The Edmonton Oilers have gone 10 seasons without a playoff appearance, employed seven head coaches, won the draft lottery four times and lost 488 of 704 games.Yet the only number that matters now is 97.Thats the number on the sweater of generational talent Connor McDavid, whos going into his second NHL season and leading the Oilers into a new era in their new arena. Edmonton will play the first regular-season game at sparkling Rogers Place against the rival Calgary Flames on Oct. 12, raising the curtain on a fresh start for an organization in need of one.Rogers Place isnt the arena McDavid built, though it should be the scene for the 19-year-olds rapid ascent as one of hockeys brightest stars.He kind of adds another level of excitement, center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. Its pretty cool with the new building and everything. Its all kind of coming together at the right time, so now weve just got to go out there and perform, obviously. Its exciting the direction that were heading. Connor is going to be a big part of that. Its going to be fun.Winning the 2015 draft lottery to get McDavid set into motion big changes for the Oilers organization, including the hiring of Peter Chiarelli as general manager. This offseason, Chiarelli signed big power forward Milan Lucic, traded Taylor Hall for defenseman Adam Larsson and drafted Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi to complement McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, winger Jordan Eberle, center Leon Draisaitl and defenseman Darnell Nurse -- all first-round picks.A broken collarbone limited McDavid to 45 games in his rookie season, though he still incredibly put up 48 points and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He may have a big, new linemate in the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Lucic, who signed a $42 million, seven-year deal to score goals, dish out assists and hits, and serve as something of McDavids bodyguard for some of his prime seasons.The first thing that stands out about him is just how big he is, McDavid said of Lucic. I didnt know he was that big. Hes a great skater and can really shoot the puck. I think hes definitely going to be a great asset for us.Pencil Lucic in on McDavids left wing and put it in ink that the pride of Newmarket, Ontario, will be the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years, 273 days old when he wears the C for the first time.Here are some other things to watch with the Oilers this season:LIGHTS, CAM, TALBOTGoaltender Cam Talbot enters the first season of his $12.5 million, three-year deal needing to prove he deserves to be a franchise goaltender. After a rough start last season, the former New York Rangers backup had a 2.37 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in his final 40 games. Edmonton would like Talbot to put up those kinds of performances behind a work-in-progress defense and steal some games along the way.THE BIG GERMANLeon Draisaitl could be a matchup nightmare for opponents as the third-line center behind McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Stanley Cup-caliber teams are built down the middle and on the back end, and the Oilers are well on their way if the slick, big 20-year-old German continues to adjust to the NHL.MCLELLAN MAGICThe Todd McLellan-coached, star-studded 23-and-under Team North America dazzled at the World Cup with the kind of fast, exciting hockey that had fans drooling about the future of the sport. He has McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins in Edmonton, too, but knows he cant play that kind of up-and-down, blistering pace for 82 NHL games.Well continue to coach with the same concepts, McLellan said. The team that we have in Edmonton is a really good team but not at the same talent level, and thats natural.DEFENSE UNDER CONSTRUCTIONChiarelli has worked to remake the Oilers blue line by acquiring Larsson and signing Andrej Sekera in the summer of 2015, but its still not at a playoff level. The development of Nurse and 23-year-old Oscar Klebom is essential to that, and it could take another offseason of moves.REPLACING HALLGetting Larsson from the New Jersey Devils cost Edmonton its leading scorer in Hall, who had 26 goals and 65 points last season. The Oilers may be better in the long run after dealing Hall, but theyll have to make up for his production somewhere. Hint: Keep McDavid healthy.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno Nike Air Max 270 Canada Wholesale . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Sale Air Max 270 Canada . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. http://www.airmax270cheapcanada.com/ . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Air Max 270 Canada Outlet . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Cheap Nike Shoes Canada . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Tyler Eifert lined up here, there and just about everywhere during his first practice with the Cincinnati Bengals. Felt like old times. The Bengals got started on their new tight end-heavy passing game Friday at the start of a weekend rookie minicamp. A lot of the focus was on Eifert, chosen in the first round to give quarterback Andy Dalton another target. Eifert lined up in a lot of different spots at Notre Dame. Judging by the first day of practice in Cincinnati, hes going to be doing the same thing in the NFL. "A lot of the things Im learning are a lot of the same plays we had in with two tight ends -- move me around in different positions," Eifert said. "Today I was out in the slot quite a bit. I think Im picking it up pretty fast." With Dalton watching from the sideline, Eifert made a nice one-hand catch during the morning workout, a preview of what he can bring to an offence thats been overly dependent upon receiver A.J. Green. The Bengals havent added another proven receiver in the off-season. Rather, they took Eifert with the 21st overall pick, figuring his ability to catch the ball in a crowd -- he set a Notre Dame recover for catches by a tight end -- will give them some versatility and force defences to worry about someone other than Green. Eifert lined up as a tight end on either side and also as a slot receiver during practice. The biggest challenge was learning the Bengals language for each play and the pass protections. "I think I picked it up better than I thought I would at first," Eifert said. "Its not a whole lot, but its definitely something new for me. Im catching on pretty quickly and moving around quite a bit." The Bengals would like to use him along with tight end Jermaine Gresham, their first overall pick in 2010. The New England Patriots have shown that a two-tight end approach can keep defences off balance, provided that both can catch the ball. Neww Englands Tom Brady set career highs in yards passing and touchdowns in 2011, using his tight ends generously.ddddddddddddDefences had trouble handling both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in the two-tight end approach. Gronkowski had 90 catches for 1,327 yards that season. Hernandez had 79 for 910. "You look at that year, and a lot of people dont realize that Tom had his best statistical season ever in history," said running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who was with New England then. "We threw the ball numerous times. We ran the ball three to five times a game. "Of course, thats not what you want to do when youre a running back. But we were winning games. It was a shock to the league that year. It can actually be a great thing when you have two guys who can catch the ball. It takes a lot of pressure off what you can do because you had to prepare for all those guys." Dalton thinks that having two tight ends who can catch the ball will make defences vulnerable somewhere. Dalton wasnt allowed to work out with the rookies during minicamp. He left the field as the morning workout was wrapping up. "You get the matchup of the tight ends on the linebackers and safeties," Dalton said recently. "So I think hes going to be a great addition. Hes going to make Jermaine a better player. Im excited to get him in here and get working with him." ------ NOTES: The Bengals signed seventh-round picks OT Reid Fragel from Ohio State and centre T.J. Johnson from South Carolina, the first of their draft picks to agree to contracts. ... LB J.K. Schaffer, who was signed to the practice squad last season, participated in the workouts. "I was on the practice squad last year and I just never got that many quality reps with the actual calls and making adjustments," Schaffer said. "I think its a real good opportunity for me to get back myself rolling and get back into some football." ' ' '