Edmonton Oilers

(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 [...]

Last night, new Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish participated in a question and answer session with Oilers season ticket holders. The question of goaltending came up, and as he has since taking the job, MacTavish indicated significant concerns about incumbent Devan Dubnyk.”If you have to ask the question…”In between all but saying that Nikolai Khabibulin would not be back, and that the organization doesn’t have confidence in Yann Danis to replace him, MacTavish said this about Devan Dubnyk:Devan, I think that you're right, the verdict is out on Devan. I've always believed that when you're assessing goaltenders, if you have to ask the question you know the answer. The question would be, has Devan established himself as a number one goalie in the National Hockey League? And I still think it's a valid question. So, I think that Devan, although he's trending upwards in his numbers and played adequately for us this year, I still think, and I know Devan feels the same way, that there's another level for him. From our standpoint, we'll see that he can get to that level.And here’s what MacTavish said in his end of season press conference:I think Devan took a step this year. His numbers were good, on the year. I think he’s got further to go. To be a top level goaltender he’s got to play better. Not to say that goaltending was any reason we were in the situation we were in; he took a lot of good looks night in and night out, breakaways, shots from the slot. But he’s a guy who is still developing, still growing as a goaltender, so I have lots of faith in his ability to get there, but you’ve got to make the development happen. I think Devan going into the summer has really got a proper focus, he’s going to be around Edmonton, he’s going to put in a good summer of training and I think it’s going to have a huge benefit in his ability to perform next year. The NumbersDevan Dubnyk posted a 0.920 save percentage last season, tied with Washington’s Braden Holtby for 11th among starting goaltenders. However, his even-strength save percentage was scarcely better (0.922) and ranked 19th among starting goalies.This matters because Dubnyk had an extremely high save percentage number on the penalty kill, and typically those numbers can’t be sustained. Ryan Miller is a great case in point – in 2009-10, he was Ryan Miller, Vezina Trophy Winner (0.928 EVSV%, 0.919 PKSV%) and this year he’s Ryan Miller, guy the Sabres are open to trading away (0.928 EVSV%, 0.862 PKSV%).Unlike MacTavish, I do see Dubnyk as an established starting goalie. However, I don’t see him as an established above average starting goaltender, and it could well be that MacTavish is one of the (many) hockey people out there that believe a team needs an above-average starter to be successful.Can Dubnyk get there? Maybe. In recent history, players like Tomas Vokoun, Kari Lehtonen, and Jimmy Howard have all posted significantly better numbers after their age-26 season. Others, though – including Evgeni Nabokov, Jose Theodore, Martin Biron, Patrick Lalime and Chris Osgood - have seen their numbers either stay flat or deteriorate.StreakcredDon't forget that it's not too late 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. Now it's only $10 and a portion of the proceeds go to Edmonton Charities. Sign up here.Recently around the Nation NetworkOver at NHLNumbers, Rex Libris asks Who Are The Edmonton Oilers Best Scouts? Here's how he describes his process:I am looking at the Oilers’ prospects taken between 2008 and 2012, the Stu MacGregor era, grouping them according to region drafted, and then grading them based on a variety of rankings including Lowetide’s top 20s, Hockey’s Future, Corey Pronman at Hockey Prospectus and giving weight to LT’s oft-cited preference for players with a “wide range of skills”. In some cases players who have made the jump to the AHL/ECHL may be ran

Oilers GM Craig MacTavish recently answered questions of season ticket holders. What follows is my own take on what I saw as Mac’s key points.

Last night Craig MacTavish held a TeleForum where season ticket holders could call in, listen and ask questions. Since I'm a season ticket holder I was able to listen in. His responses to goaltending and the future of Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner intrigued me the most.He was asked about Horcoff and his future with the team.  Well, I think that that will be determined as the summer goes along with Shawn. I have a lot of respect for Shawn as a guy that really saw him come into the league. He was a player that played at Michigan State and played in our minor league team and came in and I saw him really develop as a player and as a person over the years. The one thing I will say about players like Shawn that have been here for a long period of time, it can have a little bit of a negative effect on your spirit, when Shawn's reaching a certain age in his career. He's gotta get energized as well and we'll see what happens or what the summer has in store for Shawn and the Edmonton Oilers. Very interesting comments about the captain. Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much, but I sense whether Horcoff is back or not the Oilers might have a new captain next season. MacTavish suggested he needs to be energized, which suggests Horcoff's desire has been lacking, and I doubt you want your captain's spirit to be lacking.I do know that his family stayed in Detroit this past season, likely due to their kids being in school for the first half of the year, and no one wants to be apart from their kids for five straight months. Maybe that played a factor, but I'm sure that seven seasons of losing is likely the reason his spirit wasn't as high.Horcoff has a NMC that becomes a limited NMC (submit a list of ten teams) on July 1st. Maybe a change of scenary will do him good, and considering he is owed $4 million in actual dollars this year, while carrying a $5.5 million cap hit, he could look attractive to teams who need to get to the floor. If I was betting I'd guess there is a better chance he gets traded, rather than bought out.Does he feel Devan Dubnyk is a legitimate starting goalie, and what about the goaltending situation as a duo? Well, we're going to be very active in finding at least a couple goalies. I'd like to say about Nik Khabibulin that when he did play, he played very well for us this year. The problem with Nik, from our perspective, is that he's a 40-year-old body who wasn't able to stay as healthy as what you need. But, he did play exceptionally well when he did play and gave us very adequate backup goaltending. As for Devan, I think that you're right, the verdict is out on Devan. I've always believed that when you're assessing goaltenders, if you have to ask the question you know the answer. The question would be, has Devan established himself as a number one goalie in the National Hockey League? And I still think it's a valid question. So, I think that Devan, although he's trending upwards in his numbers and played adequately for us this year, I still think, and I know Devan feels the same way, that there's another level for him. From our standpoint, we'll see that he can get to that level. We are looking for a number two goalie and the jury is still out on Yann Danis, who has done a great job for us in the American Hockey League playoffs in Oklahoma City. We definitely have identified goaltending as not an area of strength within our organization. We have very little depth in our organization in net and we're going to address that, too, as well. I don't see Danis as an NHL backup, especially if the general manager isn't certain his #1 goalie is ready to be an everyday starter. It was obvious at the trade deadline, when we learned that the Oilers tried to acquire Ben Bishop that they wanted someone to challenge Dubnyk.A quick scan of the free agent market reveals that Mike Smith, Ray Emery and Anton Khudobin might be the best bets to do that. I'm sure the Coyotes will try to lock up Smith, but the

Whether you’re looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift or wanting to stock up on discounted Oilers gear for next season, everything you need awaits you at the annual Oilers Locker Room Sale presented by FORD, returning to Rexall Place on Saturda...