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Jeff Petry
Another RFA that resigned with the Oilers in the off-season, Petry had a year of ups and downs last
season to say the least. For the better part of the first half of last year, he seemed like he was swimming
upstream. Caught out of position a lot, afraid to shoot the puck, etc. Around the mid-way point of the
season it was like someone flicked a switch. He started carrying the puck more, showed great speed to
get back if he was caught out of position. He showed he could be an offensive threat by unleashing his
rocket of a shot from the point as well. He even started blocking shots like a trooper. He went from
looking like a 6/7 defenseman to a 3/4. He was playing a lot like Tom Gilbert, only better, which
eventually made Gilbert expendable. Petry will probably never be a 50-point defenseman, but he
should be able to offer up 30+points, plus a ton of peripherals like hits, blocks and should also offer
some solid PPP. Most people this year are expecting big things out of Justin Schultz but let’s not forget,
he will be a rookie D with a ton of pressure on him and high expectations. There’s a good chance he
slips up a bit this year and if that happens to Schultz, don’t be surprised it it’s not Jeff Petry who gets the
tap to step up and take the reins.
Top three letdowns:
Ryan Smyth
Captain Canada started out last year strong. Obviously re-energized
after returning to the Copper and Blue, he scored at a point per game
pace for the first 26 games then managed to score just 20 points in the
final 56 games. Fizzle fizzle… At 36 years old, and youth being the
name of the game in the City of Champions, Smyth has simply become
a leader in the dressing room more then on the score sheet. If fantasy
hockey gave points for leadership, Smyth would rank quite high but it doesn’t. The only thing going for
Smyth is the lack of experienced depth on the left side for the Oilers. Kruger has said he plans on trying
Yakupov on the left side (if that doesn’t tell you Kruger’s thoughts of Smyth I don’t know what does) and
others. I expect Paajarvi to get a long look at training camp on the left side of the second line. Smyth is
a third liner at best these days, skating with his ole buddy Horcoff. Smyth should be good for 15-20
goals and land somewhere around 40+ points. Not bad for a third liner, but those are probably
generous expected points for Smyth. On the bright side, he will get his wish and get to retire as an Oiler.
Ryan Whitney
Whitney came to Edmonton in early 2010 and was expected to anchor the defence for years but he
suffered a season ending ankle injury in December of that same year. Coming into the start of last
season he and the Oilers hoped his injuries had healed but that wasn’t the case. His season started late
and more injuries during the year hurt his play last season. Out of the gate Renney gave him top
minutes but it was obvious he was struggling and not 100%. By the end of the season, his play had
improved but his mobility hadn’t. He has admitted this off-season in an interview I recently read that his
ankle still isn’t 100%. To me, if that ankle still isn’t 100%, then I am not expecting Whitney to be either
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