Impending Futures, and Critical Questions...

With the NHL season over for 47% of the league, it is a time to reflect on what went wrong, the good, the bad, and the ugly. For many teams, as is already evident, changes are already in order, such as Minnesota's firing of both GM Doug Risebrough, and Coach Jacques Lemaire. The Oilers have also followed suit, firing head coach of 8 seasons Craig Mactavish. The Avalanche have fired GM Francois Giguere. However not nearly all of the question marks fall into management positions, but to players. . .

Who will coach the Edmonton Oilers?

So far, the list seems pretty big as far as capable candidates go. Names such as Pat Quinn, Brent Sutter, Marc Crawford, and Tom Renney, have all come up. Other lesser known names such as Scott Arniel, and Don Lever. Even Mark Messier has been recently mentioned. Tambellini is going to have to start his very own "coaching combine" with all the possible candidates.

Will Joe Sakic Play one more season?

As long as "the price is right". As far as Colorado is concerned, they need to rebuild, and it begins with this years draft, they will get themselves a top forward, or a future #1 defenseman. Sakic being 39 going on 40 doesn't exactly fit into those plans, on the other hand, how could you turn down such a perennial star? It will ultimately come down to how much Sakic is willing to play for, and if he isn't playing for the Avalanche, he isn't going to play for anyone.

Will Burke get Tavares?

Dream on Burke, the New York Islanders will in no universe give up drafting John Tavares. Plus, the Leafs don't have anything on their roster or in their system that would be worth it. It is much more likely to see Burke acquire the second pick from Tampa Bay, as they have already stated they are willing to part with it. So with that said, Tampa would have to get some handsome return for the potential of drafting who could be the next Chris Pronger/Nicklas Lidstrom in Victor Hedman. A top two pairing of Schenn and Hedman looks pretty damn good if your a leaf fan...

Where will Marian Gaborik end up?

With the firing of coach Lemaire, and GM Risebrough, it seems Wild ownership is doing whatever it can to entice Gaborik to stay with the team. Ultimately I think he has already made up his mind on leaving the twin cities. Now where he will go is another story. The Oilers would love to pair Gaborik with Hemsky, but do they have the cap space to do it? Or would Gaborik even want to stay in hockey's north? The Los Angeles Kings also would love to grab Gaborik, as he would give them a major boost towards their 2009/2010 playoff hopes. Imagine if you will a top 6 of Gaborik, Kopitar, Brown, Frolov, Stoll. Yikes. I'm also sure the Rangers would put in a good pitch as well.

Will JayBo go?

Sorry Panthers fans, he's already gone. In my opinion, signed sealed and delivered in a nice shiny package special for the Edmonton Oilers. He is Edmonton home grown, and plus, adding him to their lineup would have to push the Oilers into the upper echelons of the West.

Turmoil in the Nations Capital

No this has nothing to do with the Parliament Building. Much more to do with what has been going on in Scotiabank Place. The Senators have gone from being the envy of the league, to a complete mess. Some would say it goes back to choosing Redden over Chara. Could be, but in all seriousness, when you have a top line of Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson, you should be winning games. The Sen's biggest issue is in net. The Senators have never had quality goaltending, and when I say never, I mean NEVER. Lalime, Tugnutt, Rhodes, Gerber, Hasek(in his 40's), Auld, Emery, Barrasso, Elliot, and now Pascal Leclaire. The Sens are hoping Lecalire can be the answer to this glaring issue. As far as the defense goes, signing Filip Kuba was a step in the right direction, and 1st rounder Eric Karlsson should prove to be a top defender.

Will Tavares bring prosperity to the Island?

Tavares will be great wherever he goes. He should pair really well with Kyle Okposo. Will he be the Islanders saviour? Probably not. The Islanders need major help, and just Tavares wont be able to fix it all. Signing a major free agent would be nice, as would having a healthy DiPietro all season long. The Islanders need a top defenseman. Jay Bouwmeester would be a huge pickup, but highly unlikely, a more likely option to pursue would be Mattias Ohlund, Derek Morris, or even Sergei Zubov. Any one of these would go a long way in helping the Islanders to make that playoff push.

Will Kovalchuk get his help?

Why not? If GM Don Waddel can do his job properly, then next April the Thrashers should be on the inside of the playoffs. If Waddel doesn't do his job, then the Thrashers will be in their dire straights. Missing the playoffs and seeing Kovalchuk leave via free agency would be devastating to their organization, along the same lines as Gaborik in Minnesota. Waddel's job hinges on next seasons outcome.

Will Tampa Bay see playoff hockey next April?

This all depends on what the Lightning get in return for that coveted second overall pick they are dangling. It also depends on who they can bring on through free agency, this team needs help, and it needs it bad. Hopefully next season will be better to Vinny Lecavalier as well.

Will Dallas ever get over the Sean Avery hangover?

They pretty much have already, but he definitley left his mark, as did injuries. Brad Richards wrists certainly halted any playoff hopes, as did the lack of Sergei Zubov on the blueine. Marty Turco made well on his horrible start to the season, but was it too late? Turco will need to be much better next season. The shining "star" in Dallas was the play of young forward Loui Eriksson who put up a career best and team leading 36 goals. Hopefully he can continue to bury the biscuit next year, though the Stars should hope to see someone else put the puck in the net, as the only other players to break the 20 goal mark were Mike Ribeiro and James Neal.

Will Nashville ever see top notch hockey?

Well its gonna be tough, with the emergence of Columbus and Chicago, their division got a whole lot harder. Management doesnt exactly have alot to work with either as the team suffers their personal salary cap. Steve Sullivan's return was a blessing, but he still did not help to push the team into the playoffs. Bringing back Alex Radulov should help if it can be done, otherwise the Preds are stuck where they are and will have to rely on their drafting.

Will Brian Burke ever get over bashing Kevin Lowe?

NO, because he is small minded and is a media junkie, just keep on hatin Brian, it makes you look realllll smart ;)

Who is the bigger problem? Robert Nilsson or Dustin Penner?

Penner only because of his bigger contract. They both turned in horrible efforts this year and both should end up playing for different teams, if not somewhere in Siberia.


Will the Maroons post another Championship season?

2-0 so far, even without myself and Mr. Edwards, so far so good. Im gonna say YES. It should be another LEGENDARY season for the Maroons.


-Sporer