Reliving the Glory Days-An Edmonton Oilers Be a GM (NHL 10)

[Clarke_311]

"Hello welcome to Sportscenter, I'm Darren Dreger with some breaking news in the NHL and the Edmonton Oilers. Sources tell TSN that the Oilers have fired their general manager Steve Tambelinni and replaced him with a relatively unknown man in Clarke Ainsley, a die-hard Oilers fan growing up who has served as a public relations guy for the Oilers for the past 5 years.

Now, nobody knows why the Oilers would want to hire Ainsley of all people, as he really has no experience in any sort of management other than a college degree, but the same source that told us about the hiring say that the Oilers management didn't believe in Tambelinni and his conservitive style of managing, especially after he failed to dramatically improve the team in the off-season after missing the playoffs for a third-straight season.

This is certainley a strange story as the start of the regular season is only a few weeks away, and replacing him with a guy that really doesn't know what he's doing. Maybe the Oilers know something we don't know. One thing we do know, it'll be an interesting season in Edmonton. We will continue to monitor the situation as we find our more information about this strange hiring. For Sportscenter, I'm Darren Dreger."

[Clarke_311]

Oilers Season Preview

After missing the playoffs for the third straight year, the Oilers management knew it was time to shake it up. It all started with firing lone-time coach Craig MacTavish and replacing his with head Pat Quinn and assosiate coach Tom Renny. It is believed that these two coaches will be a huge upgrade over MacTavish, who still tryed to play a defense-first system with a lot of skilled forwards. Many nights the Oilers were out-worked, and the first candidate to go is always the head coach.

Then came the news of a few weeks ago that general manager Steve Tambelinni was fired and replaced with PR man Clarke Ainsley, a move that still has hockey experts around the league shaking their heads. The move is a strange one, and time will tell if it was a good one.

The biggest move concerning the team however was the guy that they didn't get. The Oilers tried for a full month to try to persuade former 50 goal scorer Dany Heatley to accept a trade to come to the Oilers from the Senators. The Oilers and Senators had reached a deal that would send Heatley to the Oilers for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid. Heatley though did not waive his no-movement clause and therefore stayed a Senator. He later accepted a trade to San Jose.

The biggest signing that actually happened for the Oilers was goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to a 4 year contract, just a few hours after Dwayne Roloson left to go to the Islanders. It was a good counter-strike by Tambelinni, and has most likely improved his starting goalie posistion.

The Oilers also signed former Oiler Mike Comrie to a 1 year deal, years after he left Edmonton on a bitter note. The jury will be out on Comrie as some Oiler fans haven't forgiven him for what happened before.

On offence, the Oilers have some good young players in Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Robert Nilsson and Patrick O'Sullivan. Most of them are coming off bad years, but should rebound, and if they can, the Oilers have a chance to be a good team for now and in the future years to come.

Their defence, in terms of offence, was one of the best in the league last year. Before Lubomir Visnovsky got a season-ending injury three quarters through the season, the Oilers were 3rd in the league in points by defenceman. This trend should continue and the Oilers should expect a lot of scoring for the back end.

Overall, the Oilers don't have a great team, but they will compete for a playoff spot, and probably finish around the 6-10 spot in the Western Conference. It all depends on the young players though. If the likes of Gagner, Nilsson and Penner can have bounce-back seasons, and Ales Hemsky continues his development as one of the top players in the NHL, it should be some good times in Edmonton for the years to come.

[bthomp05]

Intriging story, will definately follow.. Go Oilers Go....

[Clarke_311]

Oilers Press Conference

Clarke Ainsley: Hello, and welcome to today's press conference. We're looking forward to a great season of hockey, and we believe we have a chance to go deep into the playoffs. I know you have a lot of questions to ask to me and Pat, so let's get to it.

Derrick Thomas: This question is for Mr. Ainsley - after failing to land Dany Heatley, are you still looking to land a big name goal scorer to help out your offense? Or are there any other areas you want to upgrade?

Clarke Ainsley: We always look at upgrading our team, so I guess the answer would be yes to your question. I personally would love to add a top 10 NHL forward to my roster, but obviously that's not easy to do. I will however do my best to make this the best team that they can be. As for your other question, like I said earlier, we are trying to improve our team. If we can upgrade at goalie, we will. If we can upgrade at defence, we will. No possibility is out of our minds.

Rockn Rolla: Question for Quinn. Do you have a plan to up the team's performance? Their morals and reduce injuries? If so, what is it?

Pat Quinn: Well, we're trying to upgrade our staff so that they will be able to help treat player's injuries and such better and get them back on the ice quicker. But about the team's morale, I just try to keep a positive attitude with the players. If we have a bad game, the next game is a new game and I try to forget about what happened before, and like I said, just keep it posistive and energetic.


Peter Carey: It's obvious that there is TONS of talent on this team, yet they can't seem to use all of it and often find themselves slumping. Anything in particular you will do to fix this?

Pat Quinn: Well, we have a lot of skilled forwards, so I will let them be as creative as they want to be. This team has potential, they just need to be let loose, and I will do that. I am a coach though that tries to get all of what I can out of a player, so I will try to make them a lot better players.

Sraczk 2011: For Quinn: How can you raise the morale of player who were publicly rumoured to be traded, such as Dustin Penner?

Pat Quinn: It's obviously tough for players to go through when their names are mentioned in trades, especially when they're so young. But I think they need to use it as a positive and be motivated to show us that we were wrong when we tried to trade them for Dany Heatley. As for me, I will just try to get that message through and try to keep it positive like I said before.

Sraczk 2011: For Ainsley: How close do you think your team is to being a bona fide Cup contender? Is there a missing piece that you are looking to acquire?

Clarke Ainsley: I think we're close. We're still young, but we've got lots of potential. If our players can reach that potential, then we have a chance to be a powerhouse like Detroit or San Jose one day. As for who I'm looking to aquire, right now I'm just trying to evaluate our talent. Like I said, we're still very young, so I will be patient with these men, but like I said, if the right deal comes along and we have a chance to upgrade our team, I will pull the trigger.

Matt Parks: What are your plans for this team and is there any particular player your interested in?

Clarke Ainsley: My plan for this team is to keep improving the team, but also trying to keep the team young at the same time. As for players I'm interested in, that's confidental obviously so I can't be talking about that subject at the moment.

Thank you all for coming. Enjoy the game against Calgary!!!!

[Clarke_311]

Starting Lineup:

Forwards:

O'Sullivan-Horcoff-Hemsky
Nilsson-Cogliano-Gagner
Penner-Comrie-Moreau
Pisani-Brule-Stortini

Extra-Rob Schremp

Defence:

Gilbert-Souray
Grebeshkov-Visnovsky
Smid-Staios

Extra-Jason Strudwick

Goalie:

Starter: Nikolai Khabibulin
Backup: Jeff Drouin-Deslariues

[Clarke_311]

Kiprusoff Almost Steals Victory

Flames goalie stands on head, but Oilers still take game in OT

Calgary: 0 Edmonton 1/OT



There was only so much Miikka Kiprusoff can do. He stood on his head through regulation and the first four minutes of overtime, but a Sam Gagner goal off an Andrew Cogliano rebound finally won the game for the Oilers are they out-shot the Flames 25-12.

"It was a relief when we finally won," said Gagner. "We were starting to think that we couldn't beat him, but we kept playing the same way and it paid off for us."

It was the first game Pat Quinn was behind the bench for the Oilers. He says of the game, "The guys played great tonight. The thing that I loved was even though the results weren't there, they still kept fighting and eventually won the game. It's good to see that, especially in a young team."

Oilers fans got a scare early in the game as defenceman Tom Gilbert injured himself early in the game making a hit. He played the rest of the game, but doctors are now saying that he will be out of the lineup for a week or so. Jason Strudwick will replace him.

Another scare early in the game was Jarome Iginla hitting the post on a good shot that beat new goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who made 12 saves for a shutout in his first game as an Oiler.

The first period was fairly even, but the Oilers turned it on in the second. Ales Hemsky hit the post early in the period, before Kiprusoff robbed Dustin Penner, who was uncovered right in front of the net. He would also make a few other nice saves in the period, keeping it scoreless after two.

The Oilers continued to dominate in the third, but still couldn't get the puck past Kiprusoff, forcing overtime.

Kiprusoff might've saved his best for last, as he was exceptional in the overtime period, robbing Patrick O'Sullivan twice, and both Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky.

But he couldn't stop every puck, as on the power play, Andrew Cogliano walked in and took a wrist shot that Kiprusoff saved, but Sam Gagner was waiting on the doorstep to bang it in to finally win the game for the Oilers.

Scoring Summary

EDM-Sam Gagner (A. Cogliano, D. Grebeshkov), 4:20 of OT

[Clarke_311]

Star Strike Kills Oilers

Stars score quick goals in late 2nd and early 3rd to take game

Dallas: 3 Edmonton: 1



In another night where the Oilers struggled to score, the Stars were able to get quick goals from Mike Ribero, Fabian Brunnstrom and Steve Ott to beat the Oilers 3-1.

Mid-way through the first period, Mike Ribero was tripped on a breakway, giving him a penalty shot. Nikolai Khabibulin shut the door however as he made a beautiful split legs save to keep it scoreless. The Oilers responded, getting lots of chances, but couldn't beat Marty Turco as the game stayed scoreless through one period.

The second period have relatively few chances until late when Mike Ribero beat Khabibulin with a quick wrist shot from the slot to give the Stars the lead after two.

The Stars contined their momentem into the third, as first Fabian Brunnstrom scored on his own rebound after Khabibulin failed to cover the puck up, and soon after Steve Ott scored to all of a sudden make it 3-0. The Oilers responded though, as Sheldon Souray scored a boomer of a slap shot from the point, a few minutes after Lubomir Visnovsky rang one off the post. It was all the Oilers could muster however.

"It was a tough game," said Oilers head coach Pat Quinn. "We had such a great start but we slipped a little bit at the end. I'm glad to see though that we kept fighting and scored a goal after they scored those three quick ones."

"We've been a little slow out of the gate," said Sheldon Souray. "Hopefully though after a few games we'll be able to get into a better rythem offensively."

Scoring Summary

2nd-DAL-Mike Ribero (L. Ericsson), 17:41
3rd-DAL-Fabian Brunnstrom (T. Peterson, M. Modano), 5.48
3rd-DAL-Steve Ott (B. Richards, T. Daley), 6:35
3rd-EDM-Sheldon Souray (S. Horcoff, P. O'Sullivan), 12:27

[Clarke_311]

Hemsky Puts Out the Flames

Scores a hat trick in win over Alberta rivals

CAL: 1 EDM: 4



Ales Hemsky got his first career hat trick, Dustin Penner had two assists, and defenseman Ladislav Smid had his first goal in over a year as the Oilers beat up on their Alberta rivals by a final score of 4-1. Hemsky got two goals in the first and second period on the power play, and then another goal, an empty netter, so seal the hat trick.

"I felt good out there," said Hemsky, "but I really owe this one to the guys that played with me. I was able to score because of their great passing, especially on the second goal, it was a great pass by Pens and an easy tap-in.

It was Calgary however that jumped ahead first, as mid-way through the first period, the former Oiler Curtis Glencross got the puck in front of the net and went high on goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, and the Flames got up 1-0.

But not too long after that, a fight occured, and even though they're predictable in the Battle of Alberta, this one had a new twist, as Robert Nilsson, who's never had a career fight, got into it with Cory Sarich. It was a good tussle, even though Sarich came away with the takedown eventually.

"It was nothing pre-medidated or anything like that," Nilsson said. "It was pretty much just in the heat or the moment where I was pissed off and wanted to fight him."

Early in the second, the Oilers got on the board via the powerplay as the puck came out to the halfboards to Ales Hemsky after the Oilers had a few chances to bang it home in front. Hemsky one-timed it into the back of the twinge to tie the game up after two periods.

Early in the second, the Oilers got another chance with the man-advantage, and Hemsky scored again on it, as Dustin Penner made a great pass from behind the net to Hemsky, who tapped it in to give the Oilers the lead.

Later in the period, defenceman Ladislav Smid decided to carry the puck in himself instead of dumping it in or passing to a forward.. He would eventuallly pass it off to Penner, but seconds later Penner returned the favour, and Smid had an easy tap-in.

"I felt a little lost out there," Smid joked. "I don't think I've ever been that close to the other team's net as a defenseman."

Then, after Calgary pulled their goalie, Staios passed it down the ice to Hemsky, who raced past the defense and put it into the empty net.

The Oilers continued their homestand on Hockey Night in Canada, when they play the Monteral Canadians, an orignal 6 team.

Scoring Summary

CAL-1st, 7:30-Curtis Glencross (N. Daes, C. Sarich)
EDM-2nd, 3:37-Ales Hemsky (S. Souray, L. Visnovsky)
EDM-3rd, 2:45-Ales Hemsky (D. Penner, S. Horcoff)
EDM-3rd, 16:18-Ladislav Smid (D. Penner)
EDM-3rd, 19:48-Ales Hemsky (S. Staios)

[Clarke_311]

Canadians Lose Game, Key Players

Souray scores game winner as Habs lose Gionta, Cammaleri, Moen to injury

MON: 0 EDM: 1



As if losing the game wasn't enough, the Montreal Canadians took a huge hit against the Oilers which could turn their season around, as in last night's game they lost Brian Gionta, Mike Cammaleri and Travis Moen, all to injury. All of these injuries occured in the second period.

"We took a big blow tonight," said Canadians head coach Jaques Martin. "All of those players are a big part of our hockey team, and we wish them all a speedy, speedy recovery."

Sheldon Souray scored the game-winner mid-way through the second period, and Nikolai Khabibulin made twenty saves for his second shutout of the year.

The Habs actually dominated the first period, outshooting the Oilers 9-3 and having the better scoring chances. But they couldn't beat Nikolai Khabibulin, who even though he only faced 20 shots, had to make some very tough saves, including a split save on Sergei Kostitsyen later in the second period.

"I felt good out there," said Khabibulin. "The guys played solid defence the whole game, and I rarely had any traffic in front of me. It was an easy shutout for me."

Souray's game-winner in the second came from a slap shot from the point after Shawn Horcoff won the faceoff. The Oilers buckled down and played shutdown defence in the third period to hold on for the win.

[Qb]

Good write-ups, Clarke. Always a fan of the ficticious post-game player/coach quotes...