Monday Mailbag – No Hamonic? Now what?

When I had a real job I hated doing anything remotely productive on Mondays mornings. Generally, Miss Milk and yours truly use Sundays as an opportunity to drink various alcohols under the guise of Sunday Funday. I’ll admit that the rules for acceptable excuses for daytime binge drinking are a little bit loose at the Castle Milk but that’s beside the point. Regardless of what you do with your Sunday there is nothing worse than pretending to be productive at the office on Monday morning, and you have time to kill. As always, the Mailbag is here to help. It’s time to learn something.  

Hmmm. Loaded question! I read them all, so wouldn’t want to choose one over another. Instead, I will express my extreme disappointment that Joanne Ireland is no longer writing for the Edmonton Journal. Bring her back!

Mike Russo in Minnesota. Works his butt off. Breaks stories. Has built a reputation of being a straight-shooting and tough-but-fair writer around the NHL. Jim Matheson in Edmonton. Knows everybody and everything. Fair. Respected around the NHL.

Jim Matheson…always was and always will be! I like the way he delivers his news. Doesn’t kill anyone or build anyone up to much…just delivers his thoughts.

I’m going to pass on commenting locally; I work for Rogers and Postmedia so it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be picking favourites. Around the league there are a ton of good reporters that I rely on, but if I have to pick one name it would be my friend James Mirtle in Toronto. He’s smart and he works his butt off and both of those qualities show in his writing.

I respect many writers. I read over 25 regularly, so I can’t pick one who I enjoy the most. They vary in style and opinion which is great.

Obviously Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts is a weekly must-read. I’m not sure if he counts as a beat writer but I’ve grown to really enjoy a lot of what Ryan Lambert writes at Puck Daddy. And, again I don’t know if he qualifies as a beat writer, but Down Goes Brown has been one of my overall favourite internet reads for close to a decade now.

I like Mark Lazerus in Chicago. With everything that happened with Patrick Kane this season I believe he’s covered the team fairly and without compromising his own integrity with tone-deaf generic sports babble when what was really needed was more humanity and intelligence.

There’s a lot of guys that I like to read. Locally, I think Rob Tychkowski is hilarious. Matty and Jones are legends. Joanne Ireland was great and missed. I’m happy that Dan Barnes is covering the Oilers again, because he’s awesome. Friedman, McKenzie and must reads any time they post something. 

I am sure that is true, but am hesitant to guess exactly what might happen. Expansion rules have not been set, so guessing at this point is fruitless in my opinion. I will say it is folly for Peter Chiarelli to hesitate on improving his team in worrying about an expansion draft that is not an actual event at this time.

They’ll certainly have to be more selective in the UFA market because anybody they bring in will expose somebody else to the expansion draft. GMs should already be reluctant to had out no-movement clauses. There are far too many of them already.

That very well might be. I still don’t see how the NMC will need to be protected. That may change as we get closer to any possible draft. NMC contracts are hard to move. They don’t just happen for many reasons so no I don’t think we will see many of those deals get moved around this summer. If the players doesn’t want to move they don’t move.

There aren’t a lot of names in free agency really deserving of NMC’s, but I imagine anyone who is will end up on a protected list anyway so I doubt it’s going to impact those discussions much. I absolutely believe that an expansion draft will spur trades as teams try to position themselves in the best possible way.

I don’t see GMs being reluctant to hand out NMC. If they sign a UFA this summer to 4+ year deal, I would assume they believe in the player enough to have him among the top players on his team. I don’t see massive trades happening due to expansion draft. There will be a few deals for sure, but teams who are built to win the Cup, shouldn’t give away a player for prospects if it hurts their chances of winning. They should have enough depth to overcome the loss of one player.

I mean, who even knows if there will be an expansion draft next year. But even if there was one for certain I doubt it would really have that much of an affect. GMs should already be thinking twice about handing out all these NMC/NTCs due to the cap, so maybe this will help prevent non-franchise players from getting them as often as they do now. And GMs hardly ever make trades anymore as is, even those in dire need of turning their franchise around, so I can’t really foresee a scenario in which they start making trades because of a potential expansion draft. I think business will carry on as usual and teams will cross the expansion bridge if/when they come to it.

That’s tough to gauge because when I think something like not handing out NMCs should be automatic, there’s always that one team that somehow doesn’t get the memo. I would think the looming expansion draft only serves to make the 4th even more valuable. 

I hate NMCs regardless of the expansion draft. I think teams hand them out way too often and that the NHL should cap the number of no-trades that each team can have. Not to mention, if/when a player with a no-trade asks to be moved he completely handcuffs the GM by, sometimes, giving a list with only one or two teams on it. *cough* Marty St. Louis *cough* Ryan Kesler *cough* the list goes on. 

I would say Jason Demers because he is a free agent and does not cost assets for trade. After that, I really like Justin Faulk and Sami Vatanen among players who have been discussed as options. 

I like Justin Faulk a lot but not sure if Carolina will move him. Would take Jordan Eberle or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, plus, to get him. Was second on my list to Hamonic before he came off the table.

There are the usual favorites out there. Sami Vatenan and Justin Faulk. Maybe a D from the Jets, a right hander. It will be expensive. More than most be expect. Everyone know what the Oilers are after so they will hold out for max.

The thing with Hamonic is that not only was he the perfect target, but we felt sure he was available. It’s less clear which comparable player might be on the block this summer. Sami Vatanen is an obvious candidate but doesn’t fill all the needs Edmonton has. I’m going to go with Justin Faulk, with the caveat that in Carolina’s shoes I would be extremely reluctant to trade him.

Chiarelli has more than one big target. RD is his main target and players like Justin Faulk, Tyson Barrie, Sami Vatanen and others are on his list. For me, Faulk would be at the top of the list when I consider ability and contract.

I always had Shattenkirk higher on my list of wanted defensemen than Hamonic (though Hamonic REALLY impressed me in the playoffs) so I still hope Chiarelli makes an honest attempt at getting him. As for what I would trade I’d start with Yak and the 4th pick, and would be willing to bump that up to Eberle and the 4th (plus throw in whichever prospects/picks/bubble players you need to sweeten the pot) at the most.

Friedman believes Barrie in Colorado is very much in play. You have to think that he’s now very high on Edmonton’s list. I would also assume that Vatanen in Anaheim is someone of extreme interest to the Oilers. Hamonic was a perfect option because he was a top pairing guy no question. I know the two players I mentioned are both offensive defensemen who don’t bring the same elements as Hamonic, but Edm needs offense from the blue.

Much like my compadre Matt Henderson just mentioned, Tyson Barries might be available in Colorado. That kid puts up points that the Oilers desperately need from the blue line. Justin Faulk would be awesome but I can’t see why he would be available. Sami Vatanen has been mentioned a bunch of times.

I could honestly see a lefty+ for a righty between Edmonton and Winnipeg taking place this summer. The Jets have too many on the starboard size and the Oilers are the opposite. Could be a deal there.

Not sure, great question. I don’t recall a player saying it was a major deal in terms of development, although playing with great players has to be a thrill.

There is no continuation in terms of momentum, but they certainly can build chemistry and familiarity with each other.

100% yes. Those two players need to get that winning feeling in their systems. It becomes a habit. If I were a GM on a bottom tier team I would send as many of my players to the World Champs as possible.

I’m not qualified to comment on this; I’ve never played professional hockey. Having said that, my best guess would be that, as in other professions, a major event like the World Championships can absolutely benefit a player – it’s a new experience and a chance to learn from coaches and players outside the organization. However, again as in other professions, life is not like a romantic comedy: it tends to be made up of lots of little moments rather than grand events. One hopes the tourney has value for the players but don’t expect major changes from a single event.

Winning never hurts, but it is very difficult to transfer winning with Canada to winning on your NHL team. Hall won two Memorial Cups and MVPs before arriving in Edmonton. He won WC last year, but he doesn’t play defence in Edmonton, and until management provides better team depth McDavid and Hall’s success at the WC, won’t make the Oilers better. Hall and McDavid can learn things to help them individually, and maybe in small leadership aspects, but their success won’t magically make the Oilers blueline or bottom six better.

Yes and no. Obviously it’s nice for guys like Taylor Hall to get a break from the Oilers and go play for a team that compliments their skill level, and to remember what it’s like to actually win championships. And while I’ve always thought “learning how to be a champion” was an overblown narrative I can definitely see how playing with veterans who have had success in the NHL would be good for young guys like Hall and McDavid to carry with them going forward.

But by the time the season rolls around it’s back to business as usual. All the World Championship gold medals aren’t going to be of any help when your NHL team loses 20 of it’s first 25 games and are out of the playoffs by mid-December.

That’s tough to say. Hall had a good tournament a year ago then started the year hot, but he’s been good for years already. I believe players can learn better habits being around the best players in the game and seeing what they do to prepare. But, to be honest, I think McDavid is already one of the best players in the NHL, so I don’t know what Corey Perry is going to teach him. 

I don’t think they can carry anything from this tournament forward with them into the season apart from feeling good about actually winning some hockey games. I could see how even getting a small taste of winning could light a fire under a guy, but I don’t know how that would translate into games months down the road.

Hmm. I met Mark Messier a few times, notably in the lobby at CFRN TV just after he received his Black Porsche from Peter Pocklington (after winning the Stanley). I met John Candy at Commonwealth Stadium during an Eskimos game, he was so funny. I met Randy Bachman of  the Guess Who and BTO, such a gentleman. Those are the ones who come to mind.

Charlie Sheen and Joe Frazier — in the men’s washroom at Tyson-Bruno fight.

Mickey Rourke — riding his motorcycle in Los Angeles

LeBron James — in Cleveland during NHL lockout.

Ken Griffey Jr. — almost ran him over in my rental car at spring training.

Robin Brownlee… He convinced me that Herbal magic would change my life…..I don’t take it anymore.

Obviously the answer is Wanye Gretz. I could describe what he looks like, but I’m pretty sure he’d then be forced to kill me.

Depends on definition of meeting. Being introduced to and saying hello for 30 seconds is one thing, but having a real conversation is another. I’ve met Gretzky many times, but outside of interviewing him, I’ve never had a lengthy conversation with him.

When I was 19 I went to LA. I used my brothers ID and got in a club. It was the biggest club I’d ever been in. I was standing at the bar with my brother, he was 21 and he runs into some guys he played hockey with. They are chatting and their friend is Jennie Garth (90210). While they are reliving their hockey days Jennie starts talking to me. We chat for about ten minutes and then Shannon Doherty comes over and Jennie introduces us. We have casual conversation and a few drinks. I watched 90210 all the time. My hockey team used to practice on Mondays and we’d talk about the show. I was pumped I was chatting with them. It was great meeting them. You read all these stories about Doherty being abrupt and rude, but she was really nice and quite witty. For the first 45 minutes I didn’t mention their show, but after we had a few more drinks I did mention our team watched it. We talked briefly about the show, but mainly just had fun. Both of them were really nice.

I high-fived Connor McDavid at the Pint once, met the dudes from Good Charlotte while they were still relatively unknown, met Glen Healy (GIANT HEAD) and Mats Sundin at an outrageously expensive Vancouver seafood restaurant, had a shot with Andy Samberg while they were shooting Hot Rod back in the day, was in a fantasy hockey league with a bunch of Battlestar Galactica cast members, got wasted with some of the vampires from Twilight (#TeamEdward), worked with the guy who ended up writing Gran Torino and The Judge, got to chat with SMYTTY, and future star of BOTH forthcoming 50 Shades Of Grey sequels Eric Johnson was kind enough to join us on our podcast this past January. But I think out of all of them the most famous person I’ve ever met is Jason Gregor. HIS FACE IS ON BUSES!

I met Henry Rollins at the archaeological site of Ephesus in Turkey. We were on vacation. I was walking behind him with my wife and she recognized the tattoos on the back of his legs as I recognized his voice. We spoke for a few minutes. He was very nice. 

I’ve met a bunch of the current Oilers and interacted with them at various functions. I met Ryan Smyth. We interviewed Eric Johnson on the North x NorthGretz podcast and he might be blowing up into a massive movie star right away. Who else? Umm… Jason Gregor calls me on a semi regular basis! That’s pretty cool, right? I mean, normally it’s to ask me to put a table or something into one of his articles BUT I’M STILL COUNTING IT!