Conference Watch: Changing times in Edmonton

Wednesday, August 27, 2008-10:15:pm
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Kevin Lowe had a busy offseason while he was still the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, pulling off some major trades he hopes will get the team back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first two since 2006. And after he was done, Lowe kicked himself upstairs and brought in Steve Tambellini as the new GM. It's just one way things are changing - and changing quickly - under new Oilers owner Daryl Katz.

Katz, a pharmaceuticals billionaire who bought the team earlier this year, wanted a deeper management team and he got that by having Lowe move to president of hockey operations and then brining in Tambellini, who had been with the Canucks for 17 years, to serve as GM.

"We realize that there are more and more demands in this business at this level, and in order to get the job done you need more people doing it. It’s really as simple as that," Lowe told reporters in Edmonton about the changes.

Katz has made it clear he won't be afraid to spend money to help the Oilers compete. And he thinks one way to help them compete is to replace the aging Rexall Place with a new arena, putting the Oilers on a more equal footing with bigger market teams.

"We need to transition to a new facility so we have the revenue opportunities that are mandatory in the new NHL," Katz told the Edmonton Journal earlier this summer.

Even the television landscape is changing for the Oilers, who for the time their history will broadcast all 82 regular season games, although a dozen of those will be pay-for-view.

But the Oilers have changed on the ice too. Lowe made sure of that before moving up the ranks. As a sign of the willingness to spend money in Edmonton these days, the word was that the Oilers were read to spend big bucks to land Marian Hossa in free agency, but Hossa took less money to play in Detroit. That left Lowe to wheel and deal to bolster his lineup.

Lowe made three major trades that will give the Oilers a different look this season. He shipped center Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene to the Los Angeles Kings for offensive defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.

He traded defenseman Joni Pitkanen to Carolina to get power forward Erik Cole.

He also moved forward Raffi Torres to Columbus to bring in 21-year-old Gilbert Brule, who is coming off a rough season with the Blue Jackets but still has a lot of upside and is only 21-years-old.

"We feel that we improved the hockey club quite a bit," Lowe told reporters in Edmonton earlier this summer. "The best way to gauge that is to listen to your own players, and some of the comments have been incredible. They are really jacked."

Cole, who should add some much needed size to the Edmonton lineup, joins a group of forwards that is brimming with offensive talent. From youngsters Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano to more established players like Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner to veteran Shawn Horcoff, the Oilers have the potential to be deep offensively.

The Oilers blueline will have a new look with Visnovsky, who joins rising star Tom Gilbert and veteran Sheldon Souray, who missed most of last season due to shoulder surgery. The addition of Visnovsky and a healthy Souray should provide even more offensive punch. Solid veteran Steve Staios and youngsters Ladislav Smid and Denis Grebeshkov are also in the mix for the Oilers defense.

It appears that Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson will once again handle the goaltending duties.

Overall, the Oilers believe they have a good mix of youth and experience heading into this season. The hope is the youth that broke through last season will take another step forward and not suffer the so-call sophomore slump. That youth, which also provides loads of speed, has the Oilers brimming with excitement as the season approaches.

"I'm probably going to wait till camp and see how we come out of the gate, but I do know there is a tremendous amount of potential," said Tambellini. "There are some highly skilled young players here and some character veterans ... this is an exciting team. The upside is high."