Monday Mailbag – How will Ken Holland solve the hole at RW?

Happy Monday, Nation Citizens, and welcome to another fresh edition of the Mailbag to help get your week started and break down all things Edmonton Oilers. This week we’re looking at moving on from Kailer Yamamoto, VinnyDesharnais, the Heritage Classic, and a whole lot more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or hit me up on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk and I’ll get to you as soon as we can.

He could rebound and score 20, but he might not, and if he does, will he produce in the playoffs. Edmonton will construct their team with playoff success in mind. Yamamoto has three goals in 26 games in the past two playoffs. Can he be productive in the postseason at his size is the question they will be asking themselves.

Can’t pay an unproductive, undersized winger $3.1 million with the cap situation being what it is. His timing is bad. Can’t wait on him right now.

I think it’s fair to argue that, however, there were points in the season the future of Yamamoto’s health was uncertain. It’s best to get away from that whilst you can. Additionally, the Oilers are in a position to win and they need everyone contributing at a consistent rate. If Yamamoto was playing bottom six minutes I would say sure but the Oilers need someone more reliable to play on the 2nd line with Draisaitl.

I love Yamo’s hustle and I’m going to miss it if he does get moved, but the Oilers need more than they’ve got from him if they’re spending $3.1 million.

Scoring isn’t much of an issue for Edmonton. It would be nice to find a 20-goal RW, but they’d be better off finding a defensively reliable winger first. Connor Brown would be a good option, but I don’t’ see him signing a $1m contract with bonuses. Yes, he is coming off an injury, but he also made $3.6m last year. I sense he could get a guaranteed AAV. Maybe he will sign for $1m plus bonuses, but I’d be a bit surprised.

Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Fast are other options. They could look at Corey Perry, although I don’t see him as a top-six forward now, and another cheap option who has scored 16 goals before is Vinnie Hinostroza if they are looking for a cheap AAV who could score 12-15 goals.

Puljujarvi wasn’t part of any answer. The Oilers will likely be light on scoring from the right side, but that doesn’t mean other forwards can’t contribute. Scoring, or lack of it from RW, hasn’t been the problem.

He needs to be creative. Moving Yamamoto and Foegele is the best option because then you free up around $5 million. Your left side is still strong with Klim Kostin and Dylan Holloway holding it down in the bottom six. A player I would be targeting is Travis Konecny.

I’m also curious about how this is going to go. Fascinating situation given the general lack of available dollars to do something about the problem.

I’m a big fan of Desharnais. As is often the case, people focus too much on one bad game and overlook how he played in games 2-6 vs. Vegas. He was solid. His size is a big advantage, and he’s a defensive-minded defender. He plans to spend a lot of time working on his puck skills this off-season and that should make him more valuable next year. He’s a lock for me to be in the starting lineup on RD.

Yes as to being in the line-up on the right side. No as to whether he’s a second or third pairing guy. He’s still making the transition to being a full-time NHL defenceman. Despite his age, he’s only played 36 regular season games in the NHL.

I think it’s fair to assume he will be on the team next season. A summer of knowing you’re in the NHL next season will help Vinny out a lot.

He’ll he there. The Oilers need him to be at that dollar amount.

It is still awesome for me. It doesn’t happen in Edmonton all the time, or most cities. Many fans who go this year will be experiencing it for the first time. I love them for the home fans and hope every fanbase gets a chance to host an outdoor game.

There’s been 36 outdoor games since the first one here in November of  2003, so it’s not the spectacle it once was. If fans like it and attend, it’s fine by me. The novelty wore off long ago.

Agreed, the “special” part does seem to be fading away. However, I do think it’s a cooler event when your team actually plays in one. This will be the 1st NHL event hosted by Edmonton in the Connor McDavid era, which should mean something. Also, a lot of the stuff that makes it special comes off the ice for the fans, so I am excited to see what Edmonton can do.

I generally don’t care about these things unless the Oilers are in them. I was lucky enough to be at the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg and you can be damned sure that I’ll be at Commonwealth in October.

He isn’t getting qualified. He wasn’t going to be before he was traded. I don’t see him getting more than $1m from any team. Where he signs is a good question. If I was him, I’d sign with a  non-competitive team where I’d have more chance to play. I’d call Chicago first if I was him. It isn’t out of the question to suggest he signs in Finland.

Unlikely? There’s zero chance, none, he gets qualified at $3 million. I think he’ll play back home next season, likely with Karpat. Good luck to him.

Is it unfair to say he goes back to Finland next season? If not then 900k with the Arizona Coyotes.

Nah, it’s not happening. I do like Gregor’s idea of hitting up Chicago, though, because they need NHL players.

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