The dawn of a new era in Edmonton

After selecting franchise-player Taylor Hall with the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft last Friday, the Edmonton Oilers have indicated they will buy out the contracts of former captain Ethan Moreau, Robert Nilsson and Patrick O’Sullivan tomorrow after putting them on waivers at noon earlier today, effectively turning the page on a rather abysmal season.

Taylor Hall will provide a much-needed boost to the Oilers

This move comes after the Edmonton Oilers sent qualifying offers on Monday to goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, center Sam Gagner, as well as to forwards Gilbert Brule, Andrew Cogliano, Colin Fraser 9acquired from Chicago), J.F. Jacques, Ryan O’Marra and Liam Reddox. Defenseman Theo Peckham and netminder Devan Dubnyk also received offers from the team.

Forwards Ryan Potulny and Marc Pouliot did not receive offers from the Oilers and thus become unrestricted free agents. The Oilers also traded forward Riley Nash to the Carolina Hurricanes for the 46th overall pick in 2010.

A week ago, GM Steve Tambellini also announced the promotion of Pat Quinn to the role of senior advisor and the hiring of last season’s assistant coach Tom Renney as Edmonton’s new head coach. Renney’s coaching strategies will be better adapted to the up-tempo style of play their speedy forwards can generate of the rush. With Renney in charge, each player will have a specific role and should thrive in the right situations. Renney’s a specialist of the penalty killing, which was a mahor problem in Oil Town last season. He likes to use penalty killing specialists a la Blair Betts and the acquisition of Colin Fraser is certainly a request from Renney to Tambellini.

A few other players are expected to leave the team via free agency on July 1st, as forwards Fernando Pisani, Mike Comrie and Ryan Stone as well as defensemen Jason Strudwick and Aaron Johnson are slated to become unrestricted free agents.

Also, former all-star defenseman Sheldon Souray will likely be traded this summer if someone is willing to take on his albatros-contract at $5.4 M/year (signed for two more years). He might interest teams lacking a puck-moving defenseman such as the Ducks, the Sharks or the Sabres. However, his recent health issues will make it very hard for GM Steve Tambellini to move the offensive defenseman.

Youngters like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson will likely all make the jump to the NHL next season, providing a much-needed boost to a team starving for offense. A healthy Ales Hemsky for a full season will also give the Oilers more depth and offensive punch throughout their line-up.

Eberle, 20, is a nifty goal-scorer with quick hands and a great hockey vision. He recorded 56 goals and 50 assists for 106 points in only 57 games in the WHL last season. The center was also dominant at the AHL level notching 14 points in only 11 games with the Springfield Falcons.

Paajarvi-Svensson is a 19 year-old left winger who played for Timra in the Swedish Elite League last season where he recorded 29 points in 49 games. The Swede is a great skater, a really good puckhandler and possesses great balance, making it hard to grab the puck from him. If Paajarvi-Svensson doesn’t make the Oilers out of training team, he would be willing to play in the AHL or go back for one season in Sweden.

With all the changes the Oilers made in the past few weeks, it’s time to have a look at their depth chart and have a better idea of what to expect on July 1st from the direction:

Forwards:
Centers: Shawn Horcoff, Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Colin Fraser, Jordan Eberle*
LWs: Taylor Hall*, Dustin Penner, Ryan Jones, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Jeff Jacques
RWs: Ales Hemsky, Gilbert Brule, Zack Stortini, Linus Omark*
Extra Forwards: Ryan O’Marra, Liam Reddox

Defensemen
Sheldon Souray**, Ryan Whitney, Tom Gilbert, Ladislav Smid, Taylor Chorney, Theo Peckham

Defensemen
Nikolai Khabibulin, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, Devin Dubnyk

**On the trade market
*Rookies in 2010-11

Don’t expect the Oilers to pursue high-prized free agents in the enxt few weeks, but they will surely try to add an experience defensive forward who is likely a penalty killing specialist such as Dominic Moore, Eric Belanger or Colby Armstrong. Edmonton will also need to acquire a veteran defenseman to complement their young core of prospects at the blue-line. Players like Brian Pothier or Andy Sutton would fit in nicely as a 4th or 5th defenseman.

What do you think the Oilers will do in the upcoming summer?