Hecht

In a story first broken by another great Oilers fan site, Oilfans.com, it has been learned that newly acquired center Jochen Hecht has signed a contract with a German team.  Although it is almost certainly a bargaining tactic on Hecht's part, the Adler News is reporting that he has signed on to play with the Mannheim Eagles next season.  The contract apparently has an out clause should Hecht sign with Edmonton before Jan. 25, 2002.

Numerous internet sites and media outlets were reporting today that the Edmonton Oilers had reached a tentative agreement with the Philadelphia Flyers for the rights to Eric Lindros. However, the Oilers have issued the following media advisory indicating that no deal has been made:

Lindros

The Edmonton Oilers confirm that they had explored the possibility of acquiring Eric Lindros from the Philadelphia Flyers.  General Manager Kevin Lowe says, "The Edmonton Oilers, like every other team in the National Hockey League, discussed the possibility of acquiring Lindros but it became apparent very quickly that a financial common ground could not be found."  Lowe says, "There are all sorts of creative ways that a deal can be structured, but in this case the stumbling block was contract expectations."  The Edmonton Oilers General Manager goes on to say, "that unless there is some unforeseeable development the Oilers are out of the Lindros sweepstakes."

Oilers announce they have reached an agreement with SportsNet West to televise 48 games in each of the next three seasons.  SportsNet will also feature the Oilers in six of their national games this coming season.

I haven't made a habit of reporting rumours and speculation on this site, but in this case I will make an exception.  Oilers' fans have been clamouring for a third jersey for years, and it looks like it may be a bit closer to reality.  The Oilers copyrighted these two images in January of this year.
 

Here are the final statistical comparisons for the players involved in the two major trades that the Oilers made during the 2001-2001 season.
 
 

Anson Carter GP G A Pts 61 16 26 42	Bill Guerin GP G A Pts 64 28 35 63
Sergei Zholtok GP G A Pts 37 4 16 20	Chad Kilger GP G A Pts 43 9 16 25

A 3-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks officially eliminated the Phoenix Coyotes from playoff contention and as a result the Oilers clinched a post-season berth for the fifth straight season. 

The Oilers still have a mathematical chance of finishing fifth in the Western Conference and playing St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs, but San Jose would have to lose its final two games for this to happen.  A sixth-place finish would see Edmonton face Dallas for the fifth-straight post-season, a seventh place finish would earn a trip to Detroit and an eighth place showing would mean facing Colorado.

The Oilers officially retired defenceman Al Hamilton's No. 3 jersey in a pre-game ceremony at Skyreach Center.  Hamilton was the first captain of the Oilers, and played the bulk of his time with the team when it was still in the World Hockey Association.