Monday Mailbag – Biggest surprises of the season

My friends, another Monday is upon us and you’re stuck at work, looking for things to kill time until it’s time to go. I know, I get it. Luckily, I’m here to help. I mean, there are things to be happy about even though it’s Monday. The Oilers have won their last three games, Connor McDavid is hot fire, McNuge is a thing, and we’re a day closer to the 10th Anniversary Party. Add in this here Mailbag and you have the makings of a fine Monday morning if you ask me. As always, I need questions. Send them to me. Do it now. Thank you.

Oilers special teams being combined worst in the NHL. It ruined their season. Regardless of what the PK and PP does the rest of the season, it was terrible when it mattered.

How the team has under-achieved despite getting another stellar season from Connor McDavid. I never anticipated special teams being so inept as they have been the vast majority of the season.

I guess the biggest surprise, overall, was that the team never “went for it” after going two rounds deep in the playoffs a year ago, having cap space, and with McDavid on the final year of his ELC. It just never made sense to downgrade up front and settle for what wasn’t good enough at D.

The Oilers’ place in the standings. I think most thought they’d still be in the playoffs even with a step back.

Obviously, my biggest surprise is how bad the season turned out for us. Other than that I’m going to go with Cam Talbot’s play. I was really counting on him having a solid year and continuing his hot play this season but we just never got that from him. I still love him and absolutely don’t blame the season on him because we have a million other problems in front of him, but it was definitely surprising. I’m convinced he will have a great bounce-back year next season.

I’m going to try to be positive in this Mailbag so I’m going to go with JJ Khaira as being my biggest surprise. The dude came out of nowhere to put up 11 goals, became a destroyer of men, and seems to get better as the season goes on. Khaira has been a great story all season long.

He had an off-year, no question, but if he rebounds next season I’m sure they would look at re-signing him. They don’t have a young goalie banging down the door to take the starter role. I do think this season likely cost him some term and dollars when he becomes a free agent. He will be 32 when his new contract begins and he will need a solid season next year to get a raise.

Of course it has. Goal is a position you have to absolutely be able to count on and Cam has been far too inconsistent. That doesn’t mean he can’t be the guy, but he has to establish that’s the case all over again.

I hope it has lowered the cost of his next contract. I think he’ll bounce back and be fine. I’m willing to bet a completely natural (but insanely disruptive) change to his home life is to blame for his performance early in this season.

I’d always be wary of extending a goaltender into their mid-thirties. I don’t think it’s a slam dunk anymore, but I could see him returning on a shorter-term deal. I’d still look for a younger option that could start 20-30 games next season and possibly supplant Talbot the year after.

I honestly don’t think so. I just want to chalk this season down as a write off in all aspects. Cam Talbot will bounce back next season and all will be good again. I don’t have any blame towards him this season and am not worried at all about his future with us.

Nah, he’ll be fine. This year reminded me of an extended version of his first 10-15 games after he got here. There were high expectations and it took him a while to regain his composure and learn to manage them. This year, the stakes were even higher and the wheels fell off for almost everybody aside from the centre trio up front and a couple of the boys on the back end.

Those clowns said nothing. McDavid wasn’t fazed at all by it. Everything gets blown out of proportion nowadays. Those losers wanted some attention and they got it. That will have no bearing on a player signing here. The fact the organization has missed the playoffs in 11 of 12 years is much more of a hurdle to overcome than some lame ass attempt at chirping.

They’re losers. McDavid laughed it off and we should be done with it as well. You get clowns like those buffoons in every city. It does not reflect the fan base here and players are smart enough to know that.

I think people here are afraid of everything that could keep good players from coming here the same way dogs are afraid of fireworks. The reality is that the biting cold and the inept management will harm Edmonton’s reputation much more. People are stupid and that’s true in every city. Philadelphia booed Santa Claus, and they still sign players.

I doubt it. There are idiots everywhere.

Honestly, I feel like this happens in all cities with all sorts of players. That’s my hunch anyways. This was the unfortunate time where these clowns video taped it. If this was true, the fact that we have Connor McDavid, in general, would trump any reason NOT to come to Edmonton.

I wrote about it. They were just dickheads being dickheads and the McDavids handled it like the champions they are. The next day, Connor laughed about it and I love that response from him. Dude has $100 million reasons not to give two shits about what those guys think.

I don’t think they have to be honest. They drafted Vesel, and many teams draft NCAA players. I don’t see Oiles signing Vesel to an NHL deal. I could see them signing him to an AHL-only deal, but I’d be surprised if he takes up a spot on the 50-man roster. Signing, or trading for NCAA players gets you players who cost very little and gives the organization some depth, and if the team actually continues to draft well, since 2015 it has been good, then they won’t need to sign players like Larkin, since they would have many prospects available to fill out their AHL rosters.

I don’t see more focus on it. It ebbs and flows based on what the scouts out on the road see in terms of talent that might be. Generally speaking, though, teams do get players further along in development and more mature, as you mention.

I support finding as many college players as your system can handle because they are free prospects that cost nothing more than a contract spot. In the case of Caggiula, I would probably have a different view of him if the Oilers were trying to develop him instead of gifting him NHL ice.

I’m surprised Larkin managed to get an NHL contract. NCAA free agents are a bit overrated. Caggiula was the star free agent a couple summers ago and I don’t consider him an impact NHL player. You can find useful players, but they usually arrive quickly because they are older. Chris Tanev, Troy Stecher, Zach Hyman, Alex Kerfoot, and Will Butcher are all good NHL players, though the latter three were drafted but opted to sign elsewhere.

That’s exactly it. College players will likely merge into the lineup quicker instead of having to wait for a draft pick to develop.

With a few extra seasons of flavouring on a developing player, you have a better idea of what you’re going to get from them. I get it. If there’s a good one that’s unsigned then go out there and get him. Recruit, sell, send them the Dany Heatley DVD.

Cammalleri won’t be back. The Oilers will try to find a RD. I presume they bring in a veteran winger who can play in the top-six, but is on a short-term deal.

I’m not going to venture much of a guess until I see how the season plays out because I want to see how close some the players here now — like Pontus Aberg and Ethan Bear — are to filling roster needs. Still a need for a right D-man and an established winger.

If Peter Chiarelli is still here then one of RNH or Klefbom gets moved. Maybe even both. I don’t think he can help himself. I think we should be ready for more of this team to be dismantled.

I see them trading Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom in separate deals for a right-handed defenceman and a scoring winger. The free-agent winger market isn’t the greatest, but I could see a middle-six guy brought in too.

I’m actually expecting a big move on the back-end somehow. I’m not sure who we’re going to get but I am preparing myself to say goodbye to someone valuable to us like Klefbom.

I hate to say it but Chiarelli is probably going to do something dumb like move Nuge or Klefbom in favour of keeping a guy like Lucic. I mean honestly, tell me who is a better forward option for next year for this team — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Milan Lucic? How about two years from now? 24-year-old centreman, or 29-year-old gravel truck? There’s no debate, but will Peter Chiarelli see it that way or even be able to move Lucic even if he wanted to?

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