Edmonton seem to have a decent team this year...

[Fierce Robot]

I am a Coyotes fan but I have been playing a season on NHL 08 as the Oilers and have updated the roster as best I can to mimick the current Edmonton roster and I think on paper they have put together a pretty good list.

I am not sure about their defense though but I think the Oilers should definitely make the playoffs at least.

What do you guys think?

Also in comparison to Phoenix which do you think is the stronger team?

Do you think the Yotes might actually make the playoffs this season? I hope so, they have some great young talent.

[Donovan]

I'm obviously biased, but taking off the rose coloured glasses I like the Oils roster this year. They could finish anywhere from 3rd-10th in the west, but more likely landing around 6th. In the division Vancouver and Minnesota have gotten weaker, while Colorado and Calgary have gone side ways this offseason. The Flames will likely win the NW with the Oil finishing 2nd. Last year was a growing pains season for the Oilers as they went with a youth movement after the stinging season following the cup run and it worked out great because of their huge depth in top quality prospects. Then they added more talent this offseason in Cole and Visnovsky while unloading underachievers like Stoll and Torres. All in all they're set well for the next few years. Last I looked at the Vegas odds for likelyhood of winning the cup the Oil were 50-1, second or third worst in the league, while teams like Toronto were 40-1, Minnesota 35-1, etc. So no ones really expecting more than another bust season out of them. I mean they wont win the cup, but why not bet $20 for the likelyhood of winning $1000, lol.

As for the Coyotes, adding Jokinen was pretty big, the guy is an underated star in the NHL and capable of 85-90 points no problem. If Mueller is as good as he was last year and improves, if Turris can step in and be another young guy who hits his stride early like has been the norm in the NHL lately then yah they have playoff potential, but not much more than 8th place. The biggest problem is their division, San Jose, Dallas and Anaheim are all locks for the playoffs, and 4 teams out of the same division rarely happens. Having a winning record against your division in hockey is as important as any other sport.

[Fierce Robot]

Thats a very good point about Western Pacific division. Unfortunately I think you are right, the Coyotes will have a very tough time beating out those three teams for a place in the top 8 of the Western Conference.

How do you rate the Oilers defense this season?

[Donovan]

I don't know, thats kind of a general question. Their team scoring will be around 7-10th in the NHL. They obviously don't have any Detroit or Ottawa like scoring lines but their top 9 is probably the best in the league, their third line is as good as many second lines. But they have so many possibilities lineup wise. They'll score by committee with 7 guys all capable of scoring 20 goals*.

Penner* - Horcoff* - Hemsky*
Cole* - Gagner* - Nilsson*
Moreau - Cogliano* - Pisani
Pouliot - Brodziak - Stortini

Even their fourth line center Brodziak scored 14 goals and 31 points last year.
Or if you want to keep the kid line that was so dynamite together you can bump Penner to the third line and really spread out your scoring. If Schremp made the team he'd be a perfect 3rd line center, or Brodziak could move up the 3 hole.

Cole - Horcoff - Hemsky
Cogliano - Gagner - Nilsson
Penner - Schremp - Pisani
Pouliot - Brodziak - Stortini

Then you look at their D and its as good as its been in ages.

Visnovsky - Gilbert
Souray - Staois
Grebeshkov - Smid/Strudwick

Then you have a tandem of Roloson, who's good for 20-30 games, and Garon, who played fantastic last year and took the starting job.

The team is definitely playoff bound. But I'm not going to get carried away and say they'll beat out Calgary for the division quite yet.

[Fierce Robot]

Hey Donovan, I just realised you live in Perth. I live in Melbourne! Are you Canadian?

On a side note how crap is it that NHL 2k9 is not coming to Australia this year. I ordered a copy from the states and should get it in the next few weeks. Even NHL 09 isn't out here yet, supposed to be in later this week.

Do you play hockey. I play a bit of inline because there is only one ice rink in Melbourne and its over an hour away.

Hockey is awesome. Go Yotes and the Oils!!!

[Donovan]

Yah, I'm an expat I suppose, this will be my first winter outside of Canada after immigrating to Perth. Anyway, I'll PM you so we dont turn the thread into MSN.

[ShowtimeSpicer]

The Oilers are a good, young team. Should be exciting to watch for seasons to come, especially with the emergence of the Chicago Blackhawks as well. I could easily see the Oilers making the playoffs this season.