Oilers are done

I picked the outcomes of game 3 and 4 correctly so far, and let's see if I can keep the streak going. Carolina will win game 5 at home, and end the series. The Oilers are (were?) a good team at home, but so is Carolina. The Canes just move the puck too well, and while the Oilers' thunderous hits in Edmonton sure got the crowd going, it didn't help enough. Keep in mind that Carolina was minutes away from OT in game 3, so I wouldn't say that physical play was the key. They just got a great goal late from Ryan Smyth.

Doug and I are going to the "State of the Sharks" presentation at the Tank next week. Maybe we can think of some questions to ask the Wilsons and Cheechoo. Of course we can't ask them specific questions about off-season moves and expect them to get answers. Questions like "Which free agents specifically are you looking at, and what would you give up to get them?". I'm hoping to get an idea of what kind of players the Sharks are looking for. Are we going to try and get a replacement for Ekman, who was pretty silent in the playoffs? What about a veteran D to help the youngsters? I would anticipate some questions about the "impending" goalie controversy, but frankly, I don't care that much about it. Nabokov is still great, Toskala is great, and Nolan Schaefer is very good. Regardless of the combination the Sharks field next season, I think it'll be fine. Personally, I would rather play Nabokov a bit before we trade him, because I'm confident his stock will rise once GMs see that he hasn't lost it.

I found this unofficial list of free agents, and I'm drooling over some of the names there. Jovanovski, Kubina, Redden or McKee would be nice defensive pickups. On the offensive side, I'm looking at Doug Weight, Marc Savard, Sergei Samsonov, Patrick Elias, and Jason Arnott would be cool, though Dallas would never let us sign him. And don't forget Owen Nolan! If the Sharks can get him for a song, I say take him- he's a fan favorite.