Monday Mailbag – Should the Oilers take a run at Tarasenko?

I hope everyone had a good weekend, but it’s time to get back to work with a brand new Mailbag! This week, we’re looking at Tarasenko wanting out of St. Louis, Kucherov’s presser, the salary cap, and 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.

No. It was shorter season. Now that season is 82-games again any player who has surgery in the off-season will have more time to recover. Klefbom doesn’t require more surgery. He either will try to play or he won’t. What happened with Kucherov has never happened before, and likely won’t again. There is no reason to overreact. Simply solution is the player has to be on active roster for a game in the regular season to be eligible to play in the opening round of the playoffs.

No. My best guess is that if Klefbom decides he isn’t willing or can’t play again because of his shoulder, he’ll walk away.

I don’t think we’ll see a flurry of this stuff happening. Yes, the Lightning got away with it, but Kucherov did get the surgery. It’s not like they just made up a reason why he wasn’t there. It would also require a player being willing to sit out the entire season and that’s just not something I can see a bunch of players being willing to do. It might happen every now and then, but it won’t become a regular occurrence.

Patrick Kane had something like this happen a while back too when he missed the last half of the year (or whatever it was) and came back for round one of the playoffs, so it’s going to keep happening in some iteration until the NHL closes the loophole.

Don’t see what Edmonton can offer in a trade to entice St.Louis to trade him to the Oilers. Having a proven sniper would be great for either McDavid or Draisaitl, but he isn’t a UFA, so the cost will likely be quite high.

You make the call, but you absolutely must know the three surgeries Tarasenko has had since 2018 won’t limit his ability to play and return to the level he was at three years ago. I think it’s an extremely risky idea when you consider the price point. Then, what’s the ask?

I think he should be interested. Like you said, Tarasenko would be a perfect fit. I understand the risk when acquiring a player with an injury history like that and his cap hit makes it even riskier. However, those two facts will also bring down his trade value. I would prefer a player like Sam Reinhart or even Rickard Rakell, but if Tarasenko is back to being 100% healthy, he would be a dream fit alongside either McDavid or Draisaitl.

I’d love it! But as Frank Seravalli said on Oilersnation Radio this past Friday, Tarasenko has a 10-team list he’d be willing to go to and we don’t know if Edmonton is on it. He also said that we’re not talking about picks and a prospect to get the player either, so I’m not sure what the Oilers would have to trade to get him.

He was many beers deep. Being offended because he said Montreal fans cheered to loud is peak thin-skin. He said nothing that is actually harmful or derogatory. I had no issue with it. He spoke his mind and didn’t hold back and said nothing that should actually offend a person.

I thought he took it a bit far with the remarks directed at Fleury (“that guy in Vegas”) and at Montreal fans, but that’s what passes for “he was just having some fun, I think it was great” these days. Different time.

I loved it. He also landed himself a sweet endorsement deal with Bud Light afterwards so this should be a lesson to other players that if you show personality and have some fun, you can make some money. Nothing he said was offensive and or incredibly out of line. It was some solid chirping and pure emotion after winning the Cup. 10/10.

I loved it. I think it’s good for the league to have some elements of wrestling in it, and that’s exactly what happened with Kucherov’s villainous commentary. I would much rather watch a guy leaving body bags like this everywhere than dropping more “get pucks deep” type of cliches.

Never give up. A series is never over until one team wins four games. Montreal battled back from 3-1 deficit. Also if you can have the opposition lose one of the top players in the first 10 minutes of a series, your odds of winning increase. Holland should focus on his team. I think he knows there are many holes. Keep trying to fill them and ensure he gets more experienced D-men with size and skill.

At the bottom line, talent, depth and goaltending wins. No secrets there, but knowing it is one thing and building out a team to cover those bases is easier said than done. Nothing Holland doesn’t know already.

This shows what can happen when you play a solid system and have a goaltender who is capable of being nearly unbeatable. I’m not sure there’s too much that Holland can learn from Bergevin but it just goes to show how much goaltending means.

That we really need a goalie that has the ability to steal multiple series for us. Oh, and don’t give up or whatever.

Montreal will be in tough with Tampa, Boston, Toronto and Florida next season.

Winnipeg will be in tough in the Central with St. Louis, Colorado, Dallas and Nashville.

The Habs. They’re in a division with Boston, Tampa Bay, Florida, and Toronto. On top of that, the other Eastern Conference Division has the Rangers, Islanders, Capitals, Penguins, and Hurricanes so grabbing a wild card spot will be very difficult. I wouldn’t bet on the Canadiens making the playoffs next year.

I think Toronto and Montreal are going to have an interesting year being back in a division with Boston, Tampa, and Florida. But Montreal, for sure, will have the hardest time.

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