Time to Seperate the Contenders From the Pretenders

4 of the teams 7 preseason games will be played in 4 consecutive nights starting Monday. It will be imperative that players looking to stake a claim on this team or as the primary call-up at their position. By the 6th and especially the 7th preseason game the lineup will be filled with the guys that will be on the big club. That gives most players that are figuring on sneaking their way onto th e club with 4-5 games max. Outside of the last cuts most players will be lucky to see more than a couple of games in the preseason.

Playing 4 games in 4 nights had to have figured into the Oilers decision to keep over 50 players with the team while there are really only 25-30 that have a legit shot at making the big club due to their play, injuries, or poor play by other players.

By the end of this week, it should be apparent who the team will consist of in terms of depth players (3rd/4th liners, bottom pairing d-men, and the back-up and back-up to the back-up goalie!)

What a week of Oilers hockey we have in store!