Wayne Fleming Decision was a surprise to most!

Good Morning. I want to start this blog off by saying that the Wayne Fleming hiring was strictly made by Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Kevin Lowe and Tambellini. No one else was told he was getting hired. The oil brass DID have some names they were thinking but noone knew when the announcement would be made.

Also I am told Jagr will NOT be coming to the Oilers this season. Next season is possible.

Not Much New in the OIlers News!

I returned from my holiday last night and worked the phones this morning. There is not much new with the Oilers. Brule and Smid are locked up for the year so now only Rob Schremp is left to sign. My source believes he will be signed within the week. Pat Quinn is going to give Schremp all the chances he needs to make the club. Its really up to Robbie if he wants it.

The Oilers, as also confirmed by Bob Stauffer, are in continued pursuit of shipping out a defenseman for a winger with some size.

The Oilers, according to my source would LOVE to rid themselves of Steve Staios and his contract. They might be willing to make a trade like staios and a 4th for a 5th rounder at this point. Oilers would be satisfied with a D-core of this to start the year

Souray-Gilbert
Visnovsky-Grebeshkov
Smid-Peckham


Thats it for now. I will post if anything new comes up

Oilers treading water waiting for an opportunity.

The Oilers are still on the prowl for a top line winger but instead of pursuing the big names, they are waiting for teams to "shop" their players around. The name they are really hoping comes around on the block is the Flyers' Simon Gagne. The Oilers really like this guys all around play and believe he is a perfect fit with the Oilers.

Other names that interest the Oilers are Boston's Phil Kessel, LA's Alexander Frolov, and the Panthers Nathan Horton.



I am off on Holidays for the next week so I will be back later.

The Reddox Situation

Good morning, I am sure most of you were surprised with Liam Reddox signing yesterday, I know I was. I was in contact this morning to see how it actually transpired. Here is what happened:

1. Oilers offered Liam Reddox a 2 way deal with the same cap hit as he got (560 K) but for a multi-year contract.
2. Liam Reddox wanted a 1 way deal therefore rejecting the deal and decided to look elsewhere.
3. After a few weeks of looking for a place to play (Sweden, KHL, Germany) and not garnering much interest he decided to call back the Oilers as a last resort and they worked out a contract which included the 2 way contract like the Oilers wanted, but the Oilers also gave something that Reddox wanted a One year deal.

So with Reddox "crawling" back to the Oilers, he got a pretty fair deal. If he can really show the Oilers that he cna be a useful player for them, maybe he gets a bigger raise next year.

Time will tell on this one

The Trade that Wasn't

Before the Flames and Maple Leafs made their trade, there was an offer made to the Oilers from the Leafs that would have seen Colin Stuart and Anton Stralman (the 2 players the flames later recieved) as Edmonton Oiler property with Fernando Pisani going the other way to Toronto. There were reportedly no draft picks in the deal.

The Oilers turned down the offer due to their organizational depth at the defense position.

This also puts to rest the myth of hostile feelings that the Oilers and Brian Burke have for each other as they are now communicating again.

Early Morning Oilers Notes

Steve Tambellini is still treading the water on a trade to bring in some size. He continues to talk with Florida about Nate Horton but it looks like any trade for Horton starts with Tom Gilbert going the other way. If that is the case, Tambo will want to make a bigger deal and land more than just Horton, as mentioned in a previous blog McArdle is a name that has interested the Oilers, but he would be more of an AHL player at this point.

Would you do this trade if you were the oilers?

Gilbert and Nilsson for Horton and McArdle?

If I was the Oilers I would go for a little bigger deal and maybe snag Keaton Ellerby someway with a series of picks and prospects, but This is still a good deal for the Oilers as they rid themselves of Nilssons contract while bringing in a big guy who can score!



The Heatley saga has been one with many ups and downs, and currently the Oilers believe they have a really good shot at Heatley. I was told that IF the trade happens. There will be a minor flurry of other roster moves. I am hoping that would include a Manny Malholtra and an invite to training camp for Maxim Afinogenov.

Oilers in serious talks with Florida; Philly a backup plan!

The Oilers have reportedly sent out an offer for nathan horton of the Florida Panthers. I am told the deal includes The Oilers sending Tom Gilbert and Robert Nilsson in exchange for Nathan Horton and a mid round draft pick. The Oilers are currently waiting to see if the Panthers are interested. The Oilers are willing to move Rob Schremp in the deal as well, but they would be looking Kenndal McArdle in return as well.


If the Panthers are not interested in this deal, the Oilers are going to approach the Philidelphia Flyers and offer up a deal for Scott Hartnell. The Flyers are in cap Hell right now so a deal seems reasonable. As the Flyers have puck movers i am told the Oilers are offering up Smid and Nilsson as well as Cody Wild in exchange for Hartnell. We will see how things pan out.