Monday Mailbag – Should Chiarelli have brought in a veteran RW?

You didn’t get today off either, huh? I guess that means it’s Monday again. Fortunately, this here Mailbag is ripe full of 3000 words worth of company time killing wisdom that your brain will eager to soak up as we coast towards the season opener on Monday. Learning? On a Monday morning? That’s right, my friends. At the Nation, we’re not just about yellin’ about the Oilers, we’re also about learnin’ you stuff and making quitting time roll around just a little bit faster. As always, I need questions for next week so keep them coming in through email or Twitter. Keep your questions Oilers related or maybe you want to learn about life. Either way, we’ve got you covered. Until then, enjoy the break from productivity. 

Anaheim Ducks because the team has a veteran group and is also brimming with a strong group of kids. It’s a well run organization (management) and guys like Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler are nearing the end of the line and want Stanley. They’ll be tough all year.

It’s Anaheim. Top two teams in the division, plus rivalries are really made in the playoffs. In that regard, the Oilers owe the Ducks one for taking them out in the second round last spring.

Anaheim. Ducks knocked them out of the playoffs and they have won the division every year since this version of the Pacific Division came into existence four seasons ago.

Calgary. For my money, it’s always going to be Calgary. Those are the games I look for first when the schedule comes out and the games that I look forward to the most. It’s just a matter of geography and history. This year, I hope the Oilers will be competing for a divisional title with the Ducks, possibly the Sharks, but the games against Calgary will still mean a little bit more to me.

I’m going with the Anaheim Ducks. They’re on top until someone knocks them off. Special shout out to the Flames who tried to improve this offseason. If they find chemistry early they can take advantage of some weak clubs.

It’s the Ducks. Sentimentally, it’s Calgary, but there won’t be genuine bad blood between those teams until they have a playoff series. After the one we had between the Oilers and Ducks with the lifted pad and all the chippy play from Anaheim? I’m sure the Oilers are ready to play them hard. There’s a good chance the Oilers and Ducks meet in the Pacific Division Final again too.

If not Calgary, I gotta go with Anaheim. That’s the beautiful thing about playoffs is the rivalries it creates. Since we missed the post season for so long we never really created any rivalries with teams but I’m still infuriated with the Ducks from our series and I want them to pay all season long for it.

Calgary is always going to be a fun rivalry because of the chirping that goes back and forth with Flamesnation. On a personal level, I love when FN’s fans come in here and beak before games and the ON crowd stuffs them in a body bag — it’s hilarious. In reality, I think the biggest rivalry will be with the Ducks. That playoff series got angry towards the end and I’m going to expect that the hatred carries over into the regular season as well.

No, I think he played it right by bringing the kids in and having a look during training camp. Adding a veteran can happen anytime but you want to know how far along the kids are and what slots they can cover this season.

The expectations of fans aren’t Chiarelli’s fault. I don’t think he counted on both of them making the team. Anton Slepyshev should be ready to go to start the season and Yamamoto is in the RW mix along with Strome and Kassian. Puljujarvi gets more time in Bakersfield and that’s fine. I don’t see depth on RW as a significant issue.

I don’t believe the Oilers had many expectations for Yamamoto to make the team. Whatever games he gets, and it shouldn’t be more than nine, is a bonus. If Slepyshev was healthy it would be even less of an issue. The Oilers still have Slepyshev, Caggiula and Strome to play the RW. Puljujarvi has been given an opportunity to compete, which is what every young player wants. If he doesn’t stick to start the season, I don’t see it as a negative at all. He is only 19. Chiarelli’s plan was to see how the players reacted and as they get closer to the trade deadline he will add a RW, D or whichever position he feels needs an upgrade. They have over $7 million in cap space so he will have lots of options.

It feels like I’ve spent years complaining about the Oilers using the NHL as a developmental league. If you look at the right side of the Oilers roster I think it’s fair to say that going into camp Chiarelli was assuming/hoping that one of the two would be able to step up and grab a roster spot. I would have much preferred that he fill that spot with a more known commodity in case neither proved to be ready, and then if one or both pushed their way onto the roster, well, that wouldn’t be the worst problem to have. Chiarelli’s gamble might pay off, but I don’t know that it was a smart bet to make.

Yes. I think it was a mistake to downgrade at RW. Chiarelli’s plan appeared to have Puljujarvi and Strome in the top spots. I don’t think it included Yamamoto. It just turns out that JP wasn’t ready to challenge for a spot, it seems. As for Strome, he looks like a 3C or 3RW. Either way, not a solid plan. Naturally, there really needs to be someone added to the top two lines beyond Yamo. Jagr, please.

Yes, absolutely. The Oilers are rolling with a lot of wild cards on the right side. If Yamamoto doesn’t work out, which is very possible for a small guy adjusting to the NHL when there’s actually hitting unlike in the pre-season, they’ll go back to Puljujarvi, who’s another wild card himself. I don’t see why they aren’t interested in adding someone like P.A. Parenteau, who in the past has been solid in a top- and bottom-six role. If he’s terrible, he can be waived. It’s really the only spot they have no depth.

I think he missed an opportunity with it, but I wouldn’t call it a mistake. In a perfect world Puljujarvi would step up and perform but expecting him to be an all-star in his second pro season is a bit of a stretch. We also saw great things from Caggiula last season so you never really know what to expect heading into camp.

I completely understand why Chiarelli would want to wait and see what he has with Puljujarvi and Yamamoto (Puljujarvi is only four months older than Yamamoto btw), but I do think the team would be better off with an experience RW that can play in the top six. That’s a lot of pressure on two young guys to be able to produce, and that’s without even mentioning that the Oilers could use another cheap year of Yamamoto three seasons from now and they could get that by sending him back to junior after nine games. Bring in Jagr. They have the space on the roster and under the cap and send both Yamamoto and Puljujarvi down for further development.

I think it is for teams who have established lineups but probably about right for teams who are building and have many question marks. For fans, definitely too long.

Teams used to play more games than they do now but I wouldn’t be against seeing the pre-season shortened up even further. That won’t happen, of course, because that would cut revenue.

You bet. Six games would be lots. I doubt the NHL ever changes it because they would be giving up revenue, but for players, coaches and fans it would be better to play fewer games.

It is absolutely too long. You could cut the preseason in half and I don’t think it would impact regular season play at all. And while we’re at it, the season is too long too. The NHL could easily trim 20 games off the top there as well and probably improve their on-ice product at the same time. As a season ticket holder I’d even be happy to pay the same total amount, meaning more per game, knowing that each game would mean more and I would, in turn, see fewer nights where the give-a-shit meter reads zero.

Yeah, I think they could probably drop to six games and get the same job done. Teams just need to stop messing about with 50 person rosters. Why start with guys who don’t have a hope? Get them to the AHL camp as fast as possible and let their coaching staff sort them out.

They could probably play, like, three games in the pre-season and it would be fine. The exhibition games are so low intensity anyways that I’m not sure how much of a baring it has on players actually getting up to game speed. Seems pretty pointless to me.

When you look at it on a calendar, two weeks isn’t that long. It feels like so much longer because we’re all just dying to watch some hockey. I would rather see guys have more team ice sessions and fewer pre-season games due to the risk of injury though.

I wouldn’t mind if the pre-season got trimmed a little bit but I also think it’s reasonable when you have to evaluate 40 players. In the end, it’s only been two weeks and the regular season starts on Monday. I think, more than anything, we’re all just being impatient.

I take it to mean other NHL teams will focus on the Edmonton games in a way they haven’t in the past. Remember when the old Oilers would always face the backup, or get the first start in a young goalie’s career against them? Starting goalies, full rosters, some time down the road perhaps teams will test themselves against the Oilers the way they do now against Pittsburgh or Chicago.

Everybody knows how good the Oilers are now. That wasn’t the case to start last season. Simple as that.

I’ve never been completely comfortable with that statement. You can’t tell me that players and coaches don’t look at the standings regularly. In January the Oilers were a playoff team and playing well, I don’t see how they surprised teams four months into the season. I do believe teams respect them more now than they did last September, but when Edmonton was a bad team, they still respected the good teams, they just weren’t good enough to beat them most nights. The Oilers tougher test this year will be not playing down to the level of the opponent when they face weaker teams.

Over the last decade, I would assume that a lot of players looked at games against the Oilers as a free space in the schedule since, more often than not, a good twenty minutes, sometimes less, was all that was required to beat the Oilers. That could mean that they were a little less focused at puck drop than they would have been if they were playing the Penguins or Blackhawks, but I kind of doubt that the effect was anything more than minimal on the outcome of the games. This is something you hear a lot during training camp and, really, I don’t think it means much at all. Just another in the long line of training camp cliches.

I think there are a couple things there. One, Edmonton is now a game where the opposition is excited to play. It’s not a gimme anymore and contending teams will measure themselves against the Oilers. Two, last year was really McDavid’s first full season so now every club really understands what they’re up against. They have all the video they need to be ready (if such a thing exists for those stuck defending McDavid). Three, the Oilers actually matter again. It’s a big deal when they come through now.

I think it means teams will circle games against Edmonton on the calendar. They won’t take it easy or view it as point night like so many years in the past. I’m not sure it matters much because players are competitive regardless, but the Oilers aren’t going to get any lazy, hungover games this year from opponents.

I suppose so. I don’t really think we flew under the radar last season anyways but whatever. People are beginning to hate playing us because of guys like Kass, Looch, Maroon, and Connor. I think this was already a thing last year though. I couldn’t be more in love with that thought.

People are saying that because the Oilers have been gross for a decade and were likely circled as an easy two points on the schedule for most teams. I think it’s important to remember how bad the OIlers were in order to truly appreciate how good they could be.

I think people should be free to share exactly as much as they are comfortable doing. Regarding people saying ‘stick to sports’ and such, I honestly don’t notice that kind of thing. I assume it’s a time waste and I’m too old to flush anytime I have left.

I’ve written a fair amount of non-sports items here over the years when the mood strikes me. If somebody doesn’t want that kind of content then they don’t have to read it. Same with Twitter. If you don’t like something I write then you are free to unfollow, just as I am free to block you if you get nasty about it. Bottom line: don’t like it, don’t read it.

I laugh when someone tells me to stick to sports. “I follow you for sports,” is their line on twitter. I don’t tweet for any individual. I doubt everyone will be interested in every tweet. The great part of living where we do is we have the freedom to make our choices. If you don’t like what a person writes or tweets, don’t follow them. I’d never say to someone, “don’t tweet about this.” I never had anyone ask me to follow them, so it was my choice to click follow. If I dislike what they are tweeting, then I should be mad at myself first, since I opted to follow them.

Life is more important than sports, and I will never shy away from expressing thoughts on opinions on non-sport topics. If that offends someone, there is nothing I can do about it.

Wow, Mark, “If I disagree then I’ll either end up unfollowing or simply skipping over their articles” seems like a common sense approach to social media. It’s like you grasp the very simple concept that you, and you alone, control what shows up in your timeline. I understand that most people follow me for Oilers related content but I’ve never felt like that matters when it comes to what I want to discuss on social media. I talk about whatever I want, whenever I want because it’s my account and I’m more than just an Oilers content robot. And when someone feels the need to tell me that that’s not why they follow me I’ll either ignore it or mock it depending on my mood at the time.

I pretty much just write what I feel like writing. If something makes me mad enough to write about, it usually ends up being some of my more interesting stuff. The way I see it, I’m not a journalist and I don’t pretend to be one. I have no mandate to fake being impartial. I’m biased. I’m opinionated. I like disagreeing with people. I write better when I let myself into my work. The “right” balance is different for everyone. As long as what I write is interesting enough to read then that’s good enough.

Stick to sports is a flawed ideal. To assume an athlete, coach, commentator, reporter, whatever is simply a sports guy is naive. The most important thing to a democracy is the agency we have in freedom of expression. I can empathize with wanting that escape from reality, but your comfort and convenience don’t come before somebody’s ability to express their experience. Most things are inherently political and if you’re one of the ones looking to avoid this reality, you’re incredibly fortunate.

The main function that sports serves in our society is not just entertainment, but a sense of belonging. It brings people together. In a contemporary context, professional sports has created such a massive special for communication. We can learn a lot from one another in such a situation where many people from different backgrounds and experiences come together. If you’re suggesting someone stick to sports and shut up about things they’re passionate about, you’ve essentially said you aren’t interested in learning anymore. That, I think, is a massive problem.

Since I started working here and really got deep into the Internet I’ve just accepted that there is always someone who will have a different opinion than someone else. It’s infuriating but since I’ve accepted that I couldn’t really care less what anyone else thinks when it comes to comments like these. There will always be someone thinking irrationally and we just have to smile and nod…. or begin Twitter fights. Either one is good.

The nice part about living in a free country is that you can talk about whatever you want. If I want to talk about politics, or Teen Mom, or music, or the Edmonton Oilers then I’m going to do that — it’s my opinion. The funny thing about Twitter is that you can follow whoever you want and if you don’t like what I say then you can stop. Seems easy enough.

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