Monday Mailbag – May 25th

As per tradition around these parts, it’s time for another edition of the Mailbag.  It’s time to find a chair, grab some coffee, learn a few things and waste as much company time as you possible can. As always, this segment depends on you, so if you have a question you can email me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk. Without further delay – the Mailbag. Enjoy.

I don’t think the new coach/management will change it. I can see Ference stepping forward to pass it along. The obvious best bets are Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle. I’d like to see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins get it.

Eventually it’ll be McDavid, but could pit stop to one of the kids. Nuge is still so young, so might be best to keep it with a vet one more year. I think they’ll change from Ference but that might happen during the season.

I think Andrew Ference’s leadership qualities get unfairly lumped in with his bottom pairing skills. He’s been a great representative of the Oilers in the community, and has stood up in front of the media to answer for his teams failings the past two seasons. That being said I think it’s time to pass the torch to Nuge. He reminds me a lot of Joe Sakic; he goes out there, dominates, but half the time you barely notice him because he’s so calm and collected. And there’s just something about him that to me says he would be a good leader. I’m sure a lot of fans would give it to Taylor Hall, but he plays with a lot of emotion, which doesn’t always work well when you’re trying to discuss a horrible penalty call with the ref. 

Ask me this question again in like two years and I’ll 100% say McDavid though I bet! 

I really don’t know. By the nature of the position, most things a good captain does happen behind closed doors; I’ve written about this before but we’re awful at judging the abilities of a captain from afar. It’s logical to think a new regime might have different views than the old regime on who the best leader of the team is, but from this vantage point it’s hard to see any pressing reason to move on from Andrew Ference at this point in time.

McLellan just came from a situation where the captaincy was stripped off of a player, twice. He will know better than anyone how it impacts the room. I don’t think there will be a change right now. Maybe next off-season, but it likely would be where Ference hands it off rather than being stripped of it. RNH, Hall and possibly McDavid would be the options next summer.

Eakins made a mistake by naming a captain for the Oilers after a few weeks of being around the team. He did not know the players and having a captain was not a pressing need for the team. That is water under the bridge and we should look forward. I want to see who grows as a player and leader this season. The franchise is stable off the ice — who will stabilize the team on the ice?

Lets see if Andrew Ference is still there in the Fall. If he is then I doubt they make a change at C unless he gives it up. I don’t presume to know the inner workings of an NHL club, but I still think the group should choose their own captain. Secret ballot with “My captain Is _____” written on the paper. If choosing your own C was a good enough method to pick Jean Beliveau then it’s good enough for Edmonton’s next captain.

I still think Nuge would be a great choice for the next captain of this team. I’m going to assume they’ll probably give it to McDavid in a couple years, but Nuge quietly goes about his business and is already turning into one of the best two way centres in the league. That being said, I understand that McDavid changes everything, but that’s a story for another day. I think Ference should be able to retain in and pass it off when the time is right. 

Possible? Yes. Crosby is still in his prime and McDavid hasn’t played a game, so we’re getting way ahead of ourselves trying to project that far down the road.

McDavid makes many things possible. I’m hopeful we can hold on to reality when it comes to projecting his rookie season but that bird may already have flown. 

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! Everything that has happened so far this spring has made no sense to me (GOOD THINGS HAPPENING TO THE OILERS?) so why the hell not? I can realistically see a scenario in which Connor McDavid is a better player than Crosby, but I don’t know if he’ll ever match the heights of the Crosby mystique. I think enough time had passed since Gretzky and Lemieux were running the show, and since Eric Lindros’s career never quite met expectations, that the hype for Crosby was on another level. I’m roughly Sid’s age and I had never experienced anything like that before. And now, considering Crosby isn’t even 28 yet, and THE NEXT Crosby is already here? We’re being spoiled! But, again, yes, I can see him being even more successful as a player than Crosby! 

God, now all I’m thinking about is Connor McDavid winning every award every year and the Oilers winning another five cups. I’M TRYING TO TEMPER MY EXPECTATIONS HERE!!

Sure, it’s possible, though of course it may not happen. He’s a special player; it’s going to be fun to see what he turns into.

It is possible, yes. I don’t see him scoring 102 points as a rookie because the NHL is less offensive now than it was in 2006 coming out of the lockout, but McDavid will be able to play with Hall, a two-time top-10 scorer. In Crosby’s rookie season the second leading scorer was Sergei Gonchar with 58 points. Mark Recchi had 57 in 63 games but was traded to Carolina. It is difficult to compare players, but McDavid likely won’t be able to avoid the Crosby comparisons. He will be hard-pressed to go the Stanley Cup final in his third season and win it in his fourth like Crosby. I do think it is possible he is looked upon as “better” than Crosby, but it his overall value will vary from fan to fan or pundit to pundit.

Very difficult to compare. If he even gets close to approaching Sid the Oilers will be in great shape.

Anything is possible. Anything. I’ve only seen him play Junior games but he isn’t just good. He creates scoring chances on almost every shift. It’s incredible. I don’t know where his high end tops out. I keep giggling like an idiot when I think about it.

I guess it could happen, but I won’t be expecting it. Crosby registered 102 points in his rookie season in an era when absolutely anything was a penalty. McDavid won’t get that. I’m expecting Connor McDavid to be Connor McDavid. If he scores 65 points+ this year (I’d bet on the ‘plus’ but I’m being conservative) than I’d say he had a hell of a rookie season. After that? I’m buckling in and enjoying the ride. Who know where this kid could end up…

Again, everything about McDavid is spitballing right now. As good as McDavid is, he’s not going to go waltzing through opponents like he does in junior. His game will have to change somewhat. That said, he’ll need a puck retriever and a guy who can shoot it. I wouldn’t mind seeing him with Pouliot and Yakupov.

I’ll say Hall and Justin Williams. Hall for the high octane skill/speed and Williams for the two-way role. Williams not being on the club is a complication, however. 

All I’ve been picturing for weeks is McDavid and Yak flying up the ice at a million miles an hour, and Yak ripping off one timers at the speed of light after McDavid draws everyone on the ice around him like a forcefield! THEY ARE GONNA SCORE ALL THE GOALS! Then on their left, I don’t know, maybe Pouliot? Someone a little more defensively sound, and a veteran to help shepherd them along out there. 

That’s a tough question to answer based on the information we have right now. It may be important to leave the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins line as the Oilers’ feature offensive trio (thereby sheltering the McDavid line) in which case playing him with Benoit Pouliot and Nail Yakupov would be the logical move. It’s tempting to slot him between Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, but my guess is that leaves the Nugent-Hopkins’ line a little shy on firepower (particularly since Nugent-Hopkins and Yakupov haven’t meshed well together in the past.) A lot will depend on Yakupov; if he’s up to it the idea of running Yakupov, Hall and McDavid together as a 1A line and using last year’s top unit of Pouliot, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle as a 1B line has a lot of appeal.

Based on roster today. Hall and Purcell. Hall is easy decision, because 67/93/14 will be the other line. I’d put Purcell there now, because he is more of a veteran than Yakupov and more defensively sound. Ideally, Chiarelli finds a different option in the summer, but today that is who I’d play him with.

I want to see Hall and McDavid. The both like to carry the puck which could be an issue but let them work it out. They will need a bigger body on that line to create some space. That player is not on the Oilers unless you move Pouliot off of the Eberle and Nuge line.

Pouliot and Yak. Pouliot plays a simple North-South game and he keeps the puck moving in the right direction on the ice. Yak creates chances off the forecheck and has a bullet for a one timer. Equally as important, if Hall/RNH/Eberle are a line they are drawing the most attention from the defense leaving McDavid to draw lighter assignments.

Ideally I’d like to see him play with Yakupov (shooter) and someone more capable of two way hockey like Pouliot or Purcell. I could also see Chiarelli going out to get that kind of two way vet to play with McDavid. It’s been a crazy summer, man.

Those steps will depend on how the roster is filled out. Starting next season with the same team, plus McDavid, isn’t going to propel the Oilers up the standings. Until Chiarelli gets to work, goaltending and the blue line remain questions. Also, “acceptable” varies greatly with a fan base that’s been watching a loser for nine years. For me, a 20-point improvement would be acceptable.Team hasn’t been in the 80s for points since 2008-09.

I think 35 wins is a very fine goal. Edmonton finished 17-22-7 under Nelson, seems to me 35 wins is possible without being ridiculous.

I’m going to go with roughly what I said going into last season (and probably the season before that) but I think 6 to 8 points out of the playoffs would be an acceptable level of progress. In the mix for the most of the season but not quite a legit threat. That’s also predicated on Chiarelli getting one or two legit defensemen to start the season.

It really depends what happens over the summer. With some work on the defence and in net, a 50-goal improvement seems possible. Given how much ground there is to make up, a 25-goal improvement should probably be the minimum acceptable.

Playing consistent and shedding the “easy to play against” label. If they are an 85-90 point team I think that would be a major improvement.

7-10 wins. More than that would be an identity for the team. Figure out how they will play and have all players by into the system or move them out.

Any season where your team isn’t even close to the playoffs is a complete failure. Acceptable? Acceptable is at least challenging for a playoff spot. Finishing >15 points out of the playoffs would be a pathetic season again.

If we’re in the playoff mix (not even necessarily in a playoff spot) come February I will be absolutely thrilled. Yes, the bar is that low. 

It was March 7 of 2008. Items at Oilersnation regularly attracted fewer than 10 comments back then. My first post, just a welcome aboard introduction, drew all of nine responses. I wrote 33 pieces March 7-30. Oilersnation is much bigger now and I write far less. Coincidence? I think not.

It was probably about Marc Pouliot becoming a dominant force and winning all the things.

Apparently it’s been scrubbed from the internet forever, but it was just a welcome post when we first launched Jeanshorts And Baggedmilk. I don’t remember it verbatim, but it was a joke that I thought was hilarious at the time but now would get me banned from public office so it’s probably better it’s been lost to history.

I do, in fact; it’s here. The formatting on the table got trashed when it moved over from my old blogspot site. It holds up pretty well; for those who don’t want to wade through the whole thing read the last three paragraphs on Rob Schremp, who remains the most divisive Oilers prospect I’ve seen over my time as a writer.

It was an Oilers/Flames rookie game from Camrose, but I only know that because I looked it up.

I sure do. It was about playing in Montreal!

I remember that it was in the last lockout and I was bored. I was unhappy with what was going on and nobody was expressing how I felt so I just signed up for a WordPress account and wrote a post. It got maybe 15 page views that weren’t from me. It wasn’t in the question, but if you are thinking about writing a blog then do it. Nobody will read it at first and that’s cool. It only takes one person who likes your work for another opportunity to come along. 

I do. It was a tribute to moustaches on the old JSBM site. Why? I honestly cannot tell you why. Here at OilersNation my first post was to cover the 2014 trade deadline.