With the length of tenure of the coaching staff (ie. Mc Tavish) and management (ie. Kevin Lowe), there appears to be a "Boys on the Bus" Country Club Atmosphere with the Edmonton Oilers. The team won only 2 of their last 21 games last season after trading heart and soul winger Ryan Smyth. To start this season the Oilers won their first two games following it up by four losses in which they have scored a combined total of 5 goals. In addition the goaltending of Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon has been poor at best. Roloson is a terrible goaltender and at 38 will not be getting any better.

The trouble withthe Oilers is that thanks to Mrs. Pronger (and others) Edmonton is not a desired place to play. The once storied franchise is now the laughing stock of the league. The Oilers have shown some phases of excitement over the past few years, but they haven't won the Cup in almost 18 years. That is a long time. Anyone else sick of seeing the Carolina's, Tampa Bay's and Anaheim's winning the Cup?

The Oilers need some drastic changes. There is a "boys on the bus" atmosphere with the coaching staff and management. OK that was cool in the 80's, but it's been nearly twenty years since the Oilers have won the Stanley Cup. As fans we have tolerated and endured hockey that has lacked passion and winning consistency on a regulkar basis. Going to the finals two years ago was based on hard work and simply a good run in the post season. We are sick of re-building, we are sick of being a farm team to other teams in the league. Maybe the Oilers should trade for the Sedin twins???

Well another season is among us. The 90th NHL Season has started over the weekend and with that we must make our annual picks for hockey fans around the world. We faired ok with last years picks as we did pick the Ottawa Senators to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Here are my predictions for the 2007 2008 NHL hockey Season.

Western Conference
San Jose Sharks
Detroit Red Wings
Calgary Flames
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Minnesota Wild
Vancouver Canucks
Edmonton Oilers

Miss the Cut
Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
St. Louis Blues
Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
Columbus Blue Jackets

Eastern Conference
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Washington Capitals
New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils
Buffalo Sabres
Montreal Canadiens

Miss the Cut
Atlanta Thrashers
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Islanders

Early Play Off Picks:
Potential Western Conference Finalists: Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Detroit Redwings

Potential Eastern Conference Finalists: Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers