I'm not sure how many of you have read through the entire CBA and understand it completely, but apparently the Oilers' front office aren't in a better position. Friday morning winger Magnus Paajarvi was called up from Oklahoma City on a non-emergency call-up. He took the early morning flight out and arrived in Edmonton in the late morning hours. Paajarvi prepared for the game, line combinations were discussed and everything seemed fine. Suddenly, just two hours before puck drop the Oilers tweeted and released their email statements that Paajarvi had been assigned to OKC. "We believed we had confirmation to recall (him) ... The league informed us the only way we could was under an emergency." - GM Tambellini tweeted the Oilers. It seems that the Oilers at least attempted to check in with the league about recalling Paajarvi but either asked the wrong person, or didn't word their question properly. Paajarvi's initial assignment to OKC on deadline day would count as one transaction, the counting does not start after the deadline had past.
The Oilers lost the battle for the basement Sunday afternoon, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 6-3. While a win is well and good, it's not as though either team has had spectacular seasons overall and so this win didn't feel as empowering as it might have otherwise.
Tuesday was not a game day, but it was the day that we learned that Taylor Hall is done for the season. Hall underwent shoulder surgery while recovering from his concussion and is expected to make a full recovery in 5-6 months.
Wednesday the domination of the Dallas Stars of the Oilers continued. The Stars would sweep the season series against the Oilers with a final 3-1 victory in Rexall Place. Friday night the Oilers suffered another loss, this time a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
In Friday night's game however, the Oilers lost two defencemen when Jeff Petry took a puck off of the face and Ladislav Smid appeared to have suffered a neck injury behind the Oilers net in a collision. Smid has had a neck surgery, and has been one of the team's most reliable defencemen. Any injury to Smid, even for one game of the final four will be a setback for the Oilers.
That's it folks, just four more Oilers' games this season before you turn to your #2 or #3 games to cheer through the playoffs and hope for an eventful summer where all of the roster issues and holes are filled and solved.
Down on the Farm the Barons officially clinched their playoff position with Friday night's victory, a game that was won even without Paajarvi.
In the ECHL Wednesday night the Stockton Thunder took a 3-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads in their only game of the week. The Thunder have also made it to the playoffs and will be another potential for Oilers' prospects whose junior seasons have been completed.
The Edmonton Oil Kings completed their sweep of the Kootenay Ice Thursday night and will now prepare to take on the Brandon Wheat Kings in the second round of the WHL playoffs. That of course means that Drew Czerwonka's time in Cranbrook BC in done. The feisty winger is planning to make the jump to pro hockey in the fall and is now awaiting the Oilers decisions. They can place him with the Barons or the Thunder depending on the teams' needs or where they feel they will get the best assessment of his abilities. Czerwonka has not yet been signed to an entry level contract, but those are typically signed in April and May.
In Medicine Hat, Tyler Bunz and the Tigers have also advanced to the next round and will take on the Moose Jaw Warriors, a battle which will be much more of a challenge.
Also eliminated from the playoffs were the Regina Pats and Oiler prospect defencemen Martin Marincin and Brandon Davidson. Both Marincin and Davidson each played a single game with the Barons during their playoff run last season and it seems a strong possibility that they will have the opportunity to add to that total this year. Again, these two players will also be looking for their first professional contracts, either with the Oilers or another team. Marincin may be one of the next prospects signed to an entry level contract.
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OKC Barons Return Home - Shooting Stars And Gliding Griffins - Copper & Blue Rodgers
When It Comes To Concussions The Oilers Might Want To Follow The Canucks Lead - Copper & Blue Batty
Shot Blocking Outside the Prime Scoring Area - Copper & Blue dawgbone98
Spoiler - Oilers Nation Strudwick
TOP SIX: NEED VARIETY - Oilers Nation Gregor
WHY THE SUCCESS OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS (PROBABLY) MATTERS - Oilers Nation Willis
LANDSLIDE FOR LANDESKOG? - Oilers Nation Brownlee
Lennart Petrell and Teemu Hartikainen making their case to stick with Edmonton Oilers - Cult of Hockey Staples
Jordan Eberle, best Edmonton Oilers scorer in more than a decade - Cult of Hockey Staples
Edmonton Oilers’ improved goal differential a cause for optimism - Cult of Hockey McCurdy
Oiler ELCs, Who’s Next? - Oil Patch