Edmonton Oilers

There was a nice moment, midway through the season, when Shawn Horcoff wasn’t a whipping boy. With him on the shelf with injury, the team had floundered, but upon his return things improved dramatically.

If the Edmonton Oilers aren’t thrilled with Devan Dubnyk’s performance as a starting goaltender, does it make sense for the club to pursue Vancouver Canucks starter Roberto Luongo? The ProsRoberto Luongo is an excellent goaltender. Over both the last three and the last five seasons he has averaged a 0.930 even-strength save percentage, which represents elite level performance – it’s better than any other Canadian goaltender, and slightly better than Henrik Lundqvist (the gold standard) over the last five years, slightly worse over the last three. Luongo is a top-flight starting goalie.Because of his contract, the trade cost for Roberto Luongo would likely be low. With the salary cap falling, and the potential for multiple starting-calibre goalies on the market this year (Ryan Miller, Mike Smith, Marc-Andre Fleury, etc.), Vancouver will be in quite a bind if they cannot move Luongo. It’s impossible to know, but this feels like a situation where a package centered around Ales Hemsky might get the job done – the cap hits are comparable, and while Hemsky isn’t a perfect player he would add some badly needed secondary offensive support behind the Sedin line.Moving Hemsky for Luongo would also free the Oilers up to use Devan Dubnyk as a trade chip. Dubnyk is an average-ish NHL starter on an affordable deal ($3.5 million for one more season); to the right team he would likely have more value than Hemsky. A deal like this would allow the Oilers to upgrade their goaltender while upgrading their principle trade chip at the same time.In the short-term, this hypothetical scenario seems both plausible and favourable to the Oilers. But what about the long-term?The ConsFirstly: Luongo has a no-trade clause. He has emphasized time and again that his chief goal is simply to be a starter, so maybe he waives it because he’s low on options and doesn’t want to get stuck fighting with Cory Schneider for playing time again. On the other hand, he’s spent most of his career in warmer places; it’s entirely within the realm of possibility that he would refuse to go to Edmonton.Luongo just turned 34 years old; he’s in the wrong end of his career and his performance is going to decline. He might start slowing down in two years, or it might take five, but at some point in that window he will likely need to be replaced.The contract: Luongo is signed for the next nine seasons. For the sake of argument, let’s assume he retires as soon as the dollars start dipping, in the summer of 2018 (the far end of the two-to-five year window mentioned in the last paragraph). If that happened, any cap benefit accrued would count against the clubs that gained it for the remaining four years of his contract. The “cap benefit” is the difference between dollars paid and cap hit in those seasons, with that benefit divided equally over the remaining years. In this scenario, both the Oilers and Canucks would be on the hook for penalties over the four seasons following Luongo’s retirement, as shown here:“Benefit” is calculated simply as dollars paid minus cap hit; with a 2018 retirement the Oilers would be staring at a $1.73 million cap hit penalty from 2018-19 until 2021-22. That’s a non-trivial penalty, but with the salary cap likely to be significantly higher by then, it’s also one the Oilers could likely afford to sustain.The VerdictIn the long-term, the chief fear is that Luongo’s performance falls off a cliff two years from now and that he stubbornly refuses to retire because he’s still getting paid. If he continues to play well, he has a modest cap hit and the penalty for his eventual retirement is survivable. If he falls apart two years from now and retires, the Oilers will need a new starter but they’ll have gained a small cap benefit that will turn into a tiny cap penalty over the following seven years (less than $400,000 per season). But, if he falls apart and then refuses to retire, the Oilers would be in serious trouble.How great a risk is it? Really it depends on th

The young OKC Barons are now deep into the playoffs, as they prepare to play Grand Rapids in game two tonight (lost a close one in the lid-lifter Friday). As the Edmonton Oilers continue to fill holes in the roster, the question for these young Barons becomes more clear: is there ROOM at the top? And if so, which of these young men have shown themselves worthy this season?  BARONS 12-13As the Barons got ready for training camp and the season, the depth chart looked something like this:*Taylor Hall was injured but would eventually join the group.It's interesting to look back on that list and then look at last night's lineup to see which of the AHL kids have moved up the depth chart.LAST NIGHT'S GAMEMassive change. Some of the September Barons (Dan Ringwald, Alex Plante, Anton Lander, Curtis Hamilton, Ryan Martindale, Kristans Pelss, Colten Teubert) are scratched due to injury or ineffectiveness (Teubert specifically has seen his stock fall markedly this season).UP ARROWS Martin Marincin: He had a crazy season--big upswing when playing with Justin Schultz and then down to the third pairing for a time until he regained his game. Now he's on the top pairing. Taylor Fedun: Major upswing here imo. This is a guy who told me on the golf course last summer he just wanted to play and have a healthy season. His position as a go-to guy represents a strong season. Brandon Davidson: Incredible story. He missed part of the season for cancer treatment, came all the way back and is now one of the top 6 options--same season. Mark Arcobello: Undrafted free agent finally got to the NHL this season. Whatever the future holds, he's beaten the odds and then some. Toni Rajala: Amazing year. Moved miles up the depth chart and is now a key part of the offense in OKC. Teemu Hartikainen: A strong playoff perhaps helps him recover from his play with the Oilers this season (no results at evens, a sense from the coach that he's still learning the powerforward role) Tyler Pitlick: Finally healthy and chipping in some on offense. DOWN ARROWS Colten Teubert: The fact that the organization has been very straightforward about why he's not playing is the strongest available indication that he's sideways as a prospect. I'd guess his pro hockey career is at a crossroads this summer. Alex Plante: Injuries have once again impacted his season, but 200+ games into his AHL career he appears to be farther from the NHL than ever. Curtis Hamilton: Injuries have poked a major hole in his first two seasons, and he's never really established himself beyond a 4line/pk type of player. It's difficult to marry the TOI/performance with the junior stats and the WJ appearance. A mystery wrapped in a riddle. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?I think players like Marincin, Fedun and Rajala have done more than anyone in OKC to increase their value, and that Hartikainen's performance may give him another chance to make the big club in the fall. And as always, several prospects struggled enough for us to wonder if they'll return in the fall. Perhaps Craig MacTavish's overhaul with extend to OKC and some of these young men have played their final games in the Oiler system.We wait.(Barons photos by Rob Ferguson, all rights reserved)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - "Our guys have more to give." Seeking a rebound effort (and result) in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final, Head Coach Todd Nelson and the Barons know they have to be better. Admittedly so, OKC looked like a team tha...

(5) Oklahoma City Barons at (3) Grand Rapids Griffins, Game 2 Calder Cup Playoffs | Series “N” Western Conference Finals | Grand Rapids leads 1-0 May 25, 2013, 6 pm CDT | Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI Radio: KXY 96.1 FM OVERVIE...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It isn't quite the game plan, but it's also nothing new for the Oklahoma City Barons. For the third straight time this post-season, the Barons are trailing a series 1-0. Andrew Hotham scored and Yann Danis made 26 saves...

Oklahoma City Barons 1 at Grand Rapids Griffins 2 - Status: In Progress (0:00 remaining in 3rd) Friday, May 24, 2013 - Van Andel Arena Oklahoma City 1 0 0 - 1 Grand Rapids 1 1 0 - 2 1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Evans 1 (Sheahan, Tatar), 7:1...

Jordan Eberle returned home after his fourth consecutive appearance at the World Championships, and for the fourth straight year team Canada failed to advance past the quarter finals. Eberle was on my radio show on Wednesday and we discussed the Worlds, Lindy Ruff, golf, shooting commercials and what areas the Oilers must improve in, if they hope to become a playoff team.Jason Gregor: What happened at the World Championships this year?Jordan Eberle: It’s seems like it has been the same thing every year. It seems like we play fairly well to get to the quarters, but then we can’t get it done in the playoffs. This year we came across a team that plays very well in Sweden. It seems as though every country does such a good job of developing players now, and every team can beat everyone. We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game against Slovenia and they took us to overtime. But it was just so frustrating that we played fairly well and the dumbest thing about the IIHF is that you go into a shootout at the end of a game, it doesn’t end in overtime like it should. I know that everyone knows that once you get to a shootout, anything can happen. So it’s frustrating and it’s the fourth year not getting out of the quarter finals, it was miserable. JG: Give me your thoughts on Lindy Ruff as a coach? JE: He’s a good coach. He’s a very smart guy. Obviously he’s very well known throughout the NHL. I enjoyed playing for him. As the tournament went on he kept giving me more opportunity and more opportunity. I think that he liked the way that I was playing. It was a good thing for me and I know that he’ll get a job in the NHL somewhere, he’s just that good. JG: You and Taylor Hall didn’t get a ton of power play opportunities, which is obviously what you’re used to and where you guys really flourish. Was it a little frustrating to not get on the PP or do you understand it when you are on a team that good? JE: You have to take it for what it is. The best team Canada teams that I’ve played for are the ones where guys accept a role and play their best. Let’s be honest, all of the players there play on the power play on their respective teams. When you get there, not everyone’s going to be able to do that. So you just accept the role that you have and try to earn it. I think that the way that both of us played, later on we started to actually get the power play time. So that’s always a good thing, and it’s just a shame that we had to lose that way. JG: When you’re at the World Championships and you see a guy like Steven Stamkos, who’s a pure shooter, kind of similar to your game, can you take things away from his game and try to incorporate them into your game next year? JE: Yeah for sure. Watching him, he has the best shot that I’ve seen in the NHL by far. What makes his shot so much different than mine is that he just shoots the puck so hard, and I think that comes with just working at it and working at it. JG: Did you talk to him about his shot, or other guys about it, or did you just observe how he works on it? JE: Yeah they do. For me it’s just more of a watching thing. You don’t want to ask them, I’d be a little embarrassed playing against him, but I watch and see what he’s doing. I think that the biggest thing with him is that he’s got such a great one timer, and how hard his shot is. It’s definitely something that you try to imitate.  JG: I just saw your Coke commercial for the first time this week, how many hours did it take to shoot?JE: It took about 6 or 7 hours to do that, it was quite a long one. JG: If you had to rank your performances, how would you compare that to your ATB commercials? JE: (Laughs) Well, they are a little different. I mean when I saw the script for the ATB ones they were fairly easy because I’m not saying anything. In this one it’s a little more difficult because I had actual lines. Overall I think I did OK for having zero acting experience. But it was fun to do, sometimes it’s nice to get outside of your wheelhouse year round

-Rumored over the last couple of days, it's now confirmed that Hockey Canada has cut ties with head scout Kevin Prendergast and goalie coach Ron Tugnutt. Prendergast was hired in September of 2010 and oversaw the U18 and U20 teams and worked with the U17 program as well.How did they do? We'll check the record after the jump.Canada wins gold at 2013 World U18There were 8 tournaments played under Prendergast's tenure with Hockey Canada during which time Canada brought home 6 medals; 3 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronze. Canada struck gold at both the 2011 and 2012 Ivan Hlinka U18 tournaments where they have traditionally dominated the international teams who have participated. Historically Canada has not fared well at the World U18s because the majority of its talent pool is still active in the CHL playoffs. However, two of Canada's five all-time podium finishes came on Prendergast's watch; a 2012 bronze in Germany and 2013 gold in Russia, one of just three gold medals ever won by Canada at the event. However, there is no question that failure at the U20 level is what most will point to. In the last four yeas, four countries have dominated the World Junior tournament - The United States, Russia, Sweden and Canada. All three of those nations have three medal finishes in that time and all three countries have missed the podium completely as well. But only Canada has not managed to win gold. Photo: IIHF ImagesGoaltending has been a major concern for Hockey Canada in the last decade and although the 2013 draft class is a very promising one, it's been a while since Canada was considered a top goalie producer. Earlier this week on The Pipeline Show, CHL President David Branch discussed an upcoming summit which will focus on the need to develop goalies in Canada. Ron Tugnutt has also been on The Pipeline Show in recent years suggesting that the CHL allows too many European and American goaltenders into Major Junior hockey which prevents Canadian netminders from developing to a higher level. There is no word yet on who may replace either Prendergast or Tugnutt. To comment on this article, Tweet at us (@thepipelineshow) or email us (pipeup@theteam1260.com)

This is part of a series looking for reasons for the Oilers Corsi% collapse in 2012-13 by examining things on a shift-by-shift basis. Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 can be found here. Part 3 can be found here. Part 4 can be found here. Part 5 can be found here. Part 6 [...]