Monday Mailbag – “Fans to blame for Justin Schultz?”

It’s time to put your chair back to a comfortable position, because we’ve got over 3300 words of wasted company time coming for you in this week’s mailbag. This week we talk booing players, trade deadline, and Dennis Wideman’s suspension. As always, I need your questions to make this work. If you’ve got one, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or hit me up on Twitter (@jsbmbaggedmilk) and I’ll get to you as soon as we can. Now go ahead and learn something.

I didn’t see it as blaming the fans at all. Have you been booed by thousands of people? I haven’t, but I’m sure it doesn’t feel great and it only adds to negative feelings and thoughts in your game. Poti had a successful career after leaving Edmonton and for him a change of scenery helped. Will it help Schultz? It won’t hurt, because his situation has become toxic. 

Of course, he needs to shoulder much of the blame, but I’ve never believed booing a player helps. Tom Poti and Jason Arnott were booed out of town by supposed “smart fans”. Poti had a solid career after Edmonton, while Arnott had a great career and was a key piece in New Jersey’s Stanley Cup run. They weren’t as bad as those who booed them thought they were. Schultz has not played well, no debating that, but booing him when he touches the puck is pointless in my eyes. I doubt Schultz goes on to be as good as Poti, but I won’t be surprised if he plays better in a new situation. He needs to be more accountable, but he also won’t have the pressure of living up to an overpriced contract. I never took Barnes’ article or Poti’s comments as blaming the fans for his or Schultz’s struggles.

I didn’t see any quote in the item you cite where Poti said the fans were being “too tough” on Schultz. He’s played lousy so the fans boo him. That’s part of the deal. Does it help? No, but that comes with the territory.

I do agree. Obviously Schultz had a huge part in making his own bed, but it seems like there was a certain point reached not that long ago where before the puck even dropped a large segment of fans were already blaming Schultz for one thing or another. It’s one thing to criticize a player when they have a bad game (or bad season, as it were) but I think it goes too far when fans are singling out ONE OF THEIR OWN PLAYERS and booing him mercilessly. It’s not Schultz’ fault that he was penciled in for a Norris after his rookie season. It’s not Schultz’ fault he’s been paid like a Norris winner since then. It’s not Schultz’ fault he’s been gifted top pairing minutes his entire career without any repercussions when he falters. And it’s not entirely on Schultz that the team is as bad as it is. He’s been frustrating to watch, no doubt, but it also doesn’t help when a guy with already low confidence gets crapped on NON-STOP. Like he seems to NEVER get credit when he does make a good play, or has a quiet game without many glaring errors. But rest assured the second he screws up EVERYONE will be hounding him.

At this point the rest of his career is a huge question mark, but I think regardless of where he goes he will be much better off.

Sticky wicket. I don’t boo, and can say that when he was a youngster, my son’s favorite player was Tom Poti. I took him to a game, the crowd booed Poti and he was very upset. I think fans can do whatever they want, but it does send messages in all directions and folks probably don’t think about it when doing so.

I think Schultz has NHL talent but his game has not developed away from the puck or in his own zone. I do think leaving here would be best for him. A fresh start with a new group will help.

If you pay to get into the building you’re allowed to boo if you want to. I just don’t think it does much when you’re booing your own players. Just because confidence isn’t quantifiable on a spreadsheet it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist, and getting booed by 16,000+ is going to rattle you regardless of how much money you make. 

He will make fewer mistakes. He will make better plays with the puck which will lead to more scoring chances. He will make better plays defensively which will lead to fewer chances against. His presence will allow others to not have to play over their heads. A true #1 Dman (which I’m not certain they can acquire) makes those around him better, simply by not having them have to play minutes they aren’t capable of playing.

People throw around terms like “No. 1” or “No. 2” defenseman all the time. Is there a difference? If there is, somebody please tell me what it is. Some guys are offensively dominant. Does that make them a No. 1? Some guys can play huge minutes and lock things down defensively. Is that a No. 1? The only time it’s obvious a guy is a “No.1” is if he’s dominant offensively and a killer in his own zone. Very rare. I tend to look at guys by pairing — 1st, 2nd or 3rd and how the guys in any particular pairing complement each other.

The biggest thing for me is he’ll help stop the madness that has been young Oiler defensemen (or any age Oiler defensemen, really) having to play way above their weight class. In an ideal world Darnell Nurse would have spent the majority of this season in the AHL learning the ropes of pro hockey, or at the very least playing sheltered minutes on the bottom pairing (and I contend this same thing is a major reason why Justin Schultz has imploded so spectacularly). But instead he’s been given major minutes and has struggled mightily at times. And we’ve seen the same thing with guys like Andrej Sekera and Jeff Petry, players who are much better suited to play on the second pairing, but due to poor roster building were thrown into the top pairing and did the best they could but were still out of their depth. And, I mean, someone who can make a tape to tape breakout pass to one of our forwards would be a pretty nice thing to have too!

When the Oilers had Chris Pronger, he cut the game in half. For 30 minutes, alongside a good not great defender like Jason Smith, fans could relax, enjoy themselves, content in the knowledge that nothing bad would happen (unless it was a suspension for something Pronger did). That is what a 1D can do, cut the game in half.

This is the easiest question ever in the mailbox to answer. A #1 D-man pushes everyone down the lineup card. He creates easier matchups for young or developing players.He eats up 30 mins a night. He steadies the ship when the sea gets rocky.

*remembers Pronger* Do you remember the way he always seemed to slow down the game? The way he ALWAYS made tape to tape passes on the breakout as opposed to rimming it around the boards. Do you remember the way he was able to defend AND produce offense? That’s a #1 D-man. A guy you can count on to kill off half of the clock and make it look easy. There aren’t many of those guys around. 

Davidson’s stock has risen the most by far in my eyes. Don’t see him being moved. Klefbom hasn’t played enough to substantially progress, but his absence has been very noticeable. Leon Draisailt took a great step forward this year.

Lander might be traded, but I don’t see the need to buy him out. He’s had a terrible year, but players can rebound and his cap hit is so low you can send him to the minors at the start of the season if he doesn’t make the team. Schultz will be gone for sure. I believe Yakupov will be dealt as well. 

I never had high expectations of Reinhart. I didn’t expect him to play a major role this year. He is still young, and can improve, but he needs to show a willingness to put in the work in the summer to get stronger and improve his skating. He will also need to work hard at shedding the label of being a “soft player.” Players in the league think he is soft and they go after him.

Brandon Davidson is the story of the year as far as stock rising goes. He has exceeded every expectation. Gryba has delivered as a solid third-pairing guy. Schultz’s stock has fallen the most. He’s history. Yakupov and Lander are spare parts. I hope Kassian stays clean. He can move around in the top-nine if he does.

I don’t think anyone has raised their profile this year more than Brandon Davidson. THE OILERS FINALLY FOUND A USEFUL PLAYER OUTSIDE OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE DRAFT! Iiro The Hero has worked his way into a useful bottom six player. And I agree that Zack Kassian has obliterated what little expectations I had of him. I honestly can’t wait to see him hopefully play a full season for the Oilers next year which is something I NEVER thought I would say!

Lauri Korpikoski has basically been a disaster and that contract looks worse and worse every day. Yak needs a change of scenery worse than anyone other than Justin Schultz. And Mark Fayne doesn’t really do anything for me anymore.

Brandon Davidson has gone from fringe NHL player to pushing for top 4D minutes (and really, he is playing them now). Fantastic season. 

Anton Lander looked like a guy who could emerge as a real solution as a 4C, maybe push a little higher. He has spent much of the season as an afterthought.

There are many players who have struggled for the Oillers this year. I would like to see the team get more competitive up and down the lineup.When I hear the coach say there are issues with the “spirit” of the team I think he agrees with me. Changes are coming.

Davidson comma Brendon. This kid is an absolute beauty in every sense of the word. No one expected him to break the top six this year and he’s done that and more. He’s turned into a responsible defenseman amid the chaos that generally surrounds him. Pay the man. Pay him now.

Connor McDavid. I had high expectations of what he could do and he blows all of them away. He’s a special hockey player.

Not sure how pushing someone would equate to “criminal law.” You want someone to be put in jail for pushing someone down. There are much bigger issues in the world to worry about in my eyes, than whether or not a NHL player should be charged in criminal court for pushing a linesman.

No idea what you’re asking.

What happened with Wideman was a crappy incident, no doubt, but in my opinion it falls within the bounds of things that happen during a hockey game. On a 200 by 85 foot sheet of ice surrounded by boards and glass people are going to end up running into each other from time to time. I also still don’t believe Wideman had intent to clobber the linesman. It was reckless and dangerous, but still more of an accident than a malicious assault. Hockey is obviously a brutal, violent sport at times, and I think a clear line is drawn when something falls well beyond what we consider acceptable hockey violence. If Wideman had stomped on the refs head with his skate, then yeah we’re most definitely getting the police involved. When Chara brutally crushed Pacioretty against the stanchion? Leave that punishment to the department of player safety.

Once you are on the ice, the rules are hockey rules. There is risk for all, including Wideman. His actions, while possibly explained by a concussion, had to be addressed harshly, and were in fact addressed in that way. I have no quarrel with it, and remember well the silliness of charging hockey players criminally back to Dan Maloney in the 1970s. It becomes a circus.

I hope it never does.

I’ve been wandering the alleys murdering people for centuries and have always got away with it because I called it a sport. Hunting man is the most dangerous sport of all. 

I don’t recall Eakins calling out his team. He defended them, which most coaches do, but if Eakins would have said the exact same thing McLellan said I doubt people would have objected. I do believe people tend to listen more when an experienced person (in any job) speaks up compared to an inexperienced one.

Yes it does, and it should. Todd McLellan arrived in Edmonton with 311 NHL wins on his resume. Eakins arrived with none and strutted around like he’d invented the game from the moment he arrived.

I think one of the biggest differences, and Gregor has pointed this out multiple times, is that McLellan will explain things to the media. Why he did this, why the team tried this strategy, why the lines were like this, etc. Whereas a lot of times Dallas Eakins answers were more along the lines of “because I’m the coach and this is what we’re doing and I don’t need to explain myself”, which obviously came across much more condescending. I also think Dallas Eakins kind of came in with a little too much gusto for a guy who had never been an NHL head coach before. At least McLellan has a track record of success to back up his decisions. Though I also think if Eakins’ Oilers had been close to a playoff spot his first year he would have gotten a little more rope, but that’s a story for another mailbag.

Yes. I think McLellan’s reputation—and his presentation—give him extra leeway in this area. I also think he is a more relaxed human being and that impacts reaction, too. Eakins had no NHL background, and his confident approach rubbed some the wrong way. Eakins is blunt. I like blunt, but many do not.

Two reasons: 1) It is the way Todd does it. He doesn’t try to write a novel.He just says what he is thinking instead of speaking like he just won an Oscar. 2) He has credibility as a longtime NHL coach.

I love Todd McLellan. He really does tell it like it is and I appreciate it. That’s not to say that Dallas Eakins didn’t speak his mind, but with McLellan you have a guy with a tonne of experience backing his words. To put it another way, it would be like taking business advice from Chris the Intern as opposed to Wanye or the Squire. It’s just different.