Weekend Update: Farewell O'Marra

In what was likely the first of a few, if not many trades to come this month, the Edmonton Oilers traded Ryan O`Marrato the Anaheim Ducks for Bryan Rodney. O'Marra was acquired in the trade deadline day deal with the New York Islanders that saw Ryan Smyth leave Edmonton. It's difficult to know what the Oilers now have in Rodney and there is speculation that O'Marra would not have stayed with the Oilers past this season. Bruce McCurdy also did some research into Rodney to see what his past has been. It sounds as though this deal is to help bolster the Barons' blueline due to the continued call-ups to the Oilers, but based on what some of the Ducks' writers have said it doesn't sound as though Rodney will fare much better than the rookies the team already has. The Barons' penalty kill will likely suffer the most from this deal.

The Oilers did take Andy Sutton off of the short list of players who may be traded this month by signing the veteran defenceman to a on e year contract. There is always a chance that Tambellini could still deal Sutton on trade deadline day, but those chances are extremely slim.

Steve Tambellini addressed questions of Oilers trades this week, indicating that he has no plans to trade players such as Ryan Smyth or Ales Hemsky but of course Tambellini cannot have a press conference to say that he is trying to move everyone but the three untouchables. Once again, several Oilers will be in play, but only if the price is right.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been healing and although he has been out longer than the 7-10 days, the Oilers are assuring that he is progressing well.

The Oilers won a close match-up against the Ottawa Senators Saturday afternoon in overtime thanks to a goal by Taylor Hall. Wednesday night, the Oilers would host the Toronto Maple Leafs, and lose to them for the second time this month.

Oilers' head coach Tom Renney has been suffering from a concussion since getting hit in the head by a wayward puck during a morning skate in Toronto nearly two weeks ago. Associate coach Ralph Kruger has been taking care of a lot of the media responsibilities, but Renney has still been running the bench. Thankfully, the Oilers have been playing a "reduced schedule" giving Renney more of an opportunity to recover. The latest update is that Renney is still not feeling like himself. So much so that Renney is taking the weekend off and Kruger coached Friday night and will coach Sunday as well.

Two time ex-Oiler Mike Comrie officially hung up the skates Tuesday. The Edmonton boy has had troubles with his hips, and nearly three weeks ago had his third major surgery. For Comrie, this was not an easy decision. There was still so much more that he would like to do, but as with so many players before him, Comrie had to listen to his body and think realistically about what he can and cannot do going forward.

Princeton grad Taylor Fedun broke his femur in a pre-season game in Minnesota and it has been a long and painful recovery. Through it all, Fedun remained optimistic and hopefully that he would be able to walk normally, let alone skate once again. This week, Fedun was on the ice following an Oilers practice in Millennium Place in Sherwood Park. There are no guarantees for Fedun's future as a player, but to see that he is once again skating is inspirational.

The Edmonton Oil Kings are currently on a western road trip and continue to put up big numbers. The Oil Kings earned a 5-0 win over the Prince George Cougars on Saturday. They did lose a heartbreaking game to the Kamloops Blazers Valentine's day Tuesday. Wednesday the Oil Kings beat the Kelowna Rockets by a score of 6-2. The road trip wrapped up Friday night in Vancouver in a game against Oilers' prospect David Musil and the Vancouver Giants. It was another 6-2 decision, only this time the Oil Kings were on the losing end. The Oil Kings will now travel home to host Tyler Bunz and the Medicine Hat Tigers Monday afternoon.

The Stockton Thunder have not had the best week, losing 4-1 Saturday night to the Colorado Eagles. Wednesday night, the Thunder lost 3-1 to the Ontario Reign. The Thunder are currently 6th of the 8 teams of the Western conference of the ECHL.

The Oklahoma City Barons have beat the Abbotsford Heat for the final time this season. Friday night, the Barons suffered a 5-3 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Linus Omark continues to see success of his own. Friday night, for the third straight game, Omark has scored at least one goal. Omark's scoring touch should help secure the Barons home ice advantage during this season's playoffs, but it's pretty much an already foregone conclusion.

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Barons Rookie Scouting Report: Hunter Tremblay - Copper & Blue Livingston

Anton Lander - #10 in Copper & Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Reynolds

Teemu Hartikainen - #9 in Copper & Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Reynolds

Oscar Klefbom - #8 in Copper and Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Reynolds

Linus Omark - #7 in Copper and Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Reynolds

Jeff Petry - #6 in Copper and Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue dawgbone98

Magnus Pääjärvi - #5 in The Copper & Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Batty

Sam Gagner - #4 in The Copper & Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Zona

Big Opportunity - Oilers Nation Lowetide

HOLD THE PHONE: YOU'RE TRADED - Oilers Nation Brownlee

"Of course I want to get back into the NHL, that’s my goal" — Linus Omark interviews with the Cult of Hockey - McCurdy

The Education of Jeff Petry: A young Oilers defenceman has learned to swim, not sink - Cult of Hockey Staples

"I’m just trying to be as physical as possible" – Drew Czerwonka interviews with the Cult of Hockey - McCurdy

Great Day Or Greatest Day - Black Dog Hates Skunks

Video: Oilers prospect and Medicine Hat Tigers goalie, Tyler Bunz - Swedish Oil

Re-sign Hemsky Campaign Volume 2 - Oilers Addict Brody

Magnus Paajarvi the long road ahead - Oilers Addict mooilersadict

WELCOME TO YOUR EPHEMERAL HOME, ZACK - NEALLIVINGSTON

Antti Tyrväinen — OKC Barons - Artfulpuck

Drew Czerwonka: Healthy and Scoring - Oil Patch

Linus Omark is Back on His Feet - Oil Patch

Curtis Hamilton: Prepare as Best You Can and Keep Your Eyes Forward - Oil Patch

Tyler Pitlick: "You’ve Got To Play Your Role" - Oil Patch

Billy Moores: "We’re Not Here for Mediocrity, We’re Here for Excellence" - Oil Patch