Saturday, July 29, 2006
Oilers Depth Chart: July 29, 2006
I haven't done this in a while, so I thought I would update it. I can't let Lowetide have all the speculative fun.
This is a depth chart. I have placed the players in the positions that the Oilers list them in. Lupul is in blue, because he is still unsigned. My assumption is that they will move either him or Pisani into the LW slot on the 2nd line, but I'm leaving it open because I don't want to have more people telling me that I have guys in the wrong positions. Sykora is in red, and is a rumoured signing. The players in orange are the Oilers top prospects, players who will likely fill out this year's roster.
(click image to enlarge)
The roster is top-heavy, which is leading some to believe that K-Lowe will make a trade for a defenceman. Torres seems to be the number one rumour. I remain unconvinced that Lowe is looking for a defenceman. I still think the plan is to go with a Sabres-like roster, rolling four good lines and a serviceable defensive core. That being said, there isn't enough room for all the forwards, assuming that at least two kids make the roster. So who knows? If no one is moved, it will certainly make for an interesting training camp.
I should also note that the big question mark for me with this roster is not the defence. It's Roloson. Will he be able to play like he did in the playoffs? Will his knee hold up? Will he be able to keep his helmet on for longer than five minutes at a time? To me, THIS is the big gamble. It's of course accentuated by a defensive core missing Chris Pronger, but if Rolli doesn't hold up Oilers fans are going to be choking back bile all year long.
This is a depth chart. I have placed the players in the positions that the Oilers list them in. Lupul is in blue, because he is still unsigned. My assumption is that they will move either him or Pisani into the LW slot on the 2nd line, but I'm leaving it open because I don't want to have more people telling me that I have guys in the wrong positions. Sykora is in red, and is a rumoured signing. The players in orange are the Oilers top prospects, players who will likely fill out this year's roster.
The roster is top-heavy, which is leading some to believe that K-Lowe will make a trade for a defenceman. Torres seems to be the number one rumour. I remain unconvinced that Lowe is looking for a defenceman. I still think the plan is to go with a Sabres-like roster, rolling four good lines and a serviceable defensive core. That being said, there isn't enough room for all the forwards, assuming that at least two kids make the roster. So who knows? If no one is moved, it will certainly make for an interesting training camp.
I should also note that the big question mark for me with this roster is not the defence. It's Roloson. Will he be able to play like he did in the playoffs? Will his knee hold up? Will he be able to keep his helmet on for longer than five minutes at a time? To me, THIS is the big gamble. It's of course accentuated by a defensive core missing Chris Pronger, but if Rolli doesn't hold up Oilers fans are going to be choking back bile all year long.
# posted by andy grabia @ 10:08 am 
Comments:
Do people really tell you that you have players out of position? It's kind of funny since fact is that the big question on a MacT roster is who gets to play C and the rest is window dressing.
I like your hockey rink dealie, very cool (hope I'm not too technical).
For the record, I like Raffi so hope they don't trade him.
Every time I post one of these things, someone tells me someone is in the wrong spot. I'm positive RiversQ does it now just to bug me. So I fixed it.
My son is going to be super depressed if they trade Raffi. I forgot how hard this stuff can be on kids until I watched the Pronger fiasco unfold. It brought back a lot of painful memories. I do hope they keep Raffi, not only for my son, but because he seemed to finally find his game in the playoffs last year. If they can keep motivating him to play like that, he's more than welcome on the team I cheer for.
Oh that damn Rivers Q! I think the Q stands for quagmire. He's always ripping my completely rational thoughts with his crazy slide rule. :-)
As for sons, mine still has his Tom Poti hockey card in his room so I hear you.
I should start bugging the hell out of him, actually. Here, let's get started:
"Soft Minutes vs. Hard Minutes" is a metric as relevant to hockey analysis as "Batting Average Against Left-Handed Hispanic 5th Starters In The Rain At Night In Safeco Field During The Month Of June" is to baseball analysis.
We're probably digressing from the topic at hand, but whatever.
A friend of mine has had Roli's injury a couple of times (he used to be a goalie). He says if you stay off it and don't fuck it up, it's as good as new in 2-3 weeks. If you don't, then you're on your ass for six months. He's done it both ways, and isn't overly concerned about Roli's knee.
Also, someone over at Wikipedia has found an Oilers logo without the chopped-off bottom of the red ring. Actually, it looks like a bit of a home-made repair job, but it looks fine shrunken down.
Andy Grabia said...
Every time I post one of these things, someone tells me someone is in the wrong spot. I'm positive RiversQ does it now just to bug me. So I fixed it.
Cleanliness is next to godliness, Grabia. You're that much closer now. Be happy.
(Yes I do it just to bug you.)
I've never been a big Raffi fan, especially after that AHL abomination in 04/05, but I liked his playoff showing quite a bit. I want to see if he's turned the corner. If he has, they'll get way more for him after 30-40 games if he still seems to be expendable.
LT: I'm not all numbers. For example, I'm starting to turn on Schremp now because I'm starting to think I can't stand his last name. It just sounds dumb and has none of the melody that "Grabia" has. Plus, people constantly spell it incorrectly and the errors are pretty embarrassing.
Which leads me to this question... Why deal a roster forward anyway? One of these unproven young guys would look pretty attractive to some of those cap-strapped nightmares out there.
This RiversQ guy even comes on my personal blog to rip into the elderly men I date.
He's such a jerk.
One time, one time I was in Safeway and dropped a great big can of E.D. Smith pie filling (the cherry kind, mmmmmm) on my foot. That GD Rivers Q was responsible. Fricking pest.
RQ:
Yeah, agreed. Hell send out a first rounder. Honestly. It makes for a boring draft day but serisouly if you can make the team better now versus 4 years from now PLUS the system is stocked fairly nicely now.
what kind of dman would you expect back for a first rounder? martin?
Roloson IS the key. Without adequate defensive depth (read: Pronger) it will all come down to Rollie - no one will be able to cover for him.
As for what a 1st rounder should get... if New Jersey is the team in question... Hale and a 3rd or 4th would be what I would expect.
Your comments about Roloson are apt -- while he is clearly an upgrade over last year's triumvirate, I still see the Oilers as having a big question mark in goal. Roloson was very steady (maybe better than steady) in April, May and June, but he had been somewhat unsteady before then. He's been around the league for a decade or more and has never succeeded as a starting goalie.
The forwards look pretty strong, though. So, there could be a lot of 5-4 games this season.
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Do people really tell you that you have players out of position? It's kind of funny since fact is that the big question on a MacT roster is who gets to play C and the rest is window dressing.
I like your hockey rink dealie, very cool (hope I'm not too technical).
For the record, I like Raffi so hope they don't trade him.
# posted by 
: July 29, 2006 10:40 am
: July 29, 2006 10:40 am Every time I post one of these things, someone tells me someone is in the wrong spot. I'm positive RiversQ does it now just to bug me. So I fixed it.
My son is going to be super depressed if they trade Raffi. I forgot how hard this stuff can be on kids until I watched the Pronger fiasco unfold. It brought back a lot of painful memories. I do hope they keep Raffi, not only for my son, but because he seemed to finally find his game in the playoffs last year. If they can keep motivating him to play like that, he's more than welcome on the team I cheer for.
Oh that damn Rivers Q! I think the Q stands for quagmire. He's always ripping my completely rational thoughts with his crazy slide rule. :-)
As for sons, mine still has his Tom Poti hockey card in his room so I hear you.
# posted by : July 29, 2006 10:57 am
: July 29, 2006 10:57 am I should start bugging the hell out of him, actually. Here, let's get started:
"Soft Minutes vs. Hard Minutes" is a metric as relevant to hockey analysis as "Batting Average Against Left-Handed Hispanic 5th Starters In The Rain At Night In Safeco Field During The Month Of June" is to baseball analysis.
We're probably digressing from the topic at hand, but whatever.
A friend of mine has had Roli's injury a couple of times (he used to be a goalie). He says if you stay off it and don't fuck it up, it's as good as new in 2-3 weeks. If you don't, then you're on your ass for six months. He's done it both ways, and isn't overly concerned about Roli's knee.
# posted by : July 29, 2006 1:02 pm
: July 29, 2006 1:02 pm Also, someone over at Wikipedia has found an Oilers logo without the chopped-off bottom of the red ring. Actually, it looks like a bit of a home-made repair job, but it looks fine shrunken down.
# posted by : July 29, 2006 1:04 pm
: July 29, 2006 1:04 pm Andy Grabia said...
Every time I post one of these things, someone tells me someone is in the wrong spot. I'm positive RiversQ does it now just to bug me. So I fixed it.
Cleanliness is next to godliness, Grabia. You're that much closer now. Be happy.
(Yes I do it just to bug you.)
I've never been a big Raffi fan, especially after that AHL abomination in 04/05, but I liked his playoff showing quite a bit. I want to see if he's turned the corner. If he has, they'll get way more for him after 30-40 games if he still seems to be expendable.
LT: I'm not all numbers. For example, I'm starting to turn on Schremp now because I'm starting to think I can't stand his last name. It just sounds dumb and has none of the melody that "Grabia" has. Plus, people constantly spell it incorrectly and the errors are pretty embarrassing.
Which leads me to this question... Why deal a roster forward anyway? One of these unproven young guys would look pretty attractive to some of those cap-strapped nightmares out there.
This RiversQ guy even comes on my personal blog to rip into the elderly men I date.
He's such a jerk.
One time, one time I was in Safeway and dropped a great big can of E.D. Smith pie filling (the cherry kind, mmmmmm) on my foot. That GD Rivers Q was responsible. Fricking pest.
RQ:
Yeah, agreed. Hell send out a first rounder. Honestly. It makes for a boring draft day but serisouly if you can make the team better now versus 4 years from now PLUS the system is stocked fairly nicely now.
# posted by : July 29, 2006 3:49 pm
: July 29, 2006 3:49 pm what kind of dman would you expect back for a first rounder? martin?
# posted by : July 29, 2006 7:10 pm
: July 29, 2006 7:10 pm Roloson IS the key. Without adequate defensive depth (read: Pronger) it will all come down to Rollie - no one will be able to cover for him.
As for what a 1st rounder should get... if New Jersey is the team in question... Hale and a 3rd or 4th would be what I would expect.
# posted by : July 30, 2006 3:51 am
: July 30, 2006 3:51 am Your comments about Roloson are apt -- while he is clearly an upgrade over last year's triumvirate, I still see the Oilers as having a big question mark in goal. Roloson was very steady (maybe better than steady) in April, May and June, but he had been somewhat unsteady before then. He's been around the league for a decade or more and has never succeeded as a starting goalie.
The forwards look pretty strong, though. So, there could be a lot of 5-4 games this season.
# posted by : July 31, 2006 12:10 pm
: July 31, 2006 12:10 pm Post a Comment
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