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Oops: Every player from start of Oilers rebuild now elsewhere

Steve Tambellini

When the Edmonton Oilers officially began their rebuild in the 2009-10 season, hope ran high. Since that season they’ve added guys like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and Nail Yakupov to provide hope they’ll return to the playoffs for the first time since the Stanley Cup Final fun in 2006.

But the team that started it all that first season under GM Steve Tambellini? They’re all playing elsewhere now.

Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal highlighted this fact showing when each player from that team left or was moved out of the organization and what they got in return for them. Teddy Purcell, Oscar Klefbom, Matt Hendricks, and Nikita Nikitin are the NHL-ready remnants of those moves.

The final few who departed this summer included Ales Hemsky, Devan Dubnyk, Sam Gagner, and Ryan Jones. Only Jones hasn’t found a new home as Hemsky signed with Dallas this summer and Gagner was sent to Tampa Bay for Purcell (then later moved to Arizona). Dubnyk was moved to Nashville last season in the Hendricks deal.

Tambellini’s history as GM in Edmonton was an awkward one. While the team was able to land tremendous talent with all those first-round picks and sign Justin Schultz as a free agent, the team never improved and has missed the playoffs eight seasons in a row.

Now with Craig MacTavish entering his second year as GM, the roster is clear of everyone Tambellini attempted to start the road to recovery with. You have to think that’s a good thing given how things have gone for Edmonton.

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