New staff provides excitement in Edmonton

It's difficult to get really excited about the Edmonton Oilers' roster this season, particularly after they failed to upgrade after missing the playoffs for the third straight season and striking out on all-round good team guy and character player Dany Heatley over the summer.

The only change of substance on the ice is in goal, where Nikolai Khabibulin replaces Dwayne Roloson; pretty much a break-even proposition. Other than that, the Oilers have to cross their fingers and toes and hope a band of youngsters, underachievers and injury-prone players can step forward.