Another Monday has arrived to ruin your practice retirement and that means it’s time to waste company time until next weekend rolls around. With that in mind, the mailbag is here to help you kill off a few minutes of your day and maybe, just maybe, help you learn a little something. If you’d like to join in the fun and ask a question, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or hit me up on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk. Now sit back, relax, and waste as many work hours as possible. Have a good week, everybody.

I am most curious about the scouting and procurement aspect of hockey. For instance, the tactic of drafting so many defenders in the 2015-17 drafts. Is that to set up trades from depth? Why is that preferable to drafting centres? I’d also like to know the thinking that goes into a pick like Matt Cairns. He played in a tier two league in draft season, how much does the club factor that in? Lots on procurement, college too.

Many things… right now the top would be strategy to develop young players. In the next five years the Oilers will have to develop some solid complementary players with small cap hits.

Was lucky enough to have that kind of time many times over the years in my old gig. I was most interested in those kinds of situations in exploring the thinking that went into different aspects of the game — evaluating players, building a roster, chosen styles of play and systems. Off the record conversations, like you had, almost always provide the most insight.

I guess I would like to spend as much time as possible trying to understand their processes for player evaluation both amateur and professional. It would be interesting to see how much weight they give different aspects of the game and everyone would be a little different.

I think I would just want to hear some behind-the-scenes dirt, like how many offers/thoughts does the team go through about trades and signing that the public never hears about? ALSO, I’d love to hear all of their sincere thoughts about Taylor Hall of course.

I’d like to sit next to Peter Chiarelli and ask him how awkward it is in meetings when he systematically rids the team of every move Craig MacTavish ever made as the GM. If he spilled the beans, thems would be some tasty beans.

I’ll go with Jesse Puljujarvi. He struggled a year ago but has substantial talent and it is vital for the organization to have him succeed. I think he’ll get a gigantic push and emerge as a bona fide player.

Caggiula. He should have a much better start to the season. He has experience. He won’t have to miss the first 18 games, then be asked to play a position he isn’t used to in the toughest league in the world.

Don’t see a breakout like you cite with Maroon because he was an established NHL player, but I think Jesse Puljujarvi makes the step to full-time NHL player.

Most likely for a breakout is probably Puljujarvi. He has the talent and all the physical traits needed to be a beast. Let’s see if it happens for him.

Nu.. Nuge? I hope. I really hope. Otherwise i am expecting a lot from Jesse Puljujarvi this year. I may be jumping the gun but I really hope/think that all of his expectations will come to fruition this year and he’ll be playing in our top six come playoff time.

Jesse Puljujarvi is going to be better, Caggiula will be too. If I’m going off the board I wonder what Anton Slepyshev will do with a full year on the big team. He seemed to get better and better as the playoffs went on and I hope he can keep that rolling into next year.

I would prefer max term with Leon. I would go eight times $8 million, maybe a little more. Why? Cost certainty. I like the idea of having the top talent together for more than a decade, locked up. Easier to project the rest of the roster.

I’m a big believer in Draisaitl and I’d rather do a six-eight year deal today at $7.5 million than sign a two-year deal and then in two years be faced with the possibility of a $9 to $10 million max contract.

Depends on the ask for a max term deal. I’m not giving Draisaitl a max term deal with an AAV over $7-$7.5 million.

I wouldn’t pay him a number that starts any higher than a 7. If that means it’s a bridge deal then so be it. If that locks him up to a longer term, I’m good with that. I think he can deliver on McDavid’s wing for the length of any contract they can sign, but I don’t know what he can do on his own.

Definite bridge deal. I doubt it would ever happen, but if we get him a good enough deal for three years, he will still be RFA status by the end of it which will put us in a much better position than signing him 8 years right off the hop.

I like the idea of a bridge deal because there are still unknowns about Draisaitl’s game. That said, the dude keeps proving everyone wrong and I’d like to see him get locked up for the eight-year max. If he comes in at $8 million or less then this contract could be a steal. That said, I’m a dreamer and getting him locked in at $8 million or under is likely a pipe dream at this point.

I can see him as LW on a 3line with Jesse Puljujarvi on the RW, maybe with Nuge or Ryan Strome in the middle.

I suspect he starts on the third line, but he will see some time on all three top lines this season.

I think Jokinen slots in on LW on the third or fourth line. He has the offensive ability to play up from there now and again.

I think they try to play him on the 3rd line to start the training camp but before opening night he plays his way onto the second line. Throughout the course of the season, he will play on the top three lines and various sides because he’s a utility player smart enough to fit anywhere for the short term. Even with McDavid occasionally.

Willis had a good take last week about putting him on the third line with Puljujarvi and Strome. I really like this idea. I think it’s the best place for those three to start the season and get their bearings right. Then adjust them as the season continues.

I bet he moves all over the top 9. I’d bet that he gets times on both wings and also takes draws depending on who is out there with him. He’s a useful player when he’s healthy and I think he’ll be the team’s Swiss Army Knife for the 2017-18 season.

I can’t really speak to it beyond this has been true in sports legend for many years. Jari Kurri had Matti Hagman to help him through, perhaps this arrangement will work the same. It makes perfect sense on the surface, but I can’t speak to personal knowledge on the subject.

Comfort level in speaking Finnish in certain situations will help. Lucic never experienced moving across the world and living in a new county. Sekera has, and he could help, but he won’t be playing or traveling for the first few months, so he won’t be around as often. Also Jokinen can relate to learning how to play forward on the smaller ice surface. I think we all underestimate how difficult it is for young players to move across the world, away from their family, and adapt not only to the speed, skill and pace of the NHL, but also to life off the ice. It is much more difficult to feel comfortable off the ice than it is to feel comfortable off of it. And if a player feels better away from the rink it can translate to better play on the ice.

Value varies, but there is unquestionably value in having a countryman who speaks the same language and has made the transition the younger player is going through. That’s especially true for players who come directly from Europe compared to players who have spent some time in North America playing junior.

Because they can speak the same language. I heard that at times Puljujarvi was living alone last year, which strikes me as crazy for the youngest player in the NHL who also barely spoke English. Jokinen can be friend, mentor, and translator this year. That’s valuable. They may even find themselves on the same line for a while.

A TON! We read a whole bunch last year about how Jesse’s biggest disadvantage and issues in the NHL was his lack of English. PoolParty and Jokinen will become best friends and Jussi will teach him the ropes. I can totally understand why Chia pushed specifically for Jokinen because I think it makes a big difference for Jesse’s development.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot and spending two+ years in other countries made me appreciate finding other travellers with similar backgrounds. For Puljujarvi, I absolutely know that it would be comforting to have a fellow Finn that’s been through all of this before to show him the ropes. Moving to another country where you don’t speak the language at such a young age is a lot harder than some people think, and having to perform in the best league on the planet is another stress on top of that.