Edmonton Oilers

[Rylant]

Nail Yakupov looks good. Has gained some muscle weight in the off season and looks happy. His English has also really improved. I would be surprised if he didn't have a bounce back season.

Rylant

[Axeman33]

I never really thought his size or speech had much to do with his off year last year. I thought it had more to do with Dallas Eakins, and unfortunately he's still there.

[doulos]

Nugent-Hopkins is up around 190+ now as well. The team is slowly getting bigger just as they age, which is a good thing I guess.

[doulos]

Was reminded today of how bad the Oilers start was last season. The only won 4 of their first 20 games. They were out of it by November. Sooooo bad. It just has to be better than that doesn't it?

[Rylant]

Was reminded today of how bad the Oilers start was last season. The only won 4 of their first 20 games. They were out of it by November. Sooooo bad. It just has to be better than that doesn't it?

I will take the "over" on 4 wins in their first 20 this year!

Rylant

[Rylant]

I never really thought his size or speech had much to do with his off year last year. I thought it had more to do with Dallas Eakins, and unfortunately he's still there.

No question, that was his biggest obstacle. My point was, that with him being much more comfortable with his English, he should have an easier time with the media. As well, we have seen in the past, that young Russians who are faced with difficulties, can have a tendency to withdraw and regress. In this case, if he took the time to hit the gym hard and work on his English, it means he is going in with a great attitude. His results last year could have had a negative effect on him, but it seems to have motivated him instead. This can be nothing but a good thing. As a matter of fact, I may see if he is a good "buy low" candidate in my league because of this.

Rylant

[joeb323]

Maybe I'm just pumping myself up again like I do every year at this time, but I really can't see the Oilers not improving by a decent amount. I don't think it will translate into much movement in the standings, but I don't think they'll be a pushover like they were in many games last year. All the changes in players and staff should be towards the positive while their core group is another year older. I'm also taking the "over" on 4 wins in the first 20! Who knows, maybe their be playing some meaningful games in february this year.

[doulos]

Now's the time to go after Yakupov people, as I suspect his price is going to be much higher after this year. I picked him up in a trade two days ago.

Bo Horvat for Nail Yakupov.

I might be an Oiler homer, but something tells me that deal is going to look golden in the future.

[metaldude26]

Now's the time to go after Yakupov people, as I suspect his price is going to be much higher after this year. I picked him up in a trade two days ago.

Bo Horvat for Nail Yakupov.

I might be an Oiler homer, but something tells me that deal is going to look golden in the future.

Well that's kind of a no-brainer seeing as Horvat isn't exactly the bees knees.

[doulos]

Well that's kind of a no-brainer seeing as Horvat isn't exactly the bees knees.

Yeah I thought it was an extremely odd move. But hey, who am I to judge.

I assume most people in this thread have been following Oiler training camp/preseason. Looking forward to the first few cuts so that this team can boil it down to the nitty gritty as soon as possible.

[franklin]

Now's the time to go after Yakupov people, as I suspect his price is going to be much higher after this year. I picked him up in a trade two days ago.

Bo Horvat for Nail Yakupov.

I might be an Oiler homer, but something tells me that deal is going to look golden in the future.

Points only league I have an offer on the table around my Vanek for Yakupov and a pick. Any thought?

[Axeman33]

Oilers cuts today:

https://twitter.com/SUNdvandiest/sta...06042181287936

#Oilers trim roster, Bunz, Chase, Roy, Krushelnyski, Ludwig, Tuohimaa among those assigned. Down to 49 players in camp.

[Axeman33]

Cuts part 2:

https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers/s...04562905219072

#Oilers also assign Betker, Bouchard, Boland, Chase, Houck, Platzer and Roy to respective major junior clubs, plus Rowley to @GBHKY.

[Axeman33]

Some interesting points of notice for the Oilers so far as well:

http://oilersnation.com/2014/9/23/ed...rth-of-players

Vladimir Tkachev survives the first wave of cuts. I had expected the Oilers to make a decision on signing him and send him back to junior with the rest of the youngsters, but he’s going to get a longer look in the preseason before they come to a conclusion. That’s positive in that he’s in the running for a contract, but negative in that the team may not have made its mind up yet. Wednesday’s exhibition match is probably the most important game of his career to-date.

The clearest winner today is probably Jordan Oesterle. He’s not getting lumped in with the depth AHL guys; he’s being treated like a real prospect. From what I saw in the rookie tournament and his exhibition play his survival is well-deserved.

Matt Ford gets lumped in with the guys who are going to be fighting just to stay outside the ECHL. It’s where he slotted in last season, too, but it isn’t an encouraging sign, particularly because another guy on an AHL deal (Jason Williams) lives to fight another day.

Marco Roy’s demotion here isn’t surprising, exactly, and there’s a decent case for it. He had a rough 2013-14 season, so getting him home early is probably a good thing. On the other hand, he has some draft pedigree and one would think the Oilers would like to take a longer look at him.

Greg Chase is in the same boat as Roy in some ways – he’s a prospect of note but he’s going back to junior so the team had to weight the value of giving him a longer look versus getting him set for a successful 2014-15 campaign.

I should also note: Ty Rimmer lives; Tyler Bunz and Frans Tuohimaa head off to the minors. Rimmer continues to be the king of training camp.

[doulos]

Points only league I have an offer on the table around my Vanek for Yakupov and a pick. Any thought?

I don't see Yakupov hitting Vanek type numbers for a few seasons, so I probably wouldn't do that deal unless the pick was crazy good.