Back to our regular schedule (Minnestota pre-game)

So, the trade deadline circus was even more entertaining than usual, thanks to the melodrama going on up north. I'm not a nice person. I enjoyed it very much.

It's a bit of a shame that the Oilers have decided to rollover and die for the season already - it takes a lot of the punch out of the game Saturday night. Love the guy or hate the guy though - I'm sure Kipper will not mind not having to get up close and personal with Smyth's backside for yet another night.

My take on the trade is that it was clearly rushed. I'm not really talking about whether each side got fair value from the other. Yet, with everybody and their pet dog knowing that Edmonton has to find a strong, offensive-minded d-man, they went and got forwards. Are they planning on trading their burgeoning froshie class for help in the back? They'll have to. After all, it's not like they have their own farm team where they can stash these kids and develop them.

And a key reason we haven't noticeably stumbled due to injuries this season is the farm. The kids play together, they learn the system, they develop Pavlovian responses to red-and-black-and-yellow. A guy goes down here, no problems. We can plug a kid in, pronto. And from the one Knights game I saw this year, the kids are definitely all right.

Can the Oilers do that with their prospects, present and future? Not so sure.

I've also wondered a lot over the last day or two about would we do the same thing to our guys? Certainly the way Ference left Calgary gives you pause. But at the end of next year, or even trade deadline time next season, are we going to see some of our pending free agents leave for places barely known?

Anyways. It's game night! Unlike us, our boys are pros - I'm sure that while they were even more edgy than we were yesterday, they've got their focus back. We get Minnesota again, who seem to also have a set of Evil Twins this year as well. Like us, they boast a strong home record and a wimpy road record.

Hopefully that'll be enough to push us all the way to a 3-2 win. And then we can get ready for Saturdaaaaaay!