Showing posts with label Washington Capitals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Capitals. Show all posts

Monday, June 27, 2011

What's Not To Like About Brooks Laich?

If the Oilers are going to try and shore up some more veteran leadership like Steve Tambellini has mentioned, Brooks Laich is my leading candidate. Here's why.

THE STATS

His stats only tell us half of the story but it's a good place to start. Last season he played in all 82 games with the Washington Capitals. In those 82 games he posted 16 goals, 32 assists for 48 points. Brooks Laich would have led the Oilers in points last year if he was here. Says a lot for a guy. He finished the year +14 and had 46 penalty minutes.

His best season points wise, was in 2009/10, when he played 78 games, scored 25 goals and had 35 assists for 59 points.

WHAT DON'T THE STATS SAY?

He's a leader. He not only wears an A on a team that is stocked full of talent, he's one of those guys who takes charge in the dressing room. He's not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. He would be a huge asset for the Oilers and he would set a great example for the young rookies.

He is excellent in his own end and plays well on the PK. He's a well rounded player. Not only is he defensively sound, he can join an attack and put up points too. That 59 point year wasn't a fluke. He can do it again. I'd bet on it.

WHY WOULD HE WANT TO COME TO EDMONTON?

Why wouldn't you? Look at the raw young talent (Hall, Eberle, RNH, Paajarvi, Hemsky, Omark, Teubert, Petry, etc...) that is getting ready to take the NHL by storm. Added in vets like Ryan Whitney and Ryan Smyth and you have a pretty good support group to move forward with. Laich can be apart of this.

This looks like a good place to cement your name in history. The Stanley Cup will be won by the Oilers in the future, why not get on board now?

Compelling, isn't it?

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

Oh boy. Here's the tough part. To some people, Brooks Laich is the 2nd best UFA out there after Brad Richards. So this could get ugly. Off the top of my head, I would bet he gets at least a 5 year deal, maybe even more like a 7 year deal if teams are desperate. If he can cash in on a long term deal, I'm guessing he will take it.

Last season he made $2.4 million. If it's true and he is coveted by more than just the Oilers, I could easily see him getting $5 million plus, even though I think he's worth more like $3.5 to 4 million. He will be overpaid.

BOTTOM LINE

Can the Oilers really go all in like that and pay a guy like Brooks Laich, $5 million a year for 5 years or more? I'd like to think so, but I really doubt they commit to that much right now. This may just be a pipe dream.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

My 2010/11 NHL Playoff Predictions For The 1st Round (plus Cup Winner)

Well here they are folks. My bold predictions for this years 1st round of the 2010/11 Stanley Cup playoffs. Lets see how I do this year.

WEST

Blackhawks will win in 7 games over the Canucks

Sharks will win in 6 games over the Kings

Detroit will win in 6 games over the Coyotes

Ducks will win in 6 games over the Predators

EAST

Capitals will win in 6 games over the Rangers

Penguins will win in 7 games over the Lightning

Bruins will win in 6 games over the Canadiens

Flyers will win in 6 games over the Sabres

The team that will win the Stanley Cup.... Washington Capitals

What are your picks?

- WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY -

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Sunday, December 20, 2009

#98 Beers and Jeers Edmonton Oilers game Recap (12/19/09)



Welcome to Oilers Jambalaya - An Edmonton Oilers Hockey Blog. Beers & Jeers is a dual collaboration between Smokin' Ray and Paq Twinn. We hope you enjoy our Edmonton Oilers full game recap.

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- Who's Out? Who's in? Grebeshkov doesn't play tonight, so Strudwick draws back in.  Nilsson and O'Sullivan also change spots on their lines. Other than that, it all stays the same.

- CBC has a great new application that they are using for the HNIC brodcasts.  Go here to check it out. It's pretty cool.  I had the camera fixed on Quinn for the game.  He sure chews that gum.

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Pre-Game Records

Washington Capitals (21-8-6) at Edmonton Oilers (15-15-4)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner-Gagner-Brule
Stone-Horcoff-O'Sullivan
Moreau-Potulny-Cogliano
Jacques-Stortini-Nilsson

Smid-Visnovsky
Souray-Gilbert
Strudwick-Staios

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

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**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn's LIVE TweetCast© at www.Twitter.com/PaqTwinn or you can follow along at our interactive LIVE TweetCast right here at Oilers Jambalaya**



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GAME HIGHLIGHTS



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FINAL SCORE

Washington Capitals - 4

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BAD TIMING PENALTY

None - Gilbert shooting the puck out of play right after the Gagner penalty should have been the BTP.  But watching the replay, it was a deflection.  The referee's were terrible again tonight.  I seen calls for both team that should have been calls. 

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GAME STATS


(click to enlarge)

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BEERS

None - Not one Oiler deserved a beer after that game.

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Zack Stortini (He played pretty good.), Robert Nilsson (He also was pretty decent.  The guy sure has changed.)

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JEERS

The Entire Team - You guys are really getting on people's nerves.  Seriously.  You blow another game that was yours in the bag after two periods.  WTF is going on?  WE NEED BETTER RESULTS! BOOOOOO!

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - There isn't much to say.  The Oilers were winning up until the 3rd period.  Then the fell apart.  Again.  Deslauriers was looking hot to trot.  In the 3rd, he looked like a ECHL goalie.  It just gets a little old when you watch game after game, loss after loss.  The end is coming near.  It's just a matter of how soon.

Paq Twinn - The Oilers came out and did what they had to in order to survive the 1st period, against a very dangerous Capitals team. In the 2nd the Oilers scored twice to take a 2-0 lead into the second intermission. My computer crapped out on me at the start of the 3rd, and just in time, cause the Oilers crapped the bed in the 3rd. The Capitals, lead by Ovechkin, had tied up the game by the 7 minute mark of the 3rd. 10 minutes later they were up 4-2. I didn't see much of the 3rd but the Oilers must have had a brain crap like the last two games. When are these guys going to learn? For blowing yet another 2 goal lead and going down in a ball of flames, they get a D Game Grade.

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POST GAME REACTIONS

**Check Back Later**

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GAME STATS

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- David Staples/Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Report

- Shots Report

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NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers (15-16-4) vs. St. Louis Blues (14-14-5)

Monday, Dec 21/09
7:00 pm MT
Sportsnet West

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Thanks for stopping by and reading the Edmonton Oilers Full Game Recap. Don't forget that you can agree or disagree with us on Facebook and Twitter. Just look for Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn. We will see you all next game. GOILERS!

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

LIVE *TweetCast* (no signup) at Oilers Jambalaya - Oilers vs Capitals (12/19/09)

Once again, Oilers Jambalaya presents another LIVE interactive TweetCast (#3). It's as easy as typing what you want to say and hitting send. It's that easy. (NO SIGNUP REQUIRED)

So sit back and enjoy the TweetCast by Paq Twinn featuring Smokin' Ray. Feel free to participate.

Washington Capitals (21-8-6) at Edmonton Oilers (15-15-4)




Sat, Dec 19/09
8:00 pm MT
CBC








Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My Playoff Picks (2nd Round)


Well folks. I did ok with my picks in the 1st round. The only series I was completely correct on was the Hawks/fLames. Either I'm good a guessing or really lucky but the only series I was completely wrong on was the Ducks/Sharks. So much for my pick of SJ in the finals.


According to the pool that I am in, I managed 8 points out of a possible 16. I need to get the amount of games right. On to round two...


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Chicago beats Vancouver in 6

Anaheim beats Detroit in 6

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Boston beats Carolina in 6

Washington beats Pittsburgh in 6

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*fingers crossed*

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Beers and Jeers #19 (Jan 13/09 vs Washington Capitals)


That was a better game than last game. I still don't like to be out shot but the win is good. There were a few guys that looked like this was their team. There was a few guys who were tweeners. And of course there were the last few that were stinkers.


I am a little amazed that with all the inner troubles on the team, our Captain Moreau isn't more of a captain and has dealt with it. I have been the captain of a few teams. I have had to be the middle man lots. No big deal. That is part of being a captain. But he hasn't been doing that. Sure there was a closed door meeting. That doesn't mean that Chopper shouldn't have already dealt with this. As a captain. On his own. There has been talk that MacT is to blame for this mess. Wanye Gretz over at Oilersnation.com wrote a nice piece about this. I still blame the leaders (Moreau, Horcoff, Staios) for the sub-par play but it's a good read and a different point of view. Plus he has inside info and I don't.




Back to the game. The Oilers were good tonight. I really didn't think that this game was going to go well. I guess I was wrong. The 2nd line was clearly the 1st line tonight. As the games go on MacT is starting a love affair with Cole. Bout time. I still do not understand the Reddox situation. I feel embarrassed almost when fans from the other teams ask me what is going on. I don't even want to answer them. I shrug my shoulders and smile. I don't make the lines.


Anyways it was a fun game to watch all around. Let's get on with the booing and beer drinking.


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BEERS


Steve MacIntyre

- Well Big Mac scored his 1st ever NHL goal. Awesome. I bet that is what he said too. One shot, one goal. Not bad. I was a little sad that he didn't fight, but oh well. We win. He played a whopping 3:40 and even though he really didn't contribute a whole lot... He deserved a beer. Not any old beer but a big beer. Cheers!


Erik Cole

- This guy is getting my vote for MVP of the team. Hemsky is good but no one puts out an effort like Cole does. The guy gives his all. When you play with Cole you can't help but bust your butt as well. That is one of the main reasons why Gagner is excelling right now. It's like a yawn... it's contagious. Cole had the most shots on the team tonight. He also had 2 takeaways to go with the 3 goals. Once again I sit and drink with Cole. Frosty mug time... Cheers!


Kyle Brodziak

- A great all around game from Brodziak. He was the old Horcoff. (geez, I hope he doesn't ask for $7 million too.) 2 assists, +4 and 3 blocked shots. Now I am not a real big Brodziak fan, but if he could play like this every game he would be a favorite of mine. Good game tonight. Have a beer. Cheers!


Honorable Mentions

- Gilbert Brule (He played a solid game. 2 point night.) Steve Staios (excellent shot blocking on #8. He played well too.) Dwayne Roloson (Another beauty from Gramps.)


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JEERS


Not much to really boo here. That was a pretty good game. Lots of hustle. Not quite a 60 minute game but real close. The team really does need to get more shots. To see Ovechkin blast them from all over, he really made it look easy. Why can't an Oiler do that?


There was however a few players that were not playing above par. These players were not very good IMO. Shawn Horcoff, Ethan Moreau, Liam Reddox, Dustin Penner, Tom Gilbert and at times MA Pouliot were all pretty stinky.


Gilbert made some bad passes. In fact I think somewhere Robin Brownlee is laughing

Reddox looked like a bantam player.

I only noticed Horcoff because he plays so much.

No real physical jam from Chopper. He did however have 0 hits. Awesome.

Pouliot didn't look right all night. Except for that one PP where he was with Cogs and Gags.

Penner. Did he play?

Now that I think of it all six of you deserve a jeer. Boooooooooo!

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Next up... The Wild.

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