JUST WONDERING . . .

Ryan Jones wants to know if he should cut his hair. I want to know if the guy wearing jersey No. 28 for the Edmonton Oilers in the month or so leading up to the NHL all-star break was Jones or an imposter (Doug Friedman, perhaps) with a flow wig on.

In case you missed it while contemplating more rumors about who Ales Hemsky might/should/could/would-if-the-other-GM-is-an imbecile be traded for, Jones emerged from the all-star break with a question he posted on Twitter this evening – a query that has nothing to do with the fact The Flowmaster hasn’t scored a single goal in 14 games, a stretch in which he as managed just two assists and been ordinary, at best.

Tweeted Jones, who happens to be the landlord for the sickly Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (more on that later) to his almost-52,000 followers: "Trying to decide whether or not to do the hair massacre." The hair massacre? As in a haircut? A little or a lot off the top? Or the Hair Massacure, a terrific fundraiser in the battle against cancer the Oilers have long participated in?

For the record (and regular readers here at Oilersnation know this), I like Jones. I also happen to like his hair, even if it’s not really all that long for somebody of my vintage. When I actually had hair, I had a mop that put his flow to shame, but I digress . . .

Whether he ends up with a Jason Gregor hair-do (at least it’ll grow back by the time the season is over April 7), what’s left of his hair dyed pink or with the flow intact. I’d just like to see Jones, whatever coif he’s sporting, looking and playing like Jones down the stretch.

Stuck at a dozen goals and with 21 points with that bagel and just two assists in the last 14, Jones has got to get back on track in the final 33 games if he’s going to match his 18 goals of last season, which seemed a lock at the start of January.

It’s not even the goals and assists I’m worried about with Jones, it’s his lack of effective crash, bang and chase that caught my attention before he began contemplating the fate of his hair before the break.

Jonesy, what you do with the flow is your call. I’m good with it no matter which way you go. Pink mohawk? Sure. The Lancaster? Why not? Frosted tips like Petr Sykora? If you must. When you’re done with the do, consider this: go to the paint, raise some hell, bank one in off somebody’s backside, skate or whatever. Get back to what you are and what you do, no matter what you look like.

And bring Ryan Smyth with you.

— Occasionally (in the few minutes each day when I’m not writing about or reading Hemsky trade rumors), I come across a photo on the internet that makes me laugh out loud. The Canucks diving team one above, scalped from Facebook, is one of those.

— While there was some consternation over the state of the separated shoulder that’s kept Nugent-Hopkins out the last month when he didn’t skate with the Oilers today, it turns out he’s got the flu. It’s enough, though, that he’ll miss the games against Colorado Tuesday and Chicago Thursday. He still hasn’t taken contact and he’ll need to pass that test before he gets a look.

— I had some fun watching Gregor take a twirl on the blades in a charity ringette game against the U of A Pandas at WEM Sunday. I hadn’t seen him play before. The guy has some wheels. Not like retired tough guy Georges Laraque, who waxed the best skater on the Pandas in a race (despite tipping the scales at 300 pounds these days), but Gregor gets around just fine.

— Not hockey related, but who the hell are these homeowners from Virginia who have saved thousands on their mortgages and paid off their homes early we’re seeing in ads at sites around the internet? They look like they live in dumpsters, not houses. Am I missing something?