For the last four seasons I have predicted that the Edmonton Oilers would be the up and coming club that would take the NHL by storm. What wasn’t to like? A few seasons with some number one draft picks and the club looked like they could turn the corner on the disappointments of the past decade.

Each year, however, those hopes went down the drain faster than you can say “lottery pick for next year”. This year I thought that things might be different. A new coach with a no-nonsense approach. The top tier talent that had been drafted over the past four years has had time to age and develop chemistry.  A community that had been starved for a winner had waited long enough and THIS would be the year, finally that Edmonton would compete.

Not so fast.

A terrible start (1-6-1). Some suspect goaltending from the “now or never”  Devan Dubnyk. Some unfortunate injuries to Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Sam Gagner. Then some horrible play from last year’s number one overall pick Nail Yakupov. Combine this stew of despair and broken dreams and you get another lost season for the Edmonton Oilers.

Is it too early to give up on the current basement dwellers in the Pacific Division? In short, I submit a resounding yes. Not that I have taken the recent failures of my flavor of the day team personally, but the time was last year for this team to achieve anything.

Their fortuitous swiping of defenseman Justin Schultz didn’t make them a Stanley Cup contender, but it should have been enough to keep them from another awful finish. They avoided last place in the division and the Western Conference, but ending the season with losses in seven of their final ten games left very little room for optimism this year.

There were several key additions over the summer that had some optimistic heads (myself included) buzzing about the potential in central Alberta. At the time it seemed like a great signing, bringing in veteran stay at home defenseman Andrew Ference What does it say about the leadership of the young guns in the Edmonton locker room when a free agent is signed and is named captain just a month later?

The answer is simple. There is clearly a chemistry issue with the Oilers and it is now time to shuffle the deck. Of all the young stars in Edmonton, not one of them was deemed worthy of leading the team or deserving of the captain's "C". Whatever the reason, Yakupov is not and looks like he cannot be productive in Edmonton. Dubnyk has been given every opportunity to succeed but will never be a number one goaltender at the NHL level. If you are content to concede a loss in 50% of his starts right off the bat, then he is your man, but a young club needs a solid goaltender that can steal a game from time to time not lose them.

General manager Craig MacTavish has to give up a lot to get a lot and cannot be afraid to let some of his young offensive stars go. When a new coach takes the reins it doesn’t automatically fix a locker room. Move some of the talent around and take some chances Edmonton, it can’t possibly get worse right now can it?

Take a cue from the Buffalo Sabres and start moving some pieces while they still have considerable value. The last time I checked, there was a goaltending surplus in Anaheim, St. Louis and Toronto. MacTavish might even give Ilya Bryzgalov’s people a call too.

I don’t know when, because it cannot be “if” the Oilers wave the collective white surrender flag, but it has to happen. This team has a proud history and a ridiculously faithful fan base. There are movable parts under contract on the Oilers; they just need to move some pieces around to get a better team on the ice.

I don’t think any moves made this season will make them a better team right away, but maybe they’ll give me hope for next season. Maybe just one more time.