Standing Pat

Kevin Lowe did not make any deals today as the Edmonton Oilers was among a few teams that made no moves. I figured he'd be very quiet today but not this quiet. Go listen to Lowe's press conference to get his take. I think the players he wanted to trade (ie: Roloson) had no takers and maybe nothing significent in return. I mean look at Huet; he was traded for a second round draft pick. So if a starting goalie only gets a second rounder, I can't imagine much was offered for a backup goalie with a cap hit over 3 mil.

Anyways, here is a list of all the moves today. As mentioned already, Huet was probably the most surprising considering that was the only move from Montreal today. No one even mentioned he was on the block, he went for only a second pick and Montreal is now going with a 20 yr old goalie. Hmmm it'll be an interesting playoffs for the Habs.

Toronto did as expected: no one waived their no trade clause or there was no interest in the big ticket items (McCabe). They did move Kilger, Belak and Gill for draft picks. It's almost no fun laughing at the Leaves anymore. Seriously, Ferguson really hampered this team with all the no-trade clauses. This team is a mess and will be for the near future. Time to start buying out contracts if you can't trade them. Too much money is tied up in such poor talent.

Anyways, back to our Oilers. The good news is this team could be in much worse trouble (see the Leaves). The bad news is another missed playoffs, too many injuries, and a mediocre coach. More good news is the kids: they're developing faster than most of us thought and the future looks pretty good. Yes the Oilers need to get someone to play with Hemsky, resign our RFA's, unload some contracts (Roli) and stay healthy. So we have hope.

UPDATE: Good win in the shootout (shocking, yes) for our Oilers over Detroit. Oil blow a 2-0 lead and go down 3-2 late in the third, but score with 20 seconds left to send the game to overtime. Good gritty win....seriously nice to see. Oh yes, Pitkanen went down with an injury early in the third. Not sure how bad it is....is it broken?? If the Oilers' luck continues, of course it is. We'll find out tomorrow, maybe.