Stortini

Is Zack Stortini a real NHL player?

After a solid finish to last season Stortini gained himself a new 3-year contract, 1-way. But who says he's gonna earn all that money. In these past two seasons he's wow'd the Oilers and their coaching staff with his work ethic and bravery. Not everyone wants to play every night, to only find out they have to fight Derek Boogaard. But has Stortini really shown any signs he really belongs in the NHL skill wise. He's no heavyweight, and could definately use some power skating lessons so what has he done that gives him a spot in camp this season? Sure, he delivers the odd hit here and there but so many other NHL players can do that. Does he really protect our stars like, Hemsky and Gagner? Or is he just an ECHL skilled player with an elite NHL work ethic?

This is not a bash-fest but I don't believe that he will just be handed a spot in camp. We have so many talented youngsters that could take his place. And the addition of Jason Strudwick adds a more legit fighter than Stortini. So, where will he fit in? With Ryan Potulny and Marc Pouliot both on one-way contracts, competition will be stiff. Both Potulny and Pouliot have the ability to play on the penalty kill and powerplay (we saw this at the end of last year, though I don't believe they'll see any time there) and both are solid defensively. Both can play the role of 3rd line center as well as 4th line winger. They can both pitch in an occasional goal to spark the team.

Stortini can hug his way out of fights, essentially only getting the other teams heavyweight out of the game for the next 5 minutes.

But this just raises the burning question...

Do the Oilers really need a heavyweight enforcer (like Georges Laraque, who we let go for some reason)?

Yes. Now obviously letting go of BGL was a mistake. He's a guy that is an NHL player, without fighting and a heavyweight enforcer. But I believe our team toughness is underrated. Guys like Moreau and Souray will drop the gloves occasionally and can give punishing hits to opponents' top lines. They are both above average NHL players, who both play more than just a regular shift. Jason Strudwick is an NHL vet, and has been in the league all these years not because he's the best player but he's definately not the worst. He can play forward and defense and will not hesitate to drop the gloves.

With Strudwick, does Stortini really deserve a spot on the roster?

Expectations for 2008-2009: Defensemen

Lubomir Visnovsky-one of the premier offensive defensemen in the NHL. Had a little bit of an offseason last year but will definately help out our powerplay and overall goals for. If you can't tell by the numbers below I have high hopes for Visnovsky.

Projected numbers: 78 GP, 20G, 40A, 60 points

Sheldon Souray-the chronic shoulder problem. The Visnovsky-Souray pairing on the powerplay is one of the best if not the best. Souray can definately be a very solid defenseman but he needs to stay healthy.

Projected numbers: 58 GP, 15G, 30A, 45 points

Tom Gilbert-fresh off signing a new 6-year/$24M deal, Tom has some big expectations. He played extremely well in my opinion last year. He will still be on the 2nd powerplay unit and will get points off jumping in plays. He may not reach the expectations $4M commands this year but two or three years down the road he will outperform that.

Projected numbers: 75 GP, 15G, 25A, 40 points

Denis Grebeshkov-formerly known as Garbagekov, he has taken out all the trash and proved to be a very good defenseman. After being traded for Marc-Andre Bergeron and a 3rd, the expectations weren't exactly set very high. At the beginning of the season, he looked terrible, but as the season wore on he adapted to the North American game and started showing what he was made of.

Projected numbers: 80 GP, 5G, 25A, 30 points

Steve Staios-Steady Steve. At some points of last season he didn't exactly look to steady. He's a veteran on the team and one of the best penalty killers on the team. At the Worlds he was one of Canada's best penalty killers and I expect him to play a similar role this season. Along with holding a steady defensive presence with one of the offensive defensemen.

Projected numbers: 70 GP, 4G, 10A, 14 points

Ladislav Smid-former 1st rounder, traded for Chris Pronger. Big expectations for a 20-year -ld. But back then he met them as he made a very weak Oilers squad and played surprisingly well. However, last season he didn't make the Oilers on a slightly better defensive squad. After being sent down to the AHL it didn't take long before the Oilers called him up due to injuries. He ended up playing 65 games with constant injuries to Souray and Pitkanen. He's now 22-years-old, has 2 NHL seasons under his belt, and proven he can play at the NHL level. Is this the year that Smid takes a big leap forward in his development and proves to be a top-4 defenseman or will he just stay as the number 6 defenseman?

Projected numbers: 70 GP, 4G, 8A, 12 points

Jason Strudwick-just another journeyman brought in to toughen up this defensive core. He's a proven NHL defenseman and can take a regular shift as well as get in a tussle to spark the team. From what I've heard, a good guy in the room. He should just be a quick fix, and give prospects like Peckham time to develop in the minors.

Projected numbers: 25 GP, 0G, 1A, 1 point

Overall not a bad defensive core, but I worry about the team defensively. However we should be able to move the puck up better thus improving our forwards' stats.