Monday Mailbag – Do We Care About World Cup Points?

Whether you’re killing company time or sitting on your couch in your Connor McDavid PJs, this week’s mailbag is here to help you kill off part of your Monday. Regardless of whether you’re killing company time, or killing time until it’s socially acceptable to drink – I don’t care – I’m just happy you’re here and for that I thank you. If you have a question for the mailbag, you can email me or hit me up on Twitter.  Until then, I present another edition of the Mailbag.

I’m a big fan of investing money in players during the primes of their careers. Gaudreau’s next contract is likely to cover that. However, my personal viewpoint is in line with standard NHL practice. It’s also out of sync with the collective bargaining agreement, which gives teams the most leverage early in a player’s career. So from a team perspective, I don’t think an $8MM contract to Gaudreau would actually be that damaging to the Flames, because he’ll probably be worth the money, but they’re probably better off playing hardball to knock that dollar figure down.

Gaudreau’s short career path to this contract involves less blacktop in the NHL because of his college time. He is a mature offensive player and certainly one of the best in the business. I imagine the comparables for Gaudreau are both a tad less in actual cap hit and less impressive at the same age. I think $8m seems high, but the final number will probably be closer to $7.5M.

Gaudreau has put up great numbers in his first two seasons. They have Monahan locked up long-term as well as Hamilton, and if they sign Gaudreau they will have their core moving forward. I’m sure they’d like it closer to $6.5 mill, but if they end up at $7.2-$7.5 million I think they will be fine. Even if they had to stretch it to $8 mill they’d be okay. Gaudreau is asking for $8 million but doesn’t mean he’ll get it. Often they settle for a bit lower.

He hasn’t even played enough games to be eligible for an RFA offer sheet so he has no bargaining power outside of refusing to play for the Flames. For that reason alone the Flames shouldn’t move an inch over their last reported offer. Gaudreau is a huge talent and will command big dollars. The best part for him is that the Flames can afford it and they have lots coming off the books next year.

No, that number is too high. This is a situation where the Flames need to hold the line not only for their team but for the other 29/30 across the league. The final number should be somewhere around $7 million when all said and done. He is a very talented player and will put up good numbers but anything starting with an eight is much too big.

Asking isn’t getting. Gaudreau is a terrific player. I suspect he’ll settle for the high-6s or low-7s as an AAV.

I’m not 100% in tune with the Flames cap situation but I feel like there’s no way you can give up a player like Johnny Hockey. The Flames dropped $7M on Jarome Iginla way back when so they should find a way to get 8M for Johnny.

This is a tough question. $8 million/season is a lot of cake but Johnny Gaudreau is pretty funkin’ good. If the market dictates that he in an $8 million player then the Flames will have to pay it, or sit him out. I can definitely see why they would want to play hardball a bit, though. That seems like a tonne of money for a guy that has only played a couple years in the show. That said, I think he’s worth it. 

It certainly seems like a first-rate building. To be honest, though, I just don’t have strong feelings about hockey arenas. As long as the ice surface is decent, the scoreboard is modern and I have a clear line of sight, the rest just doesn’t matter much to me.

I have not attended yet, plan to go soon (my daughter wants to see it with me). From the sounds of things, it is fantastic, can understand why so much pride has been expressed by those involved.

It was what I expected. A wonderful facility. The drink rail sight line is unfortunate, but not catastrophic because they will fix it. They can put in some risers. Anyone who has built a new house, even one worth millions, has seen a few oversights after the build is done. The risers can fix the problem. I’m sure there might be a few more in the coming weeks.

I haven’t seen it since I’m on vacation in California and have been since it opened to the public. I will probably get there for an Oil Kings game. My impression so far is that the building looks gorgeous and the reaction to the building has been a weird influx of think pieces that should have been written like five years ago. Let’s see what it’s like on game days downtown. Then I’ll know more. 

Awesome. I have been through quite a bit and I was very impressed. I love how they did not cheap out on anything. Edmonton was only going to get one shot at this and they killed it. When I look at the arena down in Phoenix they cut corners and it looks cheap. This arena in our city is now the standard.

It’s spectacular from everything I’ve seen online. Haven’t been inside yet, but intend to go as soon as time permits. The drink rail seating miss is already being addressed.

Rogers Place is as extraordinary as everyone said it would be. The concourse is giant, you’re able to see the ice while getting a beer, and the “nosebleeds” shouldn’t even be considered nosebleed seats. I’m a little surprised with the seating mess cause when we were there it didn’t seem like it would be an issue. Apparently, Rogers Place claims they are working on the issue. I’m not entirely sure how they will fix it but I hope they do in time!

I wrote about my walk through last week, but for the sake of this mailbag, I thought it was amazing. The place is beautiful, and I’m happy that the thing is finally built and (almost) ready for action. The place is beautiful and I’m excited to watch games there.

It’s a short event, it’s a weird format with varying degrees of competition on a game-by-game basis, the teammates and coaches are all new. It isn’t at all representative of NHL gameplay. Because of that, I don’t put any particular weight on a player “struggling” at the tourney. On the other hand, if a player stands out under those unique conditions, it’s certainly to his credit.

None. Zero. Zippo. Nadda. This is still pre-training camp for these guys and a short tournament gives very little in terms of reliable indicators.

None really. It is a three-game tourney for four teams, four games for another two and then two who can max out at seven. There will be some skilled players who don’t put up numbers they are used to because not everyone can score and all the players are skilled. Ideally, you don’t want it to happen to a player on the NHL team you cheer for because these guys are all used to scoring. They want to score and confidence is a big thing, but for most of them they avoid lengthy slumps so I doubt it would carry over to the NHL regular season.

It’s a short tournament, sometimes people get hot and sometimes they run cold. I assume the questions is being asked because (right now) McDavid doesn’t have any points.  Not worried at all. The kid is creating so many opportunities that guys like Eichel are wasting. Scoring chances are there so why worry?

It is a very short tourney where it can be hard to produce. If a guy gets into a week slump he doesn’t put up points and the tourney is over before he can turn it around. That being said I do like to see who produces, who gets points by playing well. There are a lot of good players rolling around on the ice so we can see how a player stacks up under pressure situations.

No. Why? If McDavid doesn’t light it up, is he a bad player? Short tournament.

Yes and no. I wouldn’t criticize someone for not scoring many points as it is technically “training camp” and they should come into the season feeling better than most players anyways. But at the same time if someone lights it up, I will definitely take notice and be impressed.

If I were you I wouldn’t even look at the team stats in a tournament like this. Put it this way, if Connor finished the tournament with zero points would you write him off? Of course not. Points totals in short tournaments like this mean nothing. 

I’ve always been skeptical when the league talks about further regulating goaltender equipment. I’m sad to see that skepticism is once again totally warranted.

Someone in the goalie union holds a lot of power. What position did Bettman play?

There will be changes to the goalie pants. The chest and arms were supposed to be switched, but it will either happen mid-season or next year. It’s another example of shoddy leadership by the NHL. They told manufacturers they wanted more slim line pants but didn’t give them specific details. No two manufacturers are the same so they couldn’t do anything until the NHL gave specific measurements.

I thought I saw the pants were getting changed to start the year. I bet the other equipment waits until after the All-Star break if it ever happens this season. Probably won’t happen. The goalie union is a joke. There is no reason we can send a chimp to the moon but we can’t make goalies safer than ever but wearing smaller equipment. No reason.

I have been saying for a long time that goalie equipment is way too big. These guys are long and very skinny. When they get on the ice with their gear they look three times bigger than normal. The pants are way too big. It looks like they are wearing a barrel. Same with the shoulder pads and gloves. Cut those bad boys down!

Seemed like lots of time to get this done to me, but apparently not. I’d rather see changes brought in during the off-season than any mid-season adjustments. Don’t know how that will play out.

I’m not a HUGE fan of the goalie equipment fiasco anyways. The fact that the NHL was completely unprepared with their promises to implement it this season makes me even more unimpressed. I believe Jason Gregor reported that pants will be adjusted for this season, nothing else. If the NHL is going to follow through with it, and hopefully they will get their act together for next season and stop dragging this thing out. 

What a gong show, right? I don’t understand how this is taking so long if the league plans on changing the equipment. Personally, I think defensive systems are way more to blame for the drop in goal scoring than the goalies and all of this modification business is like putting a band-aid over a surgical wound. If the NHL really wants goal scoring to go up then make it a rule that goalies can no longer be taller than Darren Pang. That should get the red lights going again.

Private Eyes, obviously. *clap clap* You don’t mess with a classic. *clap clap*

Kick out the Jams by MC5.

I would play Chop Suey by System Of A Down. The first 45 seconds would be great intro music to skate out to, then I’d mix it with Blur Song 2…

Guns N Roses: Nightrain. Why? Because it’s a badass rock n roll song, that’s why.

Youth gone wild. Skid Row. Boom.

I still like the early instrumental bits of You Could be Mine by G&R for that. Lots of good stuff out there when you take the right snippets.

Definitely ‘Let Me Clear My Throat’, from DJ Kool. I’ve always liked it as a pump up song, and when the Sabres used it as Eichel’s goal song once I fell in love with the idea of using it in a hockey atmosphere.

I posted the song I’d use above. Invaders Must Die by the Prodigy fits on multiple levels. 

Are you involved with minor hockey? OilersNation, along with our partners at Vimy Edmonton and Donnan School, is looking to sponsor 15 Edmonton area minor hockey teams for the upcoming season. Each team will receive an OilersNation branded hard hat, t-shirts for the player of the game award, and sticker packages for all of the players. If you are interested in having us sponsor your minor hockey team you can apply by sending your team information (age, league, team name, and contact information) to info@oilersnation.com. Teams will be randomly selected for sponsorship so only one entry per team is required.

The deadline to enter your team into the draw will be Friday, September 23rd. Good luck!