EDMONTON -- Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish feels optimistic about his teams future despite a last-place finish in the Western Conference standings. MacTavish gave his head coach a vote of confidence Tuesday and said while its hard to determine where the team is in its development stage, he feels most of the "heavy lifting" has been done. "Were closer to the end in my mind than we are to the beginning in terms of the development of this team," MacTavish said Tuesday at a season-ending media availability. Expectations were higher in Edmonton this season but the team struggled from the start and finished with a 29-44-9 record for 67 points, good for a 28th-place finish in the 30-team league. There were a few bright lights for the Oilers. Taylor Hall had a strong year with 80 points in 75 games and fellow forwards Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had productive campaigns. Defensive woes were a constant problem. The Oilers struggled on the blue-line and between the pipes, allowing a league-worst 270 goals. MacTavish has no plans to add anything "middle of the road" to the current defence core and feels the teams younger players can fill those positions. He does plan to target a high-end defenceman in the off-season. "We need a few pieces that can really move this thing along," said MacTavish. The GM added that Eakins -- who completed his first season as an NHL head coach -- has a bright future with the team. "Im convinced this guy is the right coach to lead us into much more successful times ... hes relentless," MacTavish said. Despite the foundation of young, talented offensive players, the Oilers managed only 203 goals. The goaltending situation was unsettled throughout the season as netminder Devan Dubnyk struggled in the starters role. Dubnyk was dealt to Nashville at the trade deadline and the Oilers acquired Ben Scrivens from Los Angeles. Scrivens and fellow mid-season acquisition Viktor Fasth posted decent numbers as Edmonton finished with a 14-13-3 mark over its last 30 games. MacTavish said there is plenty of work ahead and admitted the team did not live up to expectations. But he likes the young core and is confident improvement can be made. "Were building our team around this group," he said. "And you have to have pieces in that locker-room that you view as guys that are going to develop into winners and guys that are going to develop into superstars. "I feel strongly that we have a number of those pieces in there and those are the guys were going to build that team around. I want them to feel the ownership, I want them to feel the loyalty from myself and the coaching staff that we have the confidence in them to drive this team forward." 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Colborne was among the players fighting for one of the final spots on the Leafs roster but did not stand out in the pre-season. The 23-year-old joins a host of other young players who are expected to be given big minutes by the rebuilding Flames. "With the opportunity to speak with Brian Burke and learn about Joes hockey sense and character from someone who had him as a player and knows him so well, it became clear to us that this is the type of young, big centre we need," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said in a statement. "He fits in very well with our rebuild and provides size up the middle which we believe is critical going forward. The fact that he is from Calgary is an added bonus. We look forward to welcoming him to the Flaames family.dddddddddddd" Its the second time Burke has traded for Colborne. When he was the Leafs GM, Burke got Colborne from the Bruins as part of a deal that sent defenceman Tomas Kaberle to Boston. Now the Flames president of hockey operations, Burke has some salary-cap space to play with. Beyond Colborne, whos on a one-year, one-way deal that pays him US$600,000, that could mean getting involved in waivers in the coming days. "I would predict that Sunday will be a big day on the waiver wire, and possibly Monday, because the league starts on Tuesday," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. Colborne, a 2008 first-round pick of the Bruins, has one goal and five assists in 16 career NHL games for the Leafs. He had three assists in six pre-season games. Toronto said the fourth-round pick it got for Colborne is Calgarys and that it could be upgraded to a third rounder "if certain conditions are met in the upcoming season." Those conditions were not disclosed. wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys wholesale Jerseys ' ' '