WHL dreams for Oilers

[Chipper]

WHL dreams for Oilers?
By ROBIN BROWNLEE -- Edmonton Sun


The Oilers will find out as early as October if they'll land the WHL franchise they've long coveted.

Team president Patrick LaForge confirmed yesterday the Oilers will attend a meeting of WHL's governors in Calgary Oct. 12, at which time they will make a pitch to commissioner Ron Robison and his board.

"We're invited," LaForge said. "We'll go in there and make a presentation and answer any questions about how, if we were awarded a franchise, we'd manage it and so on and so forth."

[Chipper]

I think that some how the Oilers will end up with a new franchise, I predict they will play in 2008.

[The_Vulk]

It will even out the number of teams in each conference, giving Edmonton an Expansion Franchise.

But the divisions will not be. (Guess Swift Current will be kicked back into the Eastern Division.)

OH well. We'll worry about that later.

[WHEATMAN]

should be getting one soon too, would be a great rivalry with brandon and winnipeg is a hockey crazy city

[Sput]

Personally I hope Edmonton either gets an expansion team, or buys one from the East. I'd hate to see the Cougs leave here without a local interest getting the chance of buying them out, similar to the Tri-Cities situation. It will also give PG a team within a days travel to play.

[rinkrat]

Personally I hope Edmonton either gets an expansion team, or buys one from the East. I'd hate to see the Cougs leave here without a local interest getting the chance of buying them out, similar to the Tri-Cities situation. It will also give PG a team within a days travel to play.
How far is it from PG to Edmonton?It seems that it would make travel to PG easier as you could play two teams in the north.

[Sput]

Edmonton is a "comfortable" 8 hour drive. That of course is following speed limits (of which I NEVER break ;) :laugh: ) so its porbably about the same on a bus. I know some teams have come up from Kamloops to Valemont and in to PG from the east so it is a well traveled road. Could make visitors trips here easier as they could hit Kelowna/Kamloops on the way up, over to Edmonton after stopping here, then continue through the central and home.

[RunTheGoalie]

It will even out the number of teams in each conference, giving Edmonton an Expansion Franchise.

But the divisions will not be. (Guess Swift Current will be kicked back into the Eastern Division.)

OH well. We'll worry about that later.

Easily solved: Introduce a crossover for the last playoff spot. If the 5th place team (Swift Current) is better than the 4th place team in the other division, they take that spot. I'm tempted to also suggest a straight top eight conference format, but I like having division rivals in the first round of the playoffs.

Ken King was on Fan960 on the weekend and was asked about this. He said that he expects Edmonton will get the team, and obviously his oganization is very enthusiastic about another great rival for the Hitmen.