The Edmonton Oilers continue to load up their AHL team; most recently by signing left winger Greg Stewart and re-signing RFA Ryan O’Marra to a one year deal. For those of you keeping track: If the remaining RFA’s (Gagner, Cogliano, Brule, DesLauriers, and Reddox) were resigned today, the Oilers would officially have 45 players under contract for the 2010/2011 season. With the league limit being 50…

Hi ya. I ended up going to Edmonton and back twice on Thursday, so I’ve had no time to write a decent blog. Instead, I offer to you, my three-and-a-half readers, a few bits to chew on until I am awake enough to write something decent.

- Oilers have the Assistant Coach situation almost sorted. Kelly Buchberger is back behind the bench, Steve Smith returns…and word is, former Oiler Mark Lamb wi…

Yes, I know what most of you are thinking: You’d rather have Wednesday T & A, and not Q & A. Tough.

Oilers GM Steve Tambellini appears to go through phases when he deals with things. First there was the NHL Draft phase, followed by the qualifying offers phase, followed by the signing UFA’s mostly for the farm team phase. Now, he is in the signing RFA’s phase, which could be then followed by the…

A couple of randoms before I get into today’s blog:

The Oilers signed a couple of RFA’s so far this week: Goaltender Devan Dubnyk and forward JF Jacques. Both deals are tres affordable – Dubnyk 2 years/ $800k per, and Jacques 1 year/$615k.

I have always felt for Jacques. He has some offensive talent and can hit, but a seemingly endless string of injuries have kept him from developing as a pr…

I am gone today on an all-day thing, so I’ll get today’s blog in now and hope the day isn’t packed with excitement, especially involving the Oilers.

- I have noticed a certain website, and one writer in particular that I won’t name has started ripping off my blogs. It’s a compliment, I suppose…but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am just some hack who loves hockey and the Oilers….

Dear Grumpy Fans of Teams Other Than the Oilers,

I haven’t been writing “five blogs a day” as has been suggested. It’s more like two. And if you don’t like it, complain to the blogger for your favorite team. Ask them to write more. It only has been non-Oilers fans complaining about all the blogs, and I can’t help but think there is tremendous jealousy of all the excitement there is in Edmonton…

Bueller…Bueller…Bueller…

It’s quiet. Too quiet in Oilersville. The Oilers webpage hasn’t changed stories in days. There is no news about signings; no new rumors too. Just what exactly is going on?

Eklund always mentions the dominos thing. Is that why there is so much silence coming from the Oilers? Is Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini waiting for teams to get into worse cap trouble, so then…

Hi folks, and welcome to another week of summer. The big weeks are far as summer hockey-stuff are done: The draft and the first few days of free agency. Finding stuff to talk about in blogs is gonna be a bit of a challenge for a while, unfortunately.

Let’s start by talking about the Kovalchuk matter. Kovy is in LA, and it looks like a contract will be signed with the Kings in the next day or tw…

So the draft and development camp is over, free agent frenzy is mostly done, and now the Oilers are entering phase 2 of the off-season. “Phase 2″ if you want to call it that is the Oilers players and management taking some time off, followed by signing RFA’s and dealing with arbitration, and making final moves to the roster before training camp begins.

So where are things at currently with the…

Sometimes a hockey fan just has to laugh at some of the things happening in the NHL. So far, the off-season has been mostly exciting; unfortunately the real fun things like the entry draft and the opening of free agency are gone…so now us hardcore fans have to endure a few pretty boring months until the new season starts. But at least during this time all the loons come out, and some really baff…

I’m sorry…sorry…sorry…I know I wrote a blog already today, but I have to post a new one because a conversation has come up that is much too interesting to ignore. Part of this comes from my previous blog titled “Great Expectations.” Have a read if you want before reading this.

All done? Welcome back.

This blog goes back to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug suggesting that the Oilers should mo…

I did a little travelling today – Work related stuff. On my way to and from the target destinations, I listened to Edmonton’s sports talk radio Team 1260. At least while I was headed in one direction, the talk was about hockey, including an interview with Roger Millions who covers the Calgary Flames for Rogers Sportsnet. More on that interview in a second…

First, I want to comment on somethin…

Before I get to Oilers stuff, lemme send out a word of condolence to the Chicago Blackhawks. So much for being rewarded for winning the cup. The self-inflicted rape and pillage of their roster continued tonight with a deal sending Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Who’its, Some Guy and Random Freddy. If the Hawks challenge for the cup next season it will be a miracle, as their line-up i…

This blog is for all of you who like to say how terrible the Oilers management team is.

Right, so yesterday a bunch of websites wrongly stated that contracts for Ethan Moreau, Patrick O’Sullivan and Robert Nilsson were bought out by the team. Nope.

What has in fact occurred is Moreau and his salary have become part of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and O’Sullivan was dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes…

It’s 11:30pm Edmonton time as I write this. The NHL Entry Draft is only 17 or so hours away. To say I am excited is an understatment, as tomorrow will be Day One of a new Oilers era.

If you haven’t watched the Oil Change video on the TSN website, do so. It provides tremendous insight into the process the Oilers are going through, not just in terms of the Taylor/Tyler debate, but also in respec…

The Oilers finally made a deal…Colin Fraser from Chicago for a sixth-round pick.

Okay, this is not exactly the world beater the Oilers were gunning for, but at least it is a really solid trade. Fraser is a perfect fourth-line center for the Oilers; he has some size, can hit, score a bit, and is responsible defensively.

I know what you Oiler fans are thinking, and all I can say is, “relax….

It’s Wednesday evening, two days before the NHL Entry Draft. Oilers GM Steve Tambellini should be extremely busy at this moment, unloading the five or six players that no longer fit into the Oilers future. Unfortunately, there is very little word coming from the Oilers camp as to potential deals, and that gives me very little to talk about that is interesting or relevant. Perhaps it’s time for…

Update: I am following a report that the Edmonton Oilers have made a deal this evening. Details will be posted as soon as I get them…

Taylor vs Tyler: The Final Battle

It’s Wednesday evening, two days before the NHL Entry Draft. Oilers GM Steve Tambellini should be extremely busy at this moment, unloading the five or six players that no longer fit into the Oilers future. Unfortunately, t…

Update: The Oilers this evening traded a 6th round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for center Colin Fraser. Fraser, who is 25, is a restricted free agent. He is 6′ 1″, 188 pounds, and had 7 goals and 19 points in 70 games last season in Chicago. He was also +6. Fraser appeared in only 3 games of the Hawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup run, and had no points.

Fraser is a left-handed center, and will he…