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Who's in: Nikolai Khabibulin
Who's out: Kyle Brodziak, Ales Kotalik, Dwayne Roloson

Outlook: Edmonton made two bold moves in the summer but was thwarted on a third when sniper Dany Heatley turned down a potential trade to the Oilers in July.

Barring another blockbuster in the near future, then, the key differences between this year's group and last's will be behind the bench and in goal, with two greybeards in Pat Quinn (along with assistant coach Tom Renney) and netminder Nikolai Khabibulin joining the fold.

Quinn replaced Craig MacTavish soon after the regular season ended, and the popular former Canucks and Leafs bench boss is likely to open the team's offensive game in what could very well be his swan song as an NHL coach. Renney, meanwhile, will attempt bring a defensive mindset to the proceedings.

Expect Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano to be three of the beneficiaries of Quinn's style, although even with Khabibulin in the fold, goals against could continue to be an issue. The Russian keeper will turn 37 in midseason and hasn't started more than 57 games since 2002-03, something that's likely to mean a trial by fire for backup Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.

More than anything, however, what the Oilers need is a rebound season from Shawn Horcoff, who has a sizable contract and is the de facto No. 1 centre until one of the youngsters is ready to step up. He's shown an ability to score 70 points in the past but is also charged with many of the difficult defensive assignments and will be a big part of any playoff push Edmonton's able to make.

X-factor: Nikolai Khabibulin

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