gouche
Dustin Penner scores a big goal ina 7-2 win over Columbus after Craig MacTavish lite up on his latest performances.
“He’s not competitive enough — or fit enough to help us – so why put him back in?” said MacTavish, who made him a healthy scratch for the Oilers Monday night road game against the Detroit Red Wings.
“He’s never been fit enough to help us.” MacTavish gave no timeline in how long he will sit out Penner, who in 6 games has scored 4 points and a +6 rating.
Penner, who signed a five year 21.25 million dollar contract with Edmonton in August 2007, has, according to MacTavish, not played anywhere near his potential.
“We signed him to be a top-two line player, and that’s kind of where it ended.” The difference was that we thought the contract was a starting point, and he’s viewed it as a finish line.”
Originally a high draft choice in 2004 by the Anaheim Ducks, Penner enjoyed a solid rookie season in California, which saw him score 29 goals in 2006, while playing a solid two way game.
Looked upon as a future star power forward, the Oilers signed him to an offer sheet, and Penner was expected to continue with his rapid development in Edmonton. Last season he got off to a bit of a slow start, but still managed to put up a respectable 23 goals and 47 assists.
This year, however, the 26 year-old has found himself in MacTavish’s doghouse.
“It’s been one thing after another,” said the coach. “I can’t watch it — for certain not another two and a half years. What we’ve seen is inconsistency. We need him to be a better player.”
Coming into Detroit , the Oilers, who are 6-6-0 on the road this year have won two out of their last three games at Joe Louis Arena.
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
