It's a $7 million make or break season for Horcoff

If TSN’s Pierre Maguire would describe Shawn Horcoff’s six-year $33 million contract, you can pretty much guess what he would have to say.

“It’s a monster.”

In today’s tough economic climate and at a time when the NHL’s salary cap isn’t getting any higher, Horcoff’s monster contract has turned into Godzilla for GM Steve Tambellini. Thank you Kevin Lowe.

The contract has handtied the Oilers from making any deals, so forget about signing free agent Mike Comrie or making any earth shattering trades during the season. The Oil would have to give up a lot for a star player.

With no changes in store for the copper and blue, Horcoff now has the world on his shoulders and fans will more than likely remind him about his contract if he struggles this season — just as they did with Dustin Penner.

The centreman inked his name to the deal back in July 2008 before earning $3.6 million during the 2008-09 season.

Now Horcoff is set to make an eye-popping $7 million this season for a player that notched 17 goals and 36 assists for 53 points in 80 games last year.

Ottawa Senators star forward Jason Spezza was an $8 million player last season when he scored 32 goals and 41 assists for 73 points in 82 games.

Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla inked his name to a contact last year that would see the player earn $7 million a season until it expires in 2013.

And not to rub it in Oiler fans, but Iggy scored 35 goals and 54 assists for 89 points during a $7 million season in 2008-09.

Horcoff hasn’t had a 70-point season since 2005-06 when he was on a line with Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth. The top-line centre scored 22 goals and 51 assists in the same season when the Oilers made that infamous run to the Stanley Cup finals.

Here’s a quick breakdown of Horcoff’s stats and salary, according to capgeek.com:

2006-07: 16 goals +35 assists = $3.6 million

2007-08: 21 goals + 29 assists = $3.6 million

2008-09: 17 goals + 36 assists = $3.6 million

2009-10: ? goals + ? assists = $7 million

2010-11: ? goals + ? assists = $6.5 million

2011-12: ? goals + ? assists = $6.5 million

2012-13: ? goals + ? assists = $6 million

2013-14: ? goals + ? assists = $4 million

2014-15: ? goals + ? assists = $3 million

Horcoff needs to score around 70 points or more this season to be worth $7 million. There will be lynch mobs hanging outside Rexall Place come April 2010 if he doesn't.

It's all uphill from here for Dustin

It was a deal to dream about in Edmonton after a rotten season. At least according to many, and I mean many, fans of the Oilers.

You’ve heard the talk before.

“You mean we have to give up a promising young hockey player, a dependable defenseman and a sack of hockey pucks for a guy like Dany Heatley? That’s fucking awesome, eh!”

Yeah, well it didn’t happen. Andrew Cogliano was left wondering where he was going to play come training camp.

There’s also Ladislav Smid who was probably thinking the same thing at his summer home in the Czech Republic or wherever he hangs out during the off-season.

Then there’s Dustin Penner. Need I say more?

Penner, who was scorned by fans and Craig MacTavish all season long, had a lot of expectations ever since Kevin Lowe stole him from the Anaheim Ducks.

Well, it wasn’t quite a steal. It was more like a hostile takeover as Lowe signed the restricted free agent to a five year $21.25 million offer sheet back in July 2007.

It was a big salary for a guy who only had one good season — something Oiler fans will never forget.

Ever since he was signed as an Oiler, Penner has done it all for the copper and blue. He’s played on the first line one night, played on the fourth line another night, and then he watches a few games from the press box. Maybe he had to diversify to earn his annual $4.25 million.

Penner was the Tin Man and Fat Albert all rolled into one in Craig MacTavish’s eyes, and everybody knew about it.

The coach would lash out by saying Penner had no heart on the ice and the fact that he’s a lard ass.

Ah, memories.

With training camp only a month or two away, could it get any worse for Penner? Maybe not.

MacTavish is gone. Pat Quinn and Tom Renney are in. And new coaches could mean a new outlook for the troubled left-winger.

Penner might also play like a man on a mission each game as he may have something to prove to Oiler fans and to prove how wrong MacT was in lashing out at him.

Who knows? But he does have 4.25 million reasons to not suck down pop and inhale cheeseburgers this summer. Everyone in the City of Champions knows that.

A coaching decision is made and wow, what a deal!

There’s a lot to chew on after today, and there’s a lot of Oiler fans that more than likely feel the same way.

And so it begins.

Hiring Pat Quinn as head coach is a step in the right direction for all the right reasons. The World Junior Hockey Tournament this year proved he can lead a team with young players and he has enough experience to get job done in making sure his veteran players are at the top of their game, no matter what the score is.

Quinn, who began his hockey career during the late 1960s as a junior in Edmonton, demands a sense of respect in the dressing room and he gets it with every team he has coached.

When he calls the shots, the players will listen — something that didn’t happen this season under Craig MacTavish all because players like Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky gave up on him.

There has never been a season where a captain has called so many player-only meetings until now, but with this shocking announcement, that’s now all in the past.

However, with a guy like Quinn, who is desperately wanting to win a Stanley Cup before he retires, he will change a player’s work ethic.

And while Quinn demands respect and enforces work ethic, he will get the help from another great hire — Tom Renney.

Renney is a technical coach, an Xs and Os bench boss who spends a lot of time with his key players to set them straight, just ask Sean Avery this season.

The New York Rangers never should have fired him in the first place, but he’s decided to take up an assistant position with the Oilers for at least a few seasons before Quinn retires. You would have to be a pretty humble guy to do something like that.

Overall, it’s obviously a one-two coaching punch for the Oil, but a big move was promoting Kelly Buchburger as an assistant. Bucky is respected around the league for working with young and talented players.

Charlie Huddy and Bill Moores are out as assistant coaches and that shouldn’t be surprise considering how awful the Oilers were on the powerplay and the penalty kill.

But GM Steve Tambellini has said the two could be offered position within the organization, possibly as scouts.

When it’s all said and done, Tambellini has assembled a massive coaching staff and he’s already proved that he alone calls the shots — not Kevin Lowe.

Now he has to focus on the draft and free-agency, but with the revamped coaching staff, don’t expect to see star players coming to Edmonton in July.

Tambellini told the Oil Patch that it will nearly be status quo on that front, and there will be more details about it in this blog tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Let the games begin!

TSN has their prognosticators, but here at the Oil Patch, we have hard-nosed and intellectual rigpigs who’ve devised a list of the top five trade possibilities for the Oilers going into the deadline.

Sources, meanwhile, say GM Steve Tambellini is making some calls there is a chance we could hear about something in terms of a deal by the end of the weekend.

Enjoy the list.


NUMBER FIVE: Marty Reasoner and Boris Valabik from the Atlanta Thrashers.

This trade does seem like small potatoes, but it addresses two key issues with the Edmonton Oilers: face-off productivity and depth on defence.

Coach Craig MacTavish had urged Tambellini and Kevin Lowe to keep Reasoner before the player signed with Atlanta for a $1 million contract last summer.

And there’s a reason why MacT wanted Reasoner, and it shows this season on special teams simply because the Oilers can’t win a face-off. Reasoner was a tough penalty killer and consistent player in the circle.

Valabik is a six-foot-seven gritty and young defenseman on a weak Eastern Conference team. The addition of Valabik would answer the Oilers’ depth issue on the blueline after losing Lubomir Vishnovsky and Denis Grebeshkov to injury.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: Marc Pouliot, a second round draft pick, and maybe Liam Reddox


NUMBER FOUR: Alex Kovalev from the Montreal Canadians

There’s a train wreck brewing in Montreal and GM Bob Gainey might be busy during the trade deadline because of it.

Not only is he dealing with a public backlash over making Kovalev sit at home for two games, he’s now dealing with a criminal scandal that links Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn and Roman Hamrlik.

With the mess, Gainey could be desperate in shipping out his slumping star forward, and there is some scuttlebutt that Tambellini is interested, says TSN.

Taking Kovalev is a risk, but with Ales Hemsky finding ways to pass him the puck, he might work well in Edmonton.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: Dustin Penner, or Eric Cole.


NUMBER THREE: Ryan Whitney from the Pittsburg Penguins

The Pittsburg Penguins have a stockpile of defensemen — the Edmonton Oilers, on the other hand, don’t.

Sergei Gonchar is now back on the blueline and the Penguins are out looking to make a deal for some grit to get them back in the hunt.

Don't be surprise if Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero has already called Tambellini a few times in shipping Whitney who happens to be a young and promising blueliner on pace to reach 24 points this season in 49 games.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: Kyle Brodziak or Marc Pouliot, Steve MacIntyre and a conditional draft pick.


NUMBER TWO: Scott Niedermayer from the Anaheim Ducks

With the economic downturn and the Ducks finally hitting reality with their overpriced talent, it will be sell, sell, sell in Disneyland.

Niedermayer as a rental player will add a potent offence on the blueline that will include a one-two punch with Sheldon Souray. That could be one hell of a powerplay.

Niedermayer’s one-two punch with Oiler nemesis Chris Pronger has turned a little stale as of late. Niedermayer has also struggled offensively in his last seven games all because the team is a mess.

There is no word or info out there that says Niedermayer has a trade clause in his contract, however.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: The Ducks can have Dustin Penner back and a conditional draft pick or two. If not, they can take Eric Cole and a few draft picks.


NUMBER ONE: Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche

No, I’m not kidding.

The Colorado Avalanche is another team looking to unload because of the global recession. The problem is GM Francois Giguere has his hands tied because of the clause in Smyth’s contract.

Smyth will choose where he will get traded to and with a different ownership situation in Edmonton now with Daryl Katz as the owner, the City of Champions is suddenly more attractive than when he first left.

Fans saw Smyth when he was traded from Edmonton, especially that infamous teary news conference in the Edmonton International Airport.

It was tough pill to swallow, but with the Oilers on the verge of making the playoffs this season, Smyth might be looking for redemption after helping the Oil in that 2006 playoff run.

And if Tambellini does manage to make a deal, you can guarantee it will have Katz written all over it

The top line will be that much better, especially with Smyth’s skills in front of the net combined with Souray’s slap shot.

ASSETS TO GIVE UP: The Avs can’t take much salary, but they can take Eric Cole or prospect players like Rob Schrempf and/or Robert Nilsson, Marc Pouliot and/or Liam Reddox, along with a first round draft pick.