After narrowly missing the playoffs last year, the Edmonton Oilers have made a couple of key acquisitions which may help them take the next step in making a run deep into the postseason. Chief among these moves was the acquisition of star forward Erik Cole from the Carolina Hurricanes. The American born forward has scored more than fifty points in each of the last three seasons, and may provide the kind of consistent offense that Edmonton has been missing over the last few seasons.
Defenseman Joni Pitkanen, who was traded to Carolina for Cole, was replaced by the talented Lubomir Visnovsky from Los Angeles. The Czech defenseman had his worst season in three years last year, notching only 41 points, as opposed to the 67 and 58 points he had tallied the previous two years. Visnovsky and Cole should bring some spark to an offense that struggled at times last season.
With many of the pieces from the 2006 Cup run still in place, Cole and Visnovksy might help the Oilers put together the offense they need to succeed in a talented Western Conference.
