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 Cheap Jerseys NFL Wholesale . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Cheap NFL Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. 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Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training.NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball has abandoned its attempt to start an international draft of amateur players next year, likely pushing the matter back to collective bargaining for the labour contract that will start in 2017. Under the five-year labour deal agreed to in November 2011, the sides held discussions about a draft and MLB had the right to inform the union by Saturday if it planned to start one next year. If MLB had given that notification, the union would have had until June 15 to veto it. The sides said Friday that talks had ended. "At this time, the players are not prepared to accept an international draft," union head Michael Weiner said in a statement. "The MLBPA will continue to discuss with players and the commissioners office the many issues facing its international members." MLB began restraints on international signings last summer. Since there will be no draft, the system of a signing bonus pool with penalties for exceedingg thresholds will remain in place.dddddddddddd For the period that began last July 2 and ends June 15, the threshold was $2.9 million. For 2013-14, the thresholds are based on reverse order of winning percentage in 2012. The Houston Astros have the highest pool at $4,943,700 and the Washington Nationals the lowest at $1,846,900, resulting in overall less money available for international players without teams incurring penalties. For both 2012-13 and 2013-14, a teams six-highest signing bonuses up to $50,000 will not count toward its pool, and bonuses below $7,500 will not be included. Only players from the U.S., Canada and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico are eligible for the current amateur draft, which started in 1965. MLB said the parties couldnt agree "on some of the mechanics and procedures related to such a draft." 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