FanHouse Edmonton Oilers

The Result: Detroit skated to a 4-3 win over the Oilers last night in Edmonton. It was the second time this week the Wings have put four goals past Dwayne Rolson into the Edmonton net but the first time the Oil got on the board. They were shut out Monday night by Ty Conklin.

The win was the Wings' fourth in a row and, despite Edmonton's third period near-comeback, it constituted another sign that the team is returning to form after a somewhat hungover start. The team's formerly lackluster defensive efforts are being replaced by much better outings, though the third period last night was less tight than it should have been.

Detroit is now 13-2-3 and, at 29 points, is just four behind Conference-leading San Jose.

The Surprise: Tomas Kopecky won the lottery last night. With Tomas Holmstrom a late scratch due to back spasms, the young Slovak was promoted from third line checker to first line winger, skating with Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa.

Mike Babcock's decision to bump Kopecky up paid off as he played a role in the Wings' second and third goals. He acted as a screen for Pavel Datsyuk's 6th of the season at 8:00 of the first and made a skilled redirect on a Nick Lidstrom shot at 10:11 to score his first of the season. Both goals came on the power play.

It was easily his best game as a Red Wing and a nice reward for his hard work. He's been in and out of the lineup with season-ending injuries the past two years and is still in the process of articulating his role on the team. To see Kopecky playing such a big offensive role was a surprise as he's been a checker for the majority of his time in the NHL. The same was true for Johan Franzen, though, and look were he is now. Kopecky probably doesn't have it in him to become as clutch as #93, but if he can contribute something like he did last night, he'll have an NHL job for years.

As you've probably been reminded about 1,000 times already, this Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the hockey world's Trade to End All Trades (Also known as Mark Messier Meltdown Day and the Day Canada Died Albeit Temporarily). More commonly, it is known as the day when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings from the Edmonton Oilers for some guys who were pretty good but never really equated to the value of Wayne FREAKING Gretzky.

August 9, 1988. A day that will live in hockey infamy forever. At least in Canada. Or maybe just Edmonton.

But however you remember it, wherever you were that day when you first heard the news (heck, it might have taken a week to hear about it back in those days with the pony express and all), it's something that hockey fans will remember forever. At least those of us who were old enough to remember it.

Ah yes, there's nothing nicer than the smell of a brand new athletic crossover promotion. Last summer, Marty Broduer joined the NASCAR Busch Series for a little racing-hockey crossover in Montreal. Not to be outdone this summer when the IndyCar Series comes to Edmonton, the Oilers and their main sponsor and ownership group, Rexall, are getting in on the act.

Yesterday a few of the Oilers (Fernando Pisani, Steve Staios and Kyle Brodziak to be specific) unveiled the No. 06 Rexall Honda, which will be driven by Graham Rahal this weekend at the inaugural Rexall Edmonton Indy. That's a mouthful. But the car looks great and comes complete with Oilers logos plastered on the side. Knowing nothing about Indy Racing, I still think it's safe to say that Rahal may be the crowd favorite this weekend.

The big race in Edmonton takes place on Saturday, July 26th at 5pm ET (on TSN and ESPN) and the Oilers expect upwards of 150,000 people to attend over the entire race weekend.

The video of the unveiling can be seen on the Oilers' website, complimented with only audio of adrenaline pumping drum rhythms. Nothing says "unveiling a car" quite like the music you hear in the movies when the main character is getting chased through the woods by an axe wielding psycho murderer!

You'd never have thunk it, but the Edmonton Oilers' brass was cheering heavily for the Anaheim Ducks to make the Stanley Cup Finals.

The reason? The Oilers now get the Ducks first round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Lowe held out for an extra first-rounder last July after Ducks GM Brian Burke agreed to give up a first-round choice in this June's draft in Columbus. If Anaheim won the West in 2007, the Oilers would get a first-rounder next June. If they won in 2008, it was a first-round pick that year. If not, the same scenario held for 2009.

"I wouldn't have done the deal for Chris just for the four assets we got," said Lowe, who drove a hard bargain over Pronger, also nabbing Ladislav Smid, Joffrey Lupul, a first-rounder this June and a second-rounder in 2008.

A hard bargain? Really? Wouldn't you think quite a few NHL teams would have come up with a better package to secure one of the most dominant players in the game? I recall quite a few people laughing at the Oilers, including Oilers fans (in between the tears of pain and anger) for getting so little in return in a very rushed trade.

Do you really think the Ducks are all that upset about losing a low pick in the first round for the shot at the Stanley Cup? Methinks not.

Joffrey Lupul? He scored a whopping 28 points and went -29 (!) in 81 games.
Ladislav Smid? He'll be a solid defenseman, eventually, but he's no Chris Pronger and never will be.

The low first and second round picks? What are the chances they will turn into an impact NHLer, especially given the Oilers track record? The draft is a lottery at the best of times, especially after the Top 15 picks.

While Oilers fans will be relieved to get a little more out of the Pronger deal, don't think the Ducks didn't get the better of this deal by a country mile.

See also:
Ducks GM Whips Out Protractor: Defends Pronger.
Pronger Suspended for Game Four Against Detroit.

When the New York Islanders gave up prospects Ryan O'Marra and Robert Nilsson (plus a first-round pick in 2007) to get Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers, they pretty much wanted him for his ability to score in the playoffs ... and even just to get them there! It was a hefty price to pay, but the Islanders will willing to make such an expensive short-term investment.

Since Smyth provided everything pretty much everything asked of him, the Isles surely don't want him just to leave, now that they gave up so much to get him.

Would Smyth want to go back? Can the Isles afford him?

Reading between the lines, I wouldn't expect Smyth to give the Isles any special discount.

[Smyth] told the New York Daily News that he's "not leaning one way or the other" about what he described as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" as an unrestricted free agent.

*KA-CHING* Doesn't this pretty much sound like someone who's got $$ in their eyes all of a sudden? Remember, he never wanted to leave Edmonton in the first place.

While Oilers expect Smyth to be so attached to Edmonton that he'll come crawling back, I don't expect Smyth (who was negotiating hard with the Oilers) to be any different than, say, Bobby Holik. He owes the Isles no loyalty, doesn't seem to be especially enamoured with the place (or Yashin), and was probably hurt by the trade from Edmonton that he just may want a fresh start.

If your NHL club wants Ryan Smyth, they better open up their wallets and get ready to pay big bucks. Heart and soul isn't cheap, you know.