Esa Tikkanen News

Hockey fans of a certain vintage a ' i.e. those who can remember when there were ties in the game a ' are familiar with the period in the early- and mid-1990s, when collecting players from the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty became something of an obsession around the NHL.

Twenty years ago in the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Wayne GretzkyA returned to play a hockey game.A This wasn't his first return to the arena where he'd won four Stanley Cups.A A A A "The Trade" had sent the greatest player in hockey, in the prime of his career, from a dynasty-winning team in Edmonton to also-ran division rival Los Angeles.

Previous Incarnations: None Inception: 1979 Seasons: 30 Stanley Cups: 5 Conference Championships: 7 All-Time Forwards Wayne Gretzky I'm not sure that it really has to be explained.

DESPERATION: They played the third period with the same desperation they showed in the first six minutes when they outshot the Sharks 8-0. Plus, the Sharks put it on cruise control when they got up 4-1, and only had four shots over a 20-minute stretch.

It would be a stretch but Toni Rajala might just be able to reach the five-foot-eight mark on a tape measure.

It's not likely that the Oilers are going to be picking up a Jarome Iginla or a Dion Phaneuf, as such great picks are the exception, not the rule at the Oilers draft spot.