Monday Mailbag – Is it time for the Oilers to trade the first round draft pick?

Happy Monday, Nation, and welcome to a brand new Mailbag to help you get your week started and break down what’s happening with the Edmonton Oilers. This week, we’re looking at Jay Woodcroft’s extension, the atmosphere at Rogers Place, roster upgrades, and a whole lot more. If you’ve got 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.

Not a surprise at all. No reason not to bring Woodcroft back. He had 2^nd best P% in NHL since he was hired and won two playoff rounds. I wouldn’t have looked elsewhere.

Any surprise? No. If 26-9-3 and .724 doesn’t get you a new deal, what does?

It would be a pretty bad look on the organization if the guy who led them to a mid-season turnaround and deep playoff run was cast aside and replaced with yet another name from the omnipresent game of veteran coach musical chairs. Woodcroft did more than enough to earn himself the gig here.

Absolutely not surprised. Woodcroft crushed his chance to win the job, and I’m happy to see the Oilers give him a three-year deal.

I don’t see Oilers being a big player in free agency as they don’t have much cap space unless Duncan Keith surprises us and retires. I think trades are more likely at this point. Kane’s arbitration delay could limit the number of teams who sign him, as some won’t wait. I still wouldn’t give Kane any term longer than three years, ideally two.

Unless there have already been “informal” discussions about what contract might keep Kane here and the numbers add up for both sides, it makes no sense to wait.

The Oilers don’t have the salary cap room to be aggressive in free agency so they’re fine to wait and see if Kane eventually winds up re-signing at a number that works for them.

This Kane thing is going to be wild to watch. Who knows what his arbitration result will look like and that’s what makes this whole situation weird from the the jump.

Teams can’t create the atmosphere. The best ones are organic and started by fans. The Oilers did nothing special that made the crowd more involved or boisterous in the playoffs. It is up the crowd. You will need a select group of fans who start cheers/chants and that is the only way the regular season atmosphere will improve.

I’m probably not the right demo for this question. I don’t care about playlists, the obligatory boom box bumpa-thumpa in most rinks and the need to have some form of noise during every play stoppage. Win games, play entertaining hockey even when you lose, provide good food and beverage service and value for the dollar in those areas and you’re on your way.

I really liked that the Avs turned into some kind of 2000s karaoke during their playoff run. Playing classic sing-along songs rather than aggressively intense EDM music might be good for the vibe of the crowd at Oilers games.

I want more of the bumpa-thumpa Brownlee was talking about. Bumpa-thumpa for everybody, I say.

They need to improve their size and speed on the blueline.

A lot of teams look slow compared to Colorado. Speed is always a useful upgrade. No difference here. They need an upgrade in goal. They need the kind of numbers from Jesse Puljujarvi that actually show up on the score sheet. They need an encore from Zach Hyman.

More scoring when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aren’t on the ice, a blueline that’s more mobile, and more consistent goaltending.

I’d love to see an upgrade on defence, but I think every team would probably say that. The time is now, and Ken Holland needs to find a way to make this team better.

I’m curious how you can say players aren’t that appealing? Have you watched them regularly? Craig Button has Connor Geekie ranked 29th on his list. He is 6’3”, 195-pound centreman who scored 24 goals and 70 points in 63 games as a 17-year-old in the WHL. Virtual identical stats that Ryan McLeod had (and McLeod was a year older). To be drafted in the first round means you are one of the best 32 players in your age group in the world at the time. That is impressive. Suggesting none are appealing is rather insulting IMO.

The truth is the scouts who spend hours watching these players won’t know for certain how well they will transfer to the NHL. But whether it is Geekie, Noah Ostlund, Jimmy Snuggerud, Jagger Firkus, Gleb Trikozov, Calle Odelius Tristan Luneau, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Chelsey or other players ranked around there all of them have potential and are appealing.

Based on the recent past draft history for the Oilers, I think they will look for a scoring forward or a D-man who can skate, has good puck skills, and has size. I do not see them trading Broberg because they draft a D-man 29th overall. The draft pick won’t be helping them for a few seasons at least, while they feel Broberg is NHL ready now.

No idea. His ranking varies depending on what service or outlet you’re looking at. I don’t know the kid. Are you really talking about trading Broberg as part of a “big deal” based on what Chesley might be? He’s outside the first round on some lists. I don’t know where the Oilers have him ranked.

The Oilers need cheap talent constantly coming through their system and the first-round pick is their only pick in the top 100 this year so it won’t be moved unless it’s to move down and stockpile more draft picks. I’m sure Ken Holland will entertain the 2023 first-round pick in trade talks, whether that happens in the off-season or around the trade deadline is hard to say.

The Oilers don’t pick until the fifth round after 29th overall so if Holland is going to trade that pick, I’d bet it’ll be for more selections later in the draft. Book it.

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