The Edmonton Oilers made a couple of deals, bringing in a new goaltender and taking on a long-term contract for a fourth line forward in the process. [url=http://www.shopwarriorsonline.com/Cheap-Mitch-Richmond-Warriors-Jer sey/]Mitch Richmond Jersey[/url] . Numbers Game looks at the Oilers adding Ben

The Edmonton Oilers made a couple of deals, bringing in a new goaltender and taking on a long-term contract for a fourth line forward in the process. Mitch Richmond Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the Oilers adding Ben Scrivens and Matt Hendricks, while sending Devan Dubnyk to Nashville. The Oilers Get: G Ben Scrivens and LW Matt Hendricks. Scrivens is a 27-year-old who has played 51 NHL games in his career, so he has a limited track record but, in that time, he has a .917 save percentage, which isnt bad at all. Its certainly good enough to get a chance at some regular playing time in Edmonton and, considering how the Oilers season has gone, there should be plenty of opportunity for Scrivens and Ilya Bryzgalov to compete the rest of the way as they audition for next season. Both Scrivens and Bryzgalov will be unrestricted free agents in the summer, so its entirely possible that Edmonton could be starting from scratch on the goaltending market in the summer, but there is also a real opportunity for Scrivens to seize the opportunity and, if he plays well, earn a contract offer that will make him the likely starter. It cant hurt Scrivens that he has experience playing for Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins (with the AHL Toronto Marlies, where Scrivens had a .923 save percentage in 94 games) and if Scrivens plays well the rest of the way, Eakins could be comfortable moving forward with him as the No. 1 or even as part of a timeshare with another goaltender. Scrivens makes a miniscule $550,000 this season but, provided he plays well, will be due for a decent raise -- maybe something in the neighbourhood of $2.5-million per -- as an unrestricted free agent. Hendricks, 32, is a warrior, who has battled his way into the NHL, finally sticking as a 28-year-old. Theres no denying his toughness -- he has 48 fights in the past five seasons -- his face-off skill or, even, some career shootout success (9-for-17, 52.9%), but to take on a four-year contract, at $1.85-million per, for a player with those skills is highly questionable. Its not that the addition of Hendricks is going to be a backbreaker for the Oilers, but money matters, whether its in relation to the salary cap or an internal budget and paying nearly $2-million for a fourth-line winger is not how the best teams are building their rosters and its the term that is troubling. When we know how hard Hendricks has played throughout his career, who would feel good about his chances of staying healthy and (relatively) productive through age 35? The Oilers needed more toughness on the lower half of their forward depth chart, and thats fine, but making that financial commitment for toughness has not been the typical approach for successful teams, so if Hendricks provides value for the Oilers, more power to them, but it looks like a lot to pay for the role he plays. The Predators Get: G Devan Dubnyk. Part of the reason that the Oilers were expected to compete for a playoff spot this season is that Dubnyk, 27, was a solid, if under-appreciated puckstopper in recent seasons. From 2010-2011 through 2012-2013, Dubnyk had a .917 save percentage. Among goaltenders with at least 100 games in that span, that placed Dubnyk 12th, in the same territory as Sergei Bobrovsky, Kari Lehtonen and Carey Price; pretty good company. Then the season started and Dubnyk couldnt do anything right. In his first eight appearances, he allowed at least three goals seven times, posting an .878 save percentage, and it hasnt been much better since. Dubnyks .894 save percentage ranks 39th out of 39 goalies to play at least 20 games this season. Had he been an average starting goaltender, with a .913 save percentage, that would have saved the Oilers close to 17 goals, which isnt nearly enough to make them competitive, but they might not have been staring at a lottery pick right from the first month of the season. In any case, Dubnyk gets a fresh start, with a track record that suggests he deserves one. With Pekka Rinne injured, and with no timetable for his return, the Predators have been making do with Marek Mazanec and Carter Hutton, and while they have had some decent games, they rank 33rd and 34th, respectively, on that list of 39 goaltenders, both posting .902 save percentages this season. Nashville, currently eight points out of a playoff spot, realizes that theyre not likely to make up that ground with their goaltenders stopping 90.2% of the shots they face, so why not take a chance on Dubnyk rebounding? If he performs closer to his career norms, maybe the Predators can scramble into the playoff picture. If not, no big deal, because the Oilers retained some of the salary on Dubnyks contract (which pays $3.5-million per) and he will be an unrestricted free agent at seasons end, making it a low-risk move for the Predators. The move is even better, from Nashville standards, because they managed to get out from under the four-year term on Hendricks contract. Hes a gritty fourth-line forward, who is paid too much for that role, but the Predators can give Rich Clune more consistent playing time and/or recall Filip Forsberg or Taylor Beck, moving a winger like Gabriel Bourque down the depth chart, if need be. The Kings Get: A third-round pick. When Jonathan Quick was injured earlier in the year and the Kings were forced to recall Martin Jones, the Kings found out that they had another NHL-ready goaltender in the system and with Scrivens heading towards unrestricted free agency at seasons end, there was an opportunity to deal Scrivens, and open up a spot on the NHL roster for Jones, while adding an asset in the form of a draft pick. Jones was spectacular in his first NHL action, going 8-3 with a 1.41 goals against average and .950 save percentage in 11 games. That wont continue, because hes not superhuman, but the 6-foot-4, 24-year-old is a quality prospect, one that has posted a .922 save percentage in 151 AHL games, and is worthy of promotion. Working out the Kings depth chart, Jones promotion also means that Jean-Francois Berube, a fourth-round pick in 2009, should get the bulk of the starts for Manchester in the AHL, but with Quick and Jones in Los Angeles, there is no urgency for more goaltending. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Chris Mullin Jersey . On the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season, he can finally take a step back and allow his team to do the talking. JaVale McGee Jersey . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). http://www.shopwarriorsonline.com/Cheap-Latrell-Sprewell-Warriors-Jersey/ . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick.TORONTO - Defence has long been the calling card of Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, a foundation for which his teams have prided themselves on and an identity he fears may be slipping away early in training camp. Were not anywhere near the defensive intensity we need to be [at], Casey said following another marathon practice session, roughly three hours long, at the Air Canada Centre Thursday afternoon. I know were not going to be in mid-season form but we need a better interest in playing defence and Im not seeing that right now. Thats our biggest challenge right now. With two exhibition contests under their belt, Casey has been unimpressed with his teams effort and toughness, primarily on the defensive end and on the boards. After taking Wednesday off - traveling back home from an eight-day trip out west - that frustration came to a head Thursday when Casey went back to the basics, as hes been known to do at this stage of the season. I think thats what preseason is for, said DeMar DeRozan, leading the team with an efficient 44 points in 44 minutes through two games this fall. We practice a lot of things but its different once youre in-game, going through it and experiencing it and learning on the go. Casey has seen the intensity hes expecting from the reigning Atlantic Division champs in spurts during camp - both in their own gym and during their time spent in Vancouver - but for whatever reason it did not translated to their two-game set with Sacramento as they split the series. Despite their perceived and justifiable flaws, the Kings, to their credit, are one of the tougher and more physical teams in the league. This wasnt the first time theyve given Caseys team fits, but thats something that needs to change if the Raptors are going to evolve and take the next step. Their coach is fully aware. They cause a few problems, that youre so concerned about, Casey said, citing the threat of DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings interior players on the boards and the way in which that alters Torontos defensive rotations. But thats a good excuse, and life is full of excuses. We still have to get it done. In Tuesday nights loss, Toronto allowed the Kings to shoot 55 per cent from the field (63 per cent after the first quarter), giving up 56 points in the paint and putting them on the line 50 times. The Raptors were out-rebounded 87-62 in both games. Last year the Raptors ranked 10th in defensive efficiency and were a top 12 team in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, but their sporadic production in those categories throughout the season is cause for some concern. Defensively, they faded over the final month of the campaign (ranked 17th over the final 20 games) while they struggled to rebound through multiple stretches, specifically against their more physical opponents. Overall it was those match-ups, against bigger teams like the Kings, that gave them the most difficulty during their breakthrough 2013-14 season. Tim Hardaway Jersey. Are they mentally and physically tough enough to withstand the pressure they are about to face a year later? Their all-star caliber backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry has carried the offence through two exhibition games and are expected to do so most of the year, but much of Torontos success in that toughness department will be dependent on the growth and durability of its frontcourt. The Raptors have a lot invested in third-year centre Jonas Valanciunas, hoping he can grow into the anchor of their defence but understanding he still has a ways to go. Amir Johnson has served in that role for years but has taken a physical beating. Although its still early and it generally takes longer for big men to re-adjust to game speed at this stage of camp, theyve both stumbled a bit out of the gate. [Its] not only Jonas, its everybody, Casey insisted. Its everybody, all the interior people. Were just not there yet. These games dont matter, whether we win or lose, but the habits we create now are very important. [Theres] no sense of urgency on the defensive end, he continued. Were scoring the hell outta it. Everybodys shooting the ball very well but thats not going to win in this league. Injury Update Starter Terrence Ross was limited in practice Thursday, mostly taking part in shooting drills while nursing ankle and knee ailments on his right leg. Ross exited Sundays preseason opener late in the fourth quarter after getting tangled up with Kings guard Ramon Sessions and missed Tuesdays game as a precaution. An MRI, taken earlier in the week, came back negative and the third-year swingman is considered day-to-day. Patrick Patterson participated in full, wearing a wrap on his sore right hand after sitting out the first two games of the exhibition season. I was able to get on the floor today, Patterson said, running up and down a little bit with my teammates, test it out, see how I feel. So overall, getting better every single day. The Raptors forward sustained the injury in a collision with Valanciunas during workouts last week, jokingly attributing it to the JVs added muscle. He could be available as early as Friday, at home to the Celtics. Centre Greg Stiemsma was held out on Thursday as he undergoes testing as part of the leagues concussion protocol following his hard fall towards the end of the loss in Sacramento. Rookie Lucas Nogueira continues to be a spectator, hampered by what Casey called a very serious groin strain that has been lingering. Its a very tedious thing, Casey said of Nogueiras injury. What we dont want to do is rush it back where he gets it re-injured. So its something we have to be very careful with. Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Discount Jerseys China NFL Hoodies China NFL Hoodies Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China ' ' '