Ales Hemsky needs to remain in an Oilers jersey

When the Edmonton Oilers and Ales Hemsky agreed to a two year contract extension leading up to last season's Trade Deadline, both sides seemed to be making a statement. The Oilers clearly still wanted to keep the talented winger in the mix and the nine year veteran was more than ok to continue playing with the only NHL organization he had ever known. All seemed good but something happened along the way that seems to have changed things...Edmonton won the NHL Entry Draft Lottery and subsequently adding Nail Yakupov to their stable of highly skilled youngsters.

There is no rush for the Oilers to use Hall at centre

It is obvious to anyone who watches the Edmonton Oilers on a regular basis. They need help down the middle. They have that potential stud in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and three able bodies in Shawn Horcoff, Eric Belanger and Anton Lander, that are more than capable of picking up the slack in a bottom six role. Which leaves the role of a second line centre. On this team, Sam Gagner is not the right guy for the job. Some believe shifting Taylor Hall into the middle could be the answer. Perhaps but adding that sort of change and pressure onto the former first overall selection's shoulders this early into his career, would be a mistake...at least for now.