A pretty depressing Oiler season with more downs than ups, but hey, they're
not all painful memories.
The season began without star centre Doug Weight and top left-wing Ryan
Smyth, both held out the first week of the season due to a contract
disputes. The big man, Weight does end up signing, but plays a couples
games then goes out for a few months with a knee injury thanks to
Washington's Mark Tinordi.
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Doug Weight
by Meredith Martini
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That leaves the offense in the hands of Joe Beranek and Bill Guerin, who
fill in admirably at first. Billy the Butcher started off the season on
fire, a streak which would end after a couple months.
The first month of the season included a bizarre disappearing act by Boris
Mironov, who took off from the team in New York. He returns to the team
after a week of sorting out family problems.
Mikail Shtalenkov and Bob Essensa spent the season up to March dueling it
out for the honor of being a starter. Both fail to impress.
Dean McAmmond scores his first goal of the season in December. The Oilers
continue to struggle up to the end of the season, where the turn on the
power and sneak into the playoffs.
Amidst all this includes the Edmonton media calling for Coach Ron Low's
head on a plate.
In efforts to boost the team's performance, Glen Sather makes several
trades, mostly near the trade deadline.
The biggest deal was with the Chicago Blackhawks, which sent Boris Mironov,
Dean McAmmond and some european prosepct to the 'Hawks in return for
Christian Laflamme, Ethan Moreau, Chad Kilger and Dan Cleary.
The other big one was Tommy Salo in return for Mats Lindgren. But the best
deal was seeing Jason Smith leave Hogtown for the Oilers. All Sather gave
up was a draft pick.
The Oilers fought their way into the playoffs and put up a good fight
against the eventual champs the Dallas Stars. The 4-0 sweep was very
deceiving.
Overall a crappy Oilers season with some ups but more downs…better luck
next year.
Top Five Pleasant Surprises
1.) Rem (the Gem) Murray, scored 21 goals, killed penalties, played all
three forward positions. And he tried hard.
2.) Tom Poti, the rookie defenceman proved himself this season and made
Boris Mironov expendable. Will be our top guy soon enough…if we can afford
him.
3.) Pat Falloon/Joe Beranek, both guys on their ninth life come to Edmonton
and end up contributing offensively.
4.) Georges Laraque, big young kid who isn't a liability and can kick the
stuffing out of people. Example: Laraque beats Rob Ray into cat food…not
bad at all.
5.) Kelly Buchberger, spent a good portion of the season injured and still
managed to score more than his two-goal quota. Four goals Buchy! See ya
in Atlanta.
Top Five Disappointments
1.) Ryan Smyth and Dean McAmmond, both failed to bury the biscuit, which
lead to McAmmond receiving a one-way trip to the Chicago Blackhawks.
2.) Alex Selivanov, got this loser mid-season for Andrei Kovalenko.
Different names, same game -- lazy and can't or won't score. Alex looks
his sharpest from the press box.
3.) Doug Weight, signs a new contract, gets injured comes back and can't
find his game. To top it off, Ryan Smyth busts his jaw in the playoffs.
Better luck next year Doug.
4.) Goaltenders Mikail Shtalenkov and Bob Essensa, couldn't stop beach
balls, Sather had to get Tommy Salo to stop the bleeding.
5.) Eric Fichaud, young goalie who was picked up during the off-season but
was of no use. Dished off during the preseason for Shtalenkov.
Team MVP
Tom Poti. Sure, I picked the rookie. Why? Near the end of the
season, after Boris Mironov was gone, Poti picked up the slack and scored
several big goals. He's one of the biggest reasons the Oilers got into the
playoffs.
His big goals against Calgary and San Jose were huge. Mironov's departure
left more freedom for Poti to jump into the play. This kid's a keeper.
Off-Season Stuff
Well, the biggest move so far is the Oilers got rid of Coach Low and hired
Coach Lowe. Yes, Mr. Oiler Kevin Lowe is now head coach after spending a
year as Ron Low's assistant.
This was all Glen Sather's doing of course, as he made Ronnie Low an offer
he had to refuse. A low-ball offer which saw Low receive a contract which
paid him the same as last season.
As the expansion draft approaches, the top unprotected players include
Kelly Buchberger, Rem Murray and Alex Selivanov. Since Rem the Gem is a
free agent, look for the Atlanta Thrashers to take Buchy, unless Slats
makes a deal with the Thrashers to keep their mitts of the Captain.
Free agents that Sather has to sign include Roman Hamrlik, and Bill Guerin.
Tommy Salo and Rem Murray. Don't know what to expect…so I guess you
should stay tuned.
