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by Jonathan Willis on May 27, 2008 8:53 AM MDT

Jim Matheson's column today is, as usual, a must read for Oilers fans. He opens with a list of some of the Oilers prospects attending the conditioning camp in June. Apparently Petry will be returning to the University of Michigan Michigan State for at least one more year, while Taylor Chorney (as first reported at Coming Down the Pipe!) wants to sign a professional deal but there is some distance between the parties on dollars.

Matheson also mentions a local-born one-shot sniper who may be on the trading block- just the kind of player the Oilers like. Joffrey Lupul is apparently being dangled as bait for a speedy defenseman- maybe we could offer them Pitkanen. I've heard that trade described as a "fleecing" by several MSM-types eager to extol Paul Holmgren's virtues- and it was nothing of the sort.

Apparently Glenn Fisher has signed an AHL contract for next season, after posting middling numbers in the ECHL. This all but guarantees that Dubnyk/Fisher will be the tandem in Springfield next season, so I'd imagine that Lowe is figuring to deal Roloson at the Entry Draft. I'm not sure who they figure will claim Deslauriers (pictured) if they expose him to waivers, but the goaltending logjam has to be cleared up somehow. The good news is that we should get a very clear picture of where Dubnyk is at as a prospect next season.

I really don't want to go into 2008-09 with a Garon/Deslauriers tandem, because Garon has a track record of breaking down if he plays too many games, and I'm really not sure I want to see JDD getting 25 starts at the NHL level.

Update: Apparently Illegal Curve had the same idea that I did. I'd say something about great minds thinking alike, but I know the state of my mind too well and it wouldn't be fair to Pollock to make such a comparison.

Update II: Also, an alert commenter (see below) has been kind enough to point out a minor error in the Matheson article (which I missed as well). Jeff Petry plays for Michigan State, not the University of Michigan.

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I hear you on Garon/Deslauriers. But as I noted on Lowetide about a month ago:

Two things about Deslauriers
- his late-season stint as Roli’s back-up will have given the Oiler braintrust a fairly clear idea of how good he is now compared to how good he was.
- Without that bad spell in February, where one could argue he ran out of gas, his save % for the season was .917 – in the top-10 in the AHL.
From March 2 on, in his final 10 AHL starts, his Save Percentage was .923.

Maybe Garon/Deslauriers won’t be that bad.
Maybe they’ll be terrific!

Trade Chorney.
He’s too small & the Oilers have too many 21-year-old D prospects.
Shovel him off to Buffalo for Afinogenov.

by Mr DeBakey on May 27, 2008 9:41 AM MDT reply actions

Maybe Garon/Deslauriers won’t be that bad.
Maybe they’ll be terrific!

I hear that; unfortunately, the loudest parts of those sentences are the "maybe"s.

Trade Chorney.

Not yet. Until we're clear on whether or not Grebeshkov/Pitkanen are going to be in for the long haul I'd be leery of clearing him out (he adds dimensions that neither Petry/Peckham do). Besides, with the Souray contract, I think we may need cheap options down the roster.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Grebeshkov/Greene are replaced in the near future by some combination of Chorney/Petry/Peckham. Not saying I'm a fan of that, but I think it's at least plausible.

by Jonathan Willis on May 27, 2008 10:09 AM MDT reply actions

Matheson made one mistake in his article, Petry plays for Michigan State (same school as Horcoff).

I think JDD could be a solid backup this year - no question he's ready given the nightly onslaught he faced in Springfield last year. There is no way Lowe risks losing him by sending him down on waivers.

The question is can they find someone between now and the end of camp this Fall to take Roli or do they buy him out. I can't see them carrying 3 goalies to start the season - too many problems.

by oilerdago on May 27, 2008 10:10 AM MDT reply actions

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Northwest Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	54	34	15	5	73
Colorado Mile High Hockey	56	28	25	3	59
Minnesota Hockey Wilderness	54	25	21	8	58
Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	55	25	22	8	58
Edmonton The Copper & Blue	54	21	28	5	47

(updated 2.11.2012 at 6:02 AM MST)

22 - 28 - 5

Streak: Won 1

Oilers Schedule

Next 5 Games

Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Wed 02/15	8:00 PM MST
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Fri 02/17	7:30 PM MST
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	Sun 02/19	7:00 PM MST
@ Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	Tue 02/21	7:00 PM MST
Philadelphia Broad Street Hockey	Thu 02/23	7:30 PM MST

Last 5 Games

@ Ottawa Silver Seven	Sat 02/11	OT - W 4 - 3
@ Detroit Winging It In Motown	Wed 02/08	L 2 - 4
@ Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Mon 02/06	L 3 - 6
Detroit Winging It In Motown	Sat 02/04	SO - W 5 - 4
Chicago Second City Hockey	Thu 02/02	W 8 - 4