he thinks he can land one of the coaching UFAs.Rishaug, for the record, thinks Tippett would be the best fit here, even with Vigneault now available. I like Tippett, who I focused on in the original piece, but I consider Vigneault neck and neck with him. Both would be an upgrade.Why wouldn't, and why shouldn’t, MacTavish consider moving Krueger aside or out -- if he feels the same way? Bold, no?MORE THAN COACHINGAfter a carousel of coaches, including MacTavish, Pat Quinn, Tom Renney and Krueger during these seven years out of the playoffs, I get it why fans roll their eyes at the thought of another coaching change. "They've changed the coaches, Brownlee. Change the damn players."I get that sentiment and I agree with it completely. Gregor and I, as well as others, have talked about this at length. You can't just keep replacing the men behind the bench because Scotty Bowman couldn’t coach this group, as it stands now in terms of personnel, into the playoffs. That's a fact.MacTavish would be foolish – he's not -- to think he can bring in a new coach, snap his fingers and get a markedly better result than what we've already seen without changing the roster considerably. He has to (and I believe he will, beyond farting around with fourth-line forwards and third-pairing D-men).That said, needed upgrades in player personnel and the fact that it's been a turnstile behind the bench in recent seasons, shouldn't prevent MacTavish from pursuing Tippett or Vigneault IF he sees one of them as a key component moving forward. If that's the first move available to him and it makes sense, then pull the trigger. Make the move. Be bold.I'd like to think MacTavish, as the new GM, has been given the green light to make changes as he sees fit, regardless of what moves were made before he agreed to take the job. I can't imagine MacT took the position with conditions attached – you’re the boss, MacT, but you can't hire a new coach and you can't trade Ales Hemsky and you can't . . .Would moving Krueger aside or out for Tippett or Vigneault or pick-a-name turn this team around without addressing the holes on the roster? Absolutely not. Should MacTavish approach one of them if he believes this organization will be better for it? Absolutely. It's as simple as that.STREAKCREDDon't forget to play StreakCred the new playoff pool game from the Nation Network. You can win a trip for 2 to Oktoberfest in Germany among the awesome prizes up for grabs. Only $20 and a portion of the proceeds go to Edmonton Charities. Sign up hereListen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Chris Kreider steered in a pass from Rick Nash 7:03 into overtime, and the New York Rangers stayed alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

(5) Oklahoma City Barons at (3) Grand Rapids Griffins Calder Cup Playoffs | Series “N” Western Conference Finals | Game 1 May 24, 2013, 6 pm CDT | Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI Radio: KXY 96.1 FM OVERVIEW: A week and a day sinc...

Playoff Record: Barons: 7-3-0; Griffins: 7-4-0. Setting the Stage: Oklahoma City has reached the Western Conference Final for the second consecutive season after knocking off the Charlotte Checkers and Texas Stars in Rounds 1 and 2. The Barons ...