MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Ales Hemsky, night in and night out, was their best, most consistent and most productive player. He wasn't just a standout player himself, he made everyone he played with better, too. Even after losing his first-line center and being saddled with third-line checking center Jarret Stoll, he still put up team-leading numbers.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER
Jarret Stoll started the season as their second-line center, and by the end of the year his role had been reduced to plumber and penalty killer. He didn't produce 5-on-5 (three even-strength goals all year) and finished with a gargantuan minus-23 rating.

FREE AGENT FOCUS
The Oilers only have two unrestricted free agents (Marty Reasoner and Curtis Glencross) and both of them want to stay, so retaining their services shouldn't be a problem. GM Kevin Lowe locked up a few of his restricted free agents early in the off-season, but still has Joni Pitkanen and Jarret Stoll to deal with.

PLAYER NOTES

--D Joni Pitkanen left the World Championships amid some controversy. He was complaining of a sore knee while Finnish coach Doug Sheddon blamed it on lack of commitment. Either way, they parted ways on less than friendly terms.

--G Mathieu Garon is Canada's third stringer at the World Championships and isn't expected to get in any games. That's fine by him; this is his first experience wearing the national team's colors and he's happy to be along for the ride.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.