The most damning quote from Edmonton Oilers’ GM Craig MacTavish at his season-ending presser this week was his opinion of the role players offensive ability. “The best thing they were going to be was a non-factor.” Double ouch.
If so, I suspect MacTavish is watching playoff teams and taking notes on what he wants from bottom six forwards next year? There were some pretty good examples on display on opening night and there will be another one Wednesday when the Bruins trot out Gregory Campbell, Soupy’s boy, Daniel Paille and the abrasive Shawn Thornton as a fourth line.
On the first nght of the post-season, MacTavish got an eyeful of these guys, though.
*Third-line wingers Daniel Winnik and Andrew Cogliano in Anaheim. Oops, Cogliano used to be an Oiler. More on that later.
*Viktor Stalberg and Bryan Bickell flanking the abrasive centre Andrew Shaw in Chicago.
*The Snap, Cracknell and Pop fourth-line St. Louis trotted out with big Ryan Reaves, whose dad Willard used to be a star CFL running back, former WHL winger Adam Cracknell and Chris Porter.
When you see Cogliano’s speed creating problems for Detroit most of the night Tuesday, you have to wonder why the Oilers traded Cogliano for a second-round draft this June. OK, he didn’t fit in the middle here, not with another small centre Sam Gagner. But, Cogliano could have played on the wing, couldn’t he? He did resist, at first, the suggestion he turn himself into a Todd Marchant type player, regardless of position, but now he’s bought in in Anaheim. Excellent penalty-killer, good checker, just enough offence. And Winnik? He’s played in Phoenix, he’s played in Colorado, he’s played briefly in San Jose. The Ducks got a steal when they signed him to a two-year deal as a free-agent. He’s 6’2″ and 210 pounds, and he can skate. He’s got an edge, too.
Stalberg and Bickell are on the Oilers radar as UFAs in July. Bickell, (6’4″, 233) who got the OT game-winner against Minnesota goalie Josh Harding off a Stalberg feed Tuesday, will come fairly cheap. He’s making barely more than the NHL minimum now, $600,000. Stalberg, who might be one of the five fastest players in the league, is 6’3″ and 209 pounds. He’ll be more expensive as a free-agent, but the bottom line is both guys are 27. They had exactly the same points and goals (9 and 23 pts) this season in secondary roles on the powerhouse Hawks. I like Stalberg better.
Shaw isn’t available, but he’s feisty and he had nine goals too.
None of the Blues’ fourth-line guys has a contract that’s ending in July but they are the prototype of an effective group. Blues’ coach Ken Hitchcock says Reaves (four goals, 7 1/2 minutes ice-time) has only scratched the surface. He thinks he can be a third-line player because he can skate and get in on the forecheck. He’s also tough (79 PIMS in 42 games). Cracknell was a scorer in Kootenay, 93 points his final year, but he’s a crushing hitter at the NHL level at 216 pounds. He’s UFA in July. Porter, who will be best man at Zach Parise’s upcoming wedding with both guys U of North Dakota players, is a journeyman but effective and, again, 205 pounds.
The Bruins’ fourth line could be the best with Campbell and Paille and Thornton for muscle. They’re get in on defences, and Campbell and Paille kill penalties.
