from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,

The fans are in such a state with the massive disappointment of the Oilers dropping back to 29th place after 30th, 30th, 29th and 24th place finishes, it is much more important that MacTavish resists the trap which has caught so many general managers before him in similar situations (the New York Islanders being the best example).

He has to resist the temptation to make a deal, any deal, simply for the sake of doing a deal and trading future for the present to appease the fan base.

That does not mean he’s going to do nothing.

“The next deal is going to be an important deal for us,” said the rookie GM who returned from the World Junior to watch a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

“It’s going to be important we make the right move.

“There have only been 12 deals made this year and we’ve made four of them. You can argue the pluses and minus of the four deals we made.

“We’re trying to do something. We’d be crazy not to. We just have to keep grinding away, having conversations until there’s something that makes sense.”

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