We get the warhead and we hold the world ransom for... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

This Katz thing is sure becoming one helleva mess. It's beginning to become VERY evident that there are some movements behind the scenes to sell within the team. An article in the Edm Sun gives some more lovely quotes from the new chairman of the EIG, Bill Butler.

"Our group can do as much as Katz with his billions. The Oilers are a debt-free $200-million asset that can be leveraged to buy out the current shareholders who want to exit. The Katz offer isn't as simple as it appears." Investors group members will meet at the end of January to further discuss Katz's offer. Butler said a vote over whether to sell the team is not expected to be held at that meeting."

So the EIG can do the same as Katz with his billions? Can you buy a hockey team outright without taking on debt? Can you offer up a $100 millions dollars of your own money to help build an arena? Can you please pull your head out of yours collective asses? No on all accounts!

Even better, Terry Jones from the Sun has an article that is just as predictable as the EIG. Thank you for telling me that Butler is a real estate developer. Cause selling a billion dollars worth of real estate (where does that figure come from?) is surely the same or better than actually being worth several billion dollars. Good point!

Jones also surmises (once again, where are these questions coming from?) that Katz’s motivation is not about a billion home-town boy wanting to own his childhood team but it's all about the arena. That's quite the leap. The first three offers for the Oilers did not mention the arena. So yes we see his super evil plan is all about the arena. It's all about the "greater wealth of Daryl Katz."

Butler thinks there are a "hundred different ways to finance this thing." Yes that is so true because building arenas are easy to finance. Like he said, a hundred different ways. I want to know: can they match Katz's offer of $100 million for the arena? They refuse to answer this question so the answer is an obvious NO.

So the "group which saved the franchise" is planning on taking on more debt, mortgaging the $200 million dollar worth of the Edmonton Oilers and financing the buying out of fellow shareholders and building an arena. Yes this is for the good of the Oilers. It's all about community!

Terry then takes another shot at Katz demanding he come out of hiding. I didn't know he was in hiding. He's trying to buy a hockey team, not implementing the final solution. He doesn't owe us any public declarations at this point.

This is a guy who won't come out of his hole and appear in public demanding answers from the citizens who saved the team without his help and without making a dime to answer to him because why? Because he's Daryl Katz and is worth two billion bucks?

Come clean? Come on!

The EIG sent a letter asking some questions (arena, keeping the team in Edm, etc) on New Year's Eve. Two days later, the EIG holds a press conference recommending to reject the offer. I have a wild idea. Stay with me because this is so out there, it'll blow your mind! How about letting him answer the questions, meet with him in person, have him actually attend the board meeting on Jan 21st and then make your recommendations??? And Terry Jones, please take your lips off the EIG's ass. This is so blatant and biased. Get off your knees!

I thought this sale would be a slam dunk after Nichols changed his mind to support the new offer in December but this is becoming ridiculous. You have a hometown billionaire who is offering to double your money, put up his own moolah of $100 million to a new arena, is offering to meet individually with each shareholder to answer all questions, and this is still not moving forward??

The EIG should be ASHAMED of themselves and the way they have collectively handled this matter. The press conference from yesterday was just another show of how inept this group really is. Finish the process before you make your recommendations and an ass of yourself. You may have been saviours in 1998 but you are NO LONGER. If you truly are committed to the Oilers, step up, spend to the cap EVERY YEAR, make your employers accountable for their actions (Lowe and MacT), put your own money towards an arena (do not mortgage the Oilers and take on more debt to do so) and stop hiding yourselves. Show yourselves and truly explain your actions. Don't hid behind "the community" and "saviours from 1998".....it doesn't float anymore.

One more: stop portraying Daryl Katz as an evil outsider intent on destroying the world. He is not Dr. Evil.

Also, the Oilers try to remain unbeaten in 2008 tonight in Nashville. Also Sheldon flew back to Edmonton after the game last night to get his shoulder looked at since it was hurting and had been for awhile. He has been icing it between periods. This can't be good, but probably not as bad as we think. He played the whole game last night so we'll have to wait and see!

Happy New Year....let 2007 be more winful than 2008!

2007 is finally over and that means a nice fresh start for our Edmonton Oilers. However, 2008 is not ringing in as joyful as I would like. The EIG (board) is recommending to their shareholders that they should REJECT saviour Katz's offer. They voted 6-4 to recommend rejection of the offer but this might not be over as several major shareholders would like to sell according to TSN.

The EIG would also like more clarification on the possible $100 million offer for an arena and whether Katz would sign an agreement to keep the Oilers in Edmonton. I'm all for more information on the offer and would love a declaration from Katz to keep our Oil in Edmonton, but why recommend a rejection of the offer? Leave the decision to the individual members. No collusion please! How many more times is this man going to come back? Anyways, the entire EIG will meet on January 21st to vote on the offer. I hope they all come to their senses by then!

Oilers look to recover from a lovely six game losing streak tonight against St. Louis. Ahhh yes the game is on pay-per-view again. Sheesh, enough already Oilers. There are way too many games on ppv this year. Back to the game tonight. While they've been in all six games, this is such a must-needed win. They are 7 pts out of the playoffs but if they can get on a run, they're not out of it. However, their collapse in the third period is beginning to get old. They've either been tied or leading heading in the third in all six losses, but each time they gave up a late goal or collapsed entirely (hello Minnesota?). They need to get tough on the boards, shore up the defense, stop taking stupid penalties (hello Moreau, welcome back ass), no more giveaways (Horcoff, that's you too. He's also been held pointless in these six games) and please get some of our boys back (Hemsky and Pitkanen, we miss you).

Do the Oilers get back to their inconsistent winning ways? I say yes and it'll be a regulation win. I've called this before but didn't really believe it. I just have a feeling tonight. They have to turn it around. (update: Pitkanen returns tonight)!

Prediction: Oilers win 3-1 with goals by Horcoff, Cogliano and Souray!

UPDATE: Here is Katz's response which I think shows his frustration and has some VERY valid points!!!! Here is an excerpt!

''The board's conduct in recent days is confusing and I fail to see how it serves the best interests of (Oilers) shareholders,'' Katz said. "I have offered repeatedly to meet with the EIG Board of Directors, EIG shareholders - either individually or as a group - and with the professional advisors to any of the above to discuss my interest in acquiring the team and answer their questions."

''I intend to respond to whatever valid questions the board has about my offer for the team, but I think they owe an equal duty to come clean about any involvement members of the board may have in fashioning an alternative bid, how much debt they plan to assume to retain ownership, and what commitments they are prepared to make to help secure a new arena.''

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse!

Well well well, look has made another offer. And look has decided to "enthusiastically support" this offer? Yes it's EIG founding chairman Cal Nichols who is now behind the offer. How things change hmmm? BofA got the news up already so check it out.

So the offer is more money obviously and $100 million towards a new downtown arena. Oh and Cal gets to remain involved as the Oilers representative on the NHL Board of Directors. I see now why he's behind this new offer so enthusiastically!

Anyways, this is good news for our Oilers. One owner compared to 30. I always believed the time was past for the EIG. They stepped up in the late 1990s when this team was on the verge of being bought and moved. It was a wonderful move but it's time to move on.

Let's hope this deal is approved.

All about coveting....

A story at sportsnet has Edmonton offering up Stoll or Torres for Joe Corvo. First, nice physique. I'm assuming the Oilers would throw in a defenseman or two since we have so damn many of them. I'm no expert on Corvo so I'm not sure if this is a good move. I have heard pretty good things about him, but aren't we kind of set for defense? Aren't we in need of forwards (and scoring) more than defensemen?

I know rumors are swirling that Stoll is on the trading block and he might just need a fresh start somewhere else. But I still think he has game and I'd prefer to get rid of Torres. Raffi is just all kinds of useless and his inconsistency is too much. He needs to go away, far far far away!

Anyways, Stoll/Torres plus a defenseman must be the deal. Who would go? Gilbert, Souray and Pitkanen are locks to stay. There is no way they'd be traded. That leaves Staios, Tarnstrom, Greene, Grebeshkov, Roy and Rourke. I'm putting Smid on the non-tradeable list. I like the way he's been playing of late, especially his physical play. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Staios. But will this deal happen? I'd bet no.

Oilers will visit Dallas tomorrow night, following an apparently lackluster game against St. Louis. I gave my season ticket to a friend and she was not impressed with the boys. Let's hope they can turn things around. Getting Stoll and Torres back in the lineup after sitting out should help. I'm hoping their time in the pressbox motivates them to work a bit harder and get some chances.

GO OILERS!

Have a Seat Boys...

Best friends Jarret Stoll and Raffi Torres will be enjoying a night off tonight. Yes they will get to suit up, not on the ice, but in the pressbox. They can have some popcorn and beer, enjoy the game. Wait, sitting out is bad. Oops, my bad. So while they get to sit in the box mainly due to their gaffes from Wednesday's night game against the Crosby Crobsies, the other gaffe (Stortini) is playing tonight.

Liam Reddox gets the call tonight along with Patrick Thoresen to replace.....shit wait. Stortini is playing while Stoll and Torres sit out? There are all kinds of bad in that sentence. Yes Stoll and Torres have been sucking ass like it's going out of style but to have them sit and not Stortini?? If you're handing out punishments for bad play against Pittsburgh, you should include Zach along with the best buds.

Anyways, St. Louis is in town tonight to take on our Stoll/Torres-less boys. We get their backup goalie so you know what that means, we lose. Nah, I think they're going to bounce back. Garon is in net so we have some good news. Oilers win 4-1.

GOILERS!!

The Hype

Yes, Sid the Whiny Kid is in town. With all the freakin' hype surrounding this, you'd think he was the greatest hockey player ever. Sorry to tell you, he is not. Nor will he ever be. He's not even the best player this year. That goes to Lecavalier.

So shall we take bets on how many times Sid gets shot tonight? Or shall I say how many times he falls to the ice as if he's been shot? I'll venture a guess: 4 times. Also, how many times will Sid get stabbed tonight? I should also clarify that as well; how many times will Sid fall to the ice as if he's been stabbed? I'll go with 3 times. Be careful with our little china doll.....he's very precious and you don't dare touch him without him collapsing to the ice in pain. Yes, it's phantom pain folks.

Anyways, I couldn't care less to see him tonight. I admit he is a very good player but his constant diving rubs me the wrong way. I despise players who act like that. Plus all the bloody hype surrounding this is nuts. I'm not overly excited to see him.

The Oilers are coming off their first three game winning streak of the year. Can they make it 4? I think they have an excellent chance. Both goalies seem to be finding their stride and are playing damn good! Also, Pisani returns and makes his home debut for the Oilers. He will get a huge ovation tonight. I'll be there to scream loud for his return! It's been really great seeing him back! Oilers missed his defensiveness.

Other news: TSN is reporting that Jarrett Stoll is on the trading block. Is that the case or another unsubstantiated rumor from TSN? We shall soon see. Even though he is struggling this year, I'd hate to see him go. Can they get anything good in return??

Prediction: 5-2 Oilers with goals from Pisani, Horcoff, Stoll and Hemsky (2). Oilers will finally make it to .500 tonight and on the road to a winning record.

Thor's Revenge

Patrick Thoresen, after toiling in the minors for two months, has finally been recalled to the Oilers!!! He's put up some fine numbers down there and it's going to be nice to see him back in the line-up. The bad news is that Hemsky is out with a knee contusion but so far it's only day-to-day so we should see him back on Wednesday vs Pittsburgh when Sid the Whiny Kid comes to town (uh-oh, website has Hemmer out indefinitely).

Today the Oilers will be in Anaheim. Wait, didn't we just play them and beat them into submission? Oh yes, the NHL likes to force teams into being rivals so the idea of back-to-back games makes that happen. Sure whatever Bettman. At least they have finally realized their error and the schedule is going back to normal. All teams will play each other at least once. I actually don't like this idea. I want every team to play each other home and away. I have an even better, although slightly, radical idea. How about every team plays the same teams? Yes do away with divisional and conference games. The Oilers would play the same number of games against certain teams as would the Boston Bruins, and so on. That would make it fair. No more teams padding their wins from their weak division. I know this would never fly but damn I think it would be exciting. Keep the conferences the same but have each team play the exact same schedule of teams. Yes, I'm all about the fairness.

Okay that was an unattainable dream. Back to tonight's game, Oilers vs the Duckies! Our sweet Hemsky is probably not playing but Thor draws back in! We drove Giguere from the net on Friday, let's do it again! My prediction: Oilers win 5-2 with Cogliano, Thoresen, Stoll and 2 from Horcoff.

UPDATE: Pisani returns tonight!!!!!!

Three Million Dollar Man??

So Sportsnet is reporting a story from the Edmonton Journal today concerning Tom Gilbert and how he could possibly command up to $3 million next year and the Oilers cannot possibly afford him. He's hasn't even played 40 games yet. Yes he's been very solid and smart in his inexperience but let's be serious. First of all, this kid is not going to get over $3 million. He won't be getting $2 million. He'll get closer to Matt Greene money I think or slightly more. The Oil can afford that. The real concern with defensemen is Joni Pitkanen. He's the restricted free-agent I think the Oilers are a helleva lot more worried about. Good job by the Journal and Matheson to stay on top of the story.

And last night's game verses the Avalanche....it was the WORST 40 minutes (periods 1&2) of hockey I have ever seen the Oilers play. This is not an exaggeration. I have never seen them play that dreadful before. NEVER!!! This team doesn't have the talent of other teams but at least compete. Where is your pride? Anaheim comes to town tomorrow, they'd better pull their heads out of their asses before!!

Ninety Years Young!

Today the National Hockey League was officially founded with the following teams: Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Sentators, Toronto Arenas and the Quebec Bulldogs. Frank Calder was elected as the league's first President and would serve until his death in 1943.

I highly recommend checking out the timeline of the NHL. The back and forth of teams coming in and out of the league is interesting. My favorite part: "Back on Jan. 9, 1918: The NHL announced a new rule permitting goaltenders to leave their feel while making a save. Previously a penalty was called if a netminder sat or lay on the ice to stop the puck." I love this. Can you imagine if goalies couldn't flop on the ice? No career for Hasek.

Anyways, I've been a bad blogger. So what's new the Oilers? Good news is they are not in last place. That belongs to Washington. Bad news, we're only 2 points out of the basement. More good news: we're within 3 points of 7 teams. Bad news: we're 7 points out of a playoff spot. Good news: it's only the end of November. Bad news: we're down another defenseman due to a concussion to Dicky. Good news: Pisani is a couple weeks away from returning. Bad news: Moreau and Souray are not.

So does the good outweigh the bad? I have no clue but it's been an up and down season thus far. Oilers have 6 of 9 wins from shootouts including another one on Saturday against Chicago. It's been a struggle for each and every win but the Oilers are dominating the shootout. Gagner, Hemsky and Horcoff have been spectacular. Also, Pitkanen has been fantastic since his return. In particular, he was jumping into the rush big time on Saturday verses Chicago. It was nice to see him so natural as a rushing defenseman. I hope we see more of this.

Another game tonight: Oilers vs Columbus. I'm going out on a limb and say the Oilers win this in regulation. I know, a dangerous call but I'm going with a nice comfortable win. 4-1 with goals by Cogs, Gags, Hemmer and Horcoff.

To count or not to count.....

I'm confused. I always thought if a player was put on the IR, his salary did not count towards the cap. Sure you're still paying him somehow but his salary is not counted. Pisani is on the Long term injury reserve. I must be wrong or don't understand the CBA.

From the Edm Journal:

CAVALRY'S NOT COMING

The Oilers decided not to bring in another forward -- probably Patrick Thoresen -- when they sent Marc Pouliot to Springfield, which means they only have 12 healthy forwards to go with six defencemen and two goalies. That's the bare minimum to field a lineup -- 20 guys. It's economics, because the Oilers have more than $48 million on their salary cap.
"We don't want to use it up," said GM Kevin Lowe. "We have some room, but not that much because Fernie (Fernando Pisani) is still on the cap. We just can't have excess players around. It's not like we're down around, say, $42 million or $43 million."

This is on the NHL's website:

A Club's payroll will include all salaries, signing bonuses and performance bonuses paid to players. Except in the case of bona fide long-term injury (injuries that sideline a player for a minimum of 24 days and 10 games) to one or more of a club's players

I really don't feel like reading the bloody CBA so if someone can explain it to me, I'd love that. Why they would still have Pisani's salary counting towards the cap is odd (how about Moreau, he's on the injury reserve, I'm assuming his salary is counting too)?

Anyways, the Oilers are sucking it up lately giving up 4 powerplay goals last night against the evil Wild. Only one thing to say: we're rebuilding!!!

Also, an interesting story on Penner coming to training camp out of shape. Almost two months later, he's still out of shape. Come on boy, get on the bike!!!


Update: Mike at Covered in Oil explained this over there: Technically, players with long-term injuries still count against the cap.But the team is then allowed to go over the cap limit to the cost of their salary (so $50.3 million plus Pisani's $2.5 million). Basically, the Oilers are allowed to go over the cap but they're just too damn cheap to do so. Thanks EIG...we're down numerous defensemen and a couple key gritty forwards, but let's not spend any more money. Good call.