In Mike Comrie, the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed just the kind of player that can help the team win the Stanley Cup. Comrie is at the right age, comes at the right price ($500,000 per year according to TSN) has the right attitude and still retains enough of his skill to be just the kind of player who can make valuable contributions to a Stanley Cup drive, as the Ottawa Senator found out in that team's excellent run in 2007. His official scoring numbers for last year were mediocre, just 21 points in 43 games with a -9 in official plus/minus, but those numbers are misleading. In many games, Comrie was slowed down by mono, which knocked him out for much of the season. When he did play, and when he was healthy, he was dynamic and effective. As for his plus/minus, that negative number was driven by playing with so many weak teammates. This is a player who isn't going to be a star forward, but he remains a player who can fill on almost any line and in almost any role. It's n

Philippe Cornet, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Eberle will attend Oilers Rookie Camp and will help represent the club at the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Tourname...

Have Skates Will Travel has long been Mike Comrie’s calling card — and now he’s gone to Pittsburgh.

What if the Oilers aren't terrible?

Please read the full story on TSN.ca for the latest details

Please read the full story on TSN.ca for the latest details

The Pittsburgh Penguins hope they've added some scoring help at a bargain price. The NHL team announced Friday that it had signed veteran forward Mike Comrie to a US$500,000, one-year contract -- the minimum salary a player can be paid.

Have Skates Will Travel has long been Mike Comrie’s calling card — and now he’s gone to Pittsburgh.

Is it time to think about slapping a letter on Edmonton Oilers defenceman Tom Gilbert's sweater?

The Oilers have rid themselves of most of the players who leaked goals against By DAVID STAPLES The Cult of Hockey @ The Edmonton Journal It was said of Wayne Gretzky that he took particular delight when he was out on the ice against weak opposition, knowing their tendencies as he did, knowing that he could use his skill and speed to rapidly exploit his advantage. While Gretzky's employed a ruthless approach, this tactic isn't peculiar to him, but is at the heart of the NHL game, where the strong prey on the weak. The theory here is that most NHL teams aren't so dramatically different when it comes to the level of talent, character and commitment, that almost any NHL team has at least ten players who could fit in well on most any Stanley Cup winning team of the past two decades. The deciding factor in the NHL is those top two or three players on each team who are able to win match-ups in best-on-best confrontations with the strongest players on the other team, and are al

All good things must come to an end. Like the Oakland Seals and great scouting reports from Mike Remmerde. Shoot. But congrats. Hope it is with the Oilers.

They say hindsight is 20/20. When it comes to tracking prospects in training camp, even hindsight spends a lot of time guessing. The Edmonton Oilers have so many good rookies you'd swear we skipped a season for a lockout. It is very difficult to handicap the field. Sure Hall is a lock, Eberle a strong contender and Pääjärvi is right there too. Behind them are Linus Omark, Chris Vande Velde and Teemu Hartikainen. Let me ask you a question: if Linus Omark lit it up in pre-season, would that get him a job? Does a strong pre-season align the tumblers and unlock an NHL job? Here are the rookies who played 2 or more pre-season games over the last 5 pre-seasons for the Edmonton Oilers.Fall 2005 Zack Stortini 3gp, 1-0-1, 20pims +1 Marc Pouliot 4gp, 1-0-1 -4 Rob Schremp 6gp, 1-0-1 -2 Dan Smith 5gp, 0-1-1 -1 Kyle Brodziak 4gp, 0-1-1 E Danny Syvret 4gp, 0-1-1 E Jani Rita 7gp, 0-1-1 -4 Brad Winchester 6gp, 0-0-0 -3 Matt Greene 4gp, 0-0-0 -4 JF Jacq

How should the Oilers run their bench?

I think the Edmonton Oilers view Jason Strudwick as a "player-coach" for the coming season. I believe there are a number of factors that could end Strudwick's Oiler career at any time. That said, he clearly has had an impact on the organization since his arrival and I can also see him staying on in a coaching capacity once he retires.Fitting Strudwick into the top 7D before anyone shoots a puck in anger is one thing; it'll be another matter when the team has to decide on risking waivers on kids like Peckham or their annual nail-biting about the three goalie situation.To borrow from the classic movie The Hunt for Red October "this one is going to be close."•Boxcars: 72gp, 0-6-6•Shots: 19•Plus Minus: -18•Corsi (Rel): -16.3 (7th best on D)•GF/GA ON: 36-54•5x5/60: 0.36 (4th best on D)•5x4/60: nil•Quality of Competition: 5th toughest among D's•Quality of Teammates: 5th best among D's•Cap Hit: $725,000What do these numbers tell us? He played above the level of his ability

Rogers Sportsnet and the Edmonton Oilers are back with a 56-game regular season package starting with the Florida Panthers on Sunday, October 10 at 6 p.m. (MT) on Rogers Sportsnet Oilers, the companion channel to Rogers Sportsnet ONE.

Rogers Sportsnet and the Edmonton Oilers today announced a 56 game package of Oilers broadcasts on Rogers Sportsnet West and Rogers Sportsnet One. In addition to the 56 regular season game broadcasts, the Oilers will also be featured on two pre-se...

Hockey blogs and hockey bloggers aren't going anywhere. That's a reality the Edmonton Oilers and other NHL teams have to accept and come to grips with, and the sooner the better.Thankfully, that's a realization that seems to be slowly taking hold as teams and their media relations departments tackle the issue of how to handle blogs and bloggers, specifically when it comes to access and accreditation.What are the guidelines for issuing credentials to bloggers who aren't parts of mainstream media outlets, like The Journal, TSN or Sportsnet? What should they be? How do teams decide which websites are granted access and credentials and which ones aren't?David Staples, at The Cult of Hockey in The Journal, has written on the topic more than once. So has Greg Wyshynski at PuckDaddy and Eric McErlain at Off The Wing.As a member of the mainstream media who also blogs for a non-MSM website, this one, it's a debate I've been drawn into more than once at levels both philosophical and per

By DAVID STAPLES The Cult of Hockey @ The Edmonton Journal Eklund is an anonymous rumour-monger and one of the most popular hockey bloggers. I can't say I regularly read his site, but on Twitter I did notice a link to an Eklund story, where he predicts both the Leafs and Oilers will make the playoffs. I decided to read the article, partly because the notion is provocative, but also because I wanted to see just how much Eklund knows about the Edmonton team. Eklund: "For years now I have been writing how the Edmonton Oilers are probably the fastest team in hockey." Staples: Faster than Washington or Vancouver or Chicago? Really? The Oilers do have Andrew Cogliano, who is as fast as they come, but he's the only Oiler in that speedball category. In the lesser "good wheels" category, from last year's team we can also include Robert Nilsson, Patrick O'Sullivan, Ales Hemsky, Lubo Visnovsky, Denis Grebeshkov and Gilbert Brule.  Ethan Moreau used to

NHL broadcasters can breathe a small sigh of relief. Top-ranked Edmonton Oilers prospect Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson will enter the league with only one of his last names.

Please read the full story on TSN.ca for the latest details

A translated interview with Magnus Pääjärvi in which he candid answers questions about his life, teammates and family.

Now by watching this, if you are an Oilers fan, how can you NOT be excited for the season to start? We are very, very lucky to be able to witness what these three kids will do for this team in the future. GOILERS!

Laing to AHL - Calkins Named Successor 09/01/2010 1:28 PM - Ben Laing (left), who is taking a post in the American Hockey League, helps goaltender Bryan Pitton during Game 3 of the 2010 National Conference Final. (photo by George Steckler)Laing was recently named 2009-10 ECHL Equipment Manager of the Year; Calkins brings American Hockey League and college experience--------------------------------------------------------------------------------STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, and head coach Matt Thomas announced today that Ben Laing has been named head equipment manager for the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, and Ben Calkins has been named new head equipment manager of the Thunder.Calkins, 23, succeeds Laing and is the third equipment manager in Thunder history, joining the club after serving SUNY Plattsburgh (NCAA) as Student Equipment Manager for five seasons (2005-10)."B

Browsing the Al Gore this morning, I found an interesting item in regard to Ottawa. "Senschirp" has a history of being ahead of the curve with all things Sens, and they're talking about a possible pre-TC trade this morning.Quoting Mr. Chirp: "Anyway, all sorts of rumours out there that the Senators may be toying with the idea of making an impact move before training camp. Details are next to impossible to come by but one contact did suggest that the Sens may be approaching a deal, for what he called "a long time target".With Andrew Cogliano still unsigned it is reasonable to assume it isn't a "smiles and martinis while wearing Dockers" type of negotation. Is there a framework for a "Cogs for Fisher" trade? Could Sheldon Cooper be part of the deal? We wait.

Free agent Patrick O’Sullivan will still be paid about $450,000 US this season and next, even if he doesn’t play anywhere else in 2010-11 after the Edmonton Oilers bought out his contract earlier this summer.

Calgary native Devan Dubnyk says there are no mixed emotions about fellow goalie and Edmonton Oilers teammate Nikolai Khabibulin being sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Free agent Patrick O’Sullivan will still be paid about $450,000 US this season and next, even if he doesn’t play anywhere else in 2010-11 after the Edmonton Oilers bought out his contract earlier this summer.

By PETER ADLER The Cult of Hockey @ The Edmonton Journal His dad Frantisek, known in these parts as Frank, Musil was drafted as a defenceman, 38th overall, by Minnesota North Stars in 1983. His uncle Robert, known in these parts as Bobby, Holik was drafted as a centre, 10th overall by Hartford Whalers (remember them?) in 1989. NHL scouts are currently predicting David Musil, a defenceman with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, as going fourth overall in next year’s draft. Born in Calgary, David has been all about sports-related genes. In addition to dad and uncle, his mother Andrea, nee Holikova, was one of the top tennis players in the world in the 1980s, a winner of the Wimbledon junior championship in 1986. His grandpa Jaroslav Holik used to be one of the top forwards on Czechoslovak national hockey team, and so used to be Andrea’s uncle, Jaroslav’s younger brother, Jiri Holik. David Musil, now all of 17, has already played for the Czech under-18 team, and &nda

There are 6 slots for 7 skill forwards on the 10-11 Oilers depth chart. Penner, Hemsky, Gagner and Hall are a lock, but the rest of the group is a moving target. It is so fluid we may well be having the same conversation one year from now. In a very real way, the Oilers could have made life much easier for themselves if they'd chosen Tyler Seguin #1 overall. I'm not arguing the pick (Taylor Hall is a solid #1 overall selection) but we're left with a depth chart deep on both wings and soggy in the middle. In the previous look at reasonable expectations (the foot soldiers) I named Shawn Horcoff and Jordan Eberle among the group that will be asked to play a specific role outside the top 6F and 1PP. I'll list the top 7 candidates for the two offensive lines below, but we should acknowledge that both Horcoff and Eberle could push their way onto the top 6F's at any time before or during the season. LW-C Dustin Penner: I think we should start by talking about the possibility of Pe

SB Nation is having a mock expansion draft. Who should the Oilers protect?