I understand your rant about the whole perceived need for truculence on the Oilers Par, I really do get it. Watching other teams run roughshod over us it's easy to think that a few larger players could make a world of difference. The fact that Brown is that kind of player does suggest that the Oilers agree with this assessment.

If you read (or heard) Gregor's interview with Tambellini yesterday however I have a different take on the trade. Tambellini repeated referred to how Brown brings a high level of emotion (read, competitiveness or a will to win) and what amounts to an incredible work ethic (perceived anyway). I believe that the point of the Brown trade was not to add a roster player, because I agree with the below assessment, a fourth round for him isn't great asset management, but rather, the point was to add a player who's off-ice actions add an element that was felt missing from the team. Yes, I am arguing that Brown bring the so called intangibles to the table.

We've seen the Oilers do this before too. The Gilbert for Schultz trade is the best example. Gilbert, while a good player, showed up to camp desperately out of shape and took a month to get to where he should be physically. Management had previously warned him of a need to improve on this. I think he as a player has a much higher potential than he'll ever reach and it was work ethic that forced the trade (see Penner, Dustin). In return the Oilers brought in a player who while not quite as good, brought the similar intangibles we heard so much about. How much of Justin Schultz' success is due to the presence and mentorship of Nic? I'd argue a lot. In a few years after Nic moves on, we'll still be reaping the rewards on a much improved Justin. We saw this once with the effect Adam Oates had on Stoll and Horcoff and Brodziak.

If Brown truly does bring this ethic and knowledge, in a few years after he's gone and the fourth round pick (not third round pick, sorry folks) may or may not have turned into more, all of our players will have an extra edge because of what they learned from Brown today. Having him now makes our team better in the future. I don't know about you, but I'd give up a bit now for a better chance of success in the future during our prime years.

Truculence be damned.

Sharp turn back to the trivial now -- specifically the Oilers and their recent trade. I'm of two minds on this: i) this is a stupid trade, and ii) maybe this means one step closer to the end of the Tambellini era in Edmonton. Re: how stupid this trade is, Tyler Dellow says it best:

Giving away a pick for the sort of player who is available for nothing but money in the off-season because you screwed up your assessment of your team is aggravating as a fan of that team. It’s all the more aggravating when the deficiency that’s being corrected (a lack of toughness) is one that’s debatable at best, both in terms of its existence and in term of it mattering. This will be particularly true if, five years from now, Brown is gone and the Leafs have some contributor in the lineup who the Oilers could make use of.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words (here and elsewhere) regarding our friend, Alan. It's a stark reminder of how important it is to live in the present, and to appreciate the people in your lives.

In that vein, if it hasn't been apparent from me, I want to thank all of you for being such an important part of my life. I hope I'm better able to express that in the future than I have in the past.

That is terribly sad, Par.

On a sad note, one of Nadeesha's good friends for many years -- a recent PhD graduate, husband, father of a three-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl, and a model of a kind, decent, wonderful human being if ever there was one -- tragically passed away in a car accident last week. Obviously it's hit his family tremendously hard, and it's a shocking reminder of how precious life is.

I only met him a few times and regret that I could not have gotten to know him better. As may be familiar to all of you, he was a down-to-earth, passionate, nerdy type of person that was easy-going and unpretentious. I've no doubt that he would have gotten along famously with all of you.

On behalf of his family, in this difficult time, I'd ask that you consider donating to his children's trust fund. I know you all don't know him, but it would mean much to us.

http://www.alandesilva.org/

As evidence by previous animated GIFs, I'm really liking Nail Yakupov. (There may be an element of wanting him to succeed and stick it to the anti-Russian bias in the media.) It's hard to pick favorites with the young guys on the team right now, but Yakupov's catching up to Hall in my book. This quote in a recent interview really helps:

AO: Earlier this season you managed to score two almost identical goals on the Kings and Coyotes, swatting the puck in out of mid-air. Is it something you work on at practices?

NY: Well, we do have a table tennis set up in our locker-room. We play it every day. Perhaps, I learned something from there? (laughs) I don’t know, really. It just sort of happened. I just really wanted to score so I skated in the slot, because, basically, that’s where the most goals come from. And then I just calculated the trajectory of the puck and scored.

I assume the motorcycle is a Triumph Bonneville?

March 30th:

Your Sunday read: The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food :

On Page 83 of the report, a thin blue line represents the amount of Dr Pepper flavoring needed to generate maximum appeal. The line is shaped like an upside-down U, just like the bliss-point curve that Moskowitz studied 30 years earlier in his Army lab. And at the top of the arc, there is not a single sweet spot but instead a sweet range, within which “bliss” was achievable. This meant that Cadbury could edge back on its key ingredient, the sugary Dr Pepper syrup, without falling out of the range and losing the bliss. Instead of using 2 milliliters of the flavoring, for instance, they could use 1.69 milliliters and achieve the same effect. The potential savings is merely a few percentage points, and it won’t mean much to individual consumers who are counting calories or grams of sugar. But for Dr Pepper, it adds up to colossal savings. “That looks like nothing,” Reisner said. “But it’s a lot of money. A lot of money. Millions.”

The soda that emerged from all of Moskowitz’s variations became known as Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper, and it proved successful beyond anything Cadbury imagined. In 2008, Cadbury split off its soft-drinks business, which included Snapple and 7-Up. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group has since been valued in excess of $11 billion.

Watch this all the way to the end. It's awkward and painful, but oh so funny...

I love the dialogue at the end of the clip.