Denis Grebeshkov

I think the most interesting speculation about Grebeshkov right now is not about his playing ability which I think most of the Oiler nation agrees upon, but upon his future with the team. Right now he's signed through 08-09 but after that one can only assume a team from the KHL will be able to offer him more money than he's worth to the Edmonton Oilers, and without a transfer agreement that means he's gone for nothing. That and the fact that he has the opportunity to play in front of the hometown crowd means that in all likelihood he'll be gone in 09-10.

That said I think that besides the first 1/3 of last season (which was pure heart attack hockey) Grebeshkov has been adjusting nicely. While, as I mention, the first third of the season involved poor pinching decisions and bad decision breakout passing (among other things) the second half we saw Grebeshkov settle down and let his skills take over.

Of course MacT had a lot to do with Grebeshkov's success. I'll once again reference Vic's awesome graph at IOF and we can clearly Grebeshkov isn't being leaned on for the defensive responsibilities. What we can say though is that Grebeshkov played extremely well in the situation he was in, especially considering his experience (104NHLGP).

Projection: 2nd pairing defenceman
Key Stat: 1st defenceman in GFON and 2nd in GAON.