Cole to be traded and more...my comments

There is a lot to say about the NHL on NHL Freak and if one had the time, they could write something here everyday about the game/league that we love. But we do not have the time although I dream about being a professional Oilers fan one day. That is not going to happen anytime soon however I did have a chance today to think about the Oilers and what is in store for them here in the next week. It will be interesting to see what other teams do as well as the trade deadline is coming up pretty quick - Wednesday.

What will the Oilers do you ask? Well, like the question of if they will make the playoffs or not - it is hard to say. I think I was a little hard on the Oilers in some previous posts. The notion that they are not good enough to make the playoffs may have been a little harsh. They are just better than average and in the west you might get that 8th spot with that kind of team. You will not win the cup, I have made that clear. Again, Detroit and San Jose are just too dominant. I really like Washington in the East - they may do something but are still not as good as the 2 in the west.

So the Oilers are faced with the possibility of making the playoffs. Moreau held a players-only meeting today during the afternoon skate and told his team not to let the fans and media get to them, that he things they will make it. OK great. I don't doubt that they all think they can make it. I think that Moreau is capable of not taking stupid penalties but he has not done that yet. We will see what team decides to show up down the stretch. We will see what kind of leader Moreau decides to be down the stretch as well. Now I was going to ramble on about what the Oilers need to do to get over the hump and make the playoffs but it is just too tight. I will save my breath. Even if they improve immediately and put a run together here, it will still be close. So I am going to be a good fan and just cheer and wait to see what happens.

Now...trade day. Here are the top 5 things that I think are going to happen with the Oilers within the next few days:

• Cole will be traded - probably to Carolina or Boston
• Nilsson may be traded - possibly look for a 2-player deal with Cole in there too
• Look for an Oilers D-man moved for an impact forward for the Oilers
• Horcoff to turn it around and start contributing offensively
• Roloson to continue his stellar play (look for the Oilers to re-sign in the summer or before for another 2 years)

That is all I've got and the only one I am pretty sure about is Cole. The Oilers would like to get something for him before he is an UFA this summer. I did hear a rumor that the Oilers were looking at gritty winger Tuomo Ruutu for Cole but since Ruutu is a former #1 the Oilers might have to give up more than Cole.

I am predicting an Oilers win tonight over the Wild. The Wild are all beat up from playing Calgary and are sans Boogaard (suspended). The Oilers will be looking for a big win to make up for the tough loss against the Blue Jackets Thursday night.