Tom Gilbert Out Until February

by Derek Zona on Jan 10, 2012 10:35 AM MST in News

CHED Radio reported that Tom Gilbert will be on the shelf until "after the All-Star Game" according to Oilers' coach Tom Renney. This means the earliest the team could expect to see Gilbert in the lineup is February 2nd against Chicago in Edmonton. Edmonton is home against Detroit on February 4th, so the Oilers could target his return for either date.

The loss of Gilbert is significant, probably more so than any other player on the team. Gilbert has been the Oilers' first-half MVP playing the same role he's played over the past four seasons - the number one defender who plays in all situations and always plays against the opponent's best. He leads the Oilers in icetime by approximately four minutes per game and has been tasked with a role no one in the organization, not even a healthy Ryan Whitney, is capable of fulfilling.

The Oilers have no way of replacing Gilbert's wide range of defensive skills and excellent puck-moving abilities, but in his absence Renney is using Corey Potter on the top pairing with Ladislav Smid and Jeff Petry in Potter's spot on the second pairing. The Oilers will likely spend the next three weeks with the following defensive pairings:

Ladislav Smid	-	Corey Potter
Andy Sutton	-	Jeff Petry
Theo Peckham	-	Colten Teubert

The Oilers are going to give Smid far more minutes now and Sutton, Petry and Teubert are going to have to play in roles that are probably not commiserate with their games at this point.

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Man that's an Ugly Picture

…that right ankle/knee looks precarious…a homestand with middle to lower end of the pack teams is our only consolation..the third pairing will be threadbare by the Vancouver game and the All Star break on Jan 24.

by Otiepitotie on Jan 10, 2012 10:53 AM MST reply actions

This is a great opportunity for Smid to nail his claim to the Norris Trophy mast.

by Yeti# on Jan 10, 2012 11:16 AM MST reply actions

Well let’s hope Smid stays uninjured until Gilbert gets back. Renney is going to run him ragged in the coming weeks. 5v5, pk, he’ll probably even get some pp time. My guess is Smid will be averaging 24 – 27 mins a night.

The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years

by OilLeak on Jan 10, 2012 1:06 PM MST up reply actions

I was just contemplating an interesting scenario, if Smid were to go down to injury and if Sutton were to receive another suspension, what would our D look like?

The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years

by OilLeak on Jan 10, 2012 1:21 PM MST up reply actions

What D?

by Joe Girth on Jan 10, 2012 1:43 PM MST up reply actions

touche.

The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years

by OilLeak on Jan 11, 2012 11:28 AM MST up reply actions

Peckham, Chorney and Marincin (emergency recall) on the left; Potter, Petry and Teubert on the right.

The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.

by Scott Reynolds on Jan 10, 2012 2:14 PM MST up reply actions

OMG. We are talking 0 for however many games that is the defence

by gcw_rocks on Jan 10, 2012 2:16 PM MST up reply actions

Why do I actually want to see that happen?

The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years

by OilLeak on Jan 11, 2012 11:30 AM MST up reply actions

Peckham – Potter
Chorney – Petry
Davidson – Teubert (Pats reunion!)

And no one else left to call up, except the CHL kids on emergency recall.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Jan 10, 2012 3:08 PM MST up reply actions

GOOD GOD THAT’S SEBASTIEN BISAILLON’S MUSIC

Manager at Vancouver Whitecaps and western Canadian soccer website Eighty Six Forever and infrequently-posting flunky at Edmonton Oilers blog The Copper & Blue.

by Benjamin Massey on Jan 10, 2012 4:40 PM MST up reply actions

If he was smart, he’d save Smid from the power play and use Paajarvi.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Jan 10, 2012 3:08 PM MST up reply actions

So Smid is going to get top pp minutes every night isn’t he?

The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years

by OilLeak on Jan 11, 2012 11:32 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Lottery team by design, period

This teams defensive “depth” HAS to be designed to keep this team down.

I now think that they have secret handshake deals with 2 or 3 top 4 (23-28 year old) Dmen to sign here in a year or two when the kids hit stride, thus giving them more time to pile up high draft picks, I’ve also had waaay too much coffee this morning.

by Joe Girth on Jan 10, 2012 11:32 AM MST reply actions

You’ve been watching too many conspiracy movies.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Jan 10, 2012 3:07 PM MST up reply actions

They're all out to get us!

Probably, but take a minute and pretend that’s what’s happening behind the scenes and see how much better you feel about the team!

Oh and they also gave Khabi that big contract so he would play bad on purpose, so they could garauntee the top pick!

by Joe Girth on Jan 10, 2012 4:10 PM MST up reply actions

I’d like to go back in time and tell October-Ryan to not bother getting even a little excited about the great start to the season because the top four would include Potter and Sutton for almost a month later on.

Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.

by ryanbatty on Jan 10, 2012 12:07 PM MST reply actions

Who will replace Gilbert’s fucking softness?

Manager at Vancouver Whitecaps and western Canadian soccer website Eighty Six Forever and infrequently-posting flunky at Edmonton Oilers blog The Copper & Blue.

by Benjamin Massey on Jan 10, 2012 4:41 PM MST reply actions

Remember, according to top hockey analyst and commentator Damien Cox, the Oilers would have had to trade away the 1st overall pick last year, with Gilbert and take a 7th back just to get rid of him.

He shouldn’t call himself @damospin on twitter, it should be @damohockeyacumen

by Woodguy on Jan 10, 2012 5:29 PM MST up reply actions

Taylor Chorney is just an emergency recall away.

The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years

by OilLeak on Jan 11, 2012 11:33 AM MST up reply actions

That group of 6 will look even worse when Sutton gets suspended again.

In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!

Tactical contributor to the Copper & Blue and just as boring on the twitters... @dawgbone98

by dawgbone98 on Jan 11, 2012 11:44 AM MST reply actions

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