Go Oilers Go!

The puck drops for the 2016/17 NHL season in a few hours.  Edmonton is on the road in Calgary for the first game.  I won't be able to see it as I will myself be on the road at the time, possibly only will get to watch it sometime over the weekend.  This will be the second season with Connor McDavid as an Oiler.  Here's hoping he has an even better season than last (when he scored over a point per game but missed almost half the season due a broken clavicle due those dirty Flyers).

There has been quite a bit of activity in the Northern hemisphere summer at Oilersland.  Probably the most controversial move was the trade of Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson.  So, we now have a strong right D and lost a top winger.  Me, I liked the trade once I got my head around it.  On the assumption that Larsson is as good as they say he is, the team will benefit more than they'll lose on the exit of Hall.  And I must say that I wasn't a great Hall fan.  He was good, yes, but spent too much time being a hero on his own and then getting shitty when it didn't work out.  Not my kind of player.

We picked up Milan Lucic to compensate on the left wing.  I think I'll prefer him to Hall.  Maybe not as individually brilliant as Hall but pretty damn good none-the-less, but he's a team player and sticks up for his mates (I hated him when he was in Boston).  We can do with a bit of grunt up front and we got it with Lucic on the first line.

Nail Yakapov is also gone, traded for picks to the Blues.  As much as I enjoyed watching him play, he was frustrating due always going offside, bouncing off the guys he hit, missing the goal from point blank (not good for a 'sniper').  The fact he wanted to be traded was probably the icing on the cake and he's gone.  I hope he works it all out, but am relieved he won't need to be covered.

Looking at the opening night roster, it's a long way advanced from this time last year.  We have a D, we have two killer lines leading the forwards, we still have a good number one goalie.  There are still a lot of prospects and rookies (three or four?!) on it, including this year's number 4 overall draft pick (Pool Party!), but I am most glad to see Slepyshev on the list.  I first noticed him before I knew he was an Oiler, in a Weber Cup game a couple years ago playing for his Russian KHL team.  He was ferocious and fast.  He only played one or two games with the Oilers last year.  I think he's looking good at the moment.  I am looking forward to seeing him unleash that ferocity (hopefully against Calgary).

Oh well, another Oilers season begins.  It's hard not to be optimistic at this time of the season.   For an Oilers fan, that usually ends within the month, but I'm hoping this year will be different.  They do say, hope dies last but I'm hoping there's more to it than that this time around.

My prediction?  We'll go close to the playoffs, maybe grab a wildcard spot if injuries don't cripple us like they did last year.  We wait...