Monday Mailbag – What to expect from Pat Maroon?

Happy long weekend Monday, fine citizens. May your day go by quickly if you’re stuck working and, if not, something to read while you wait for an acceptable time to crack a beer. The mailbag is here to help you pass a little bit of time and get you closer to wherever you want to be. As always, this feature is completely dependent on you guys. If you’ve got a question you can email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or DM on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk. Until then, enjoy another free lesson from our stable of writers.

Maroon has played very well for the Oilers. He had instant chemistry with McDavid after the trade and scored eight goals in 16 games.  His confidence combined with him getting in better shape led to his career year last season. Maroon is a very skilled offensive player. He was first or second in scoring on his team in junior and in the AHL most years. He has great offensive instincts and quick hands for a big man. I see him scoring 23-28 goals again this season.

It really depends on how much he plays with Connor McDavid. I would compare his situation with that of Blair MacDonald back in 1979-80 when he played with Wayne Gretzky. Maroon is an excellent complementary player who has real chemistry with McDavid, so 25-30 goals seems reasonable. I think his next contract will be a difficult one for the veteran winger. Teams will be offering big money and a once in a lifetime payoff. Does he go for it or play with McDavid for less money? Tough call.

I think he can but I don’t believe he will. His shooting percentage since joining the Oilers has been 20.5 and 15.2, well above his previous seasons. I see Maroon as a 22-25 goal guy over a full season in 2017-18.

Obviously playing alongside Connor McDavid is going to make anybody better, but Patrick Maroon deserves some credit too. He came into 2016-17 in better shape than any point in his career and was able to drive play more effectively because of it. Also, his advanced stats suggest he wasn’t just a passenger, as he improved other teammates’ shot attempt numbers when playing without McDavid. There’s no reason to assume in a healthy season Maroon can’t hit 20 goals again.

I think for sure he can maintain that pace. If he is paired with McDavid he’ll be unstoppable.

If Patty is riding shotgun with Connor then he can definitely hit 25 goals again. Patty knows that the line he played on was a big help in getting to his career highs and he basically admitted it in the article I wrote on Saturday. It seems like they have some nice chemistry together and I wouldn’t bet against it, but you never know if he’ll stay on that line or not. So here’s my answer: IF Pat Maroon stays with Connor all year then I’ll say yes he can get there. If not, I don’t think so.

The numbers don’t match what you feel. In their final 14 regular season games last season they went 15-for-48 (31.25%), meaning they were actually better down the stretch than their season long 22.9% average. And Klefbom has a very good shot. The truth is you don’t need a cannon of a shot to have a successful powerplay. It is a nice asset, but the best power plays run through guys on the half wall instead of just firing from the point. The most effective PP’s last season were not focused on a big shot from the point. The closest is Washington and Ovechkin, but he sets up anywhere on his off wing and often near the top of the circle, not at the blueline.

Once the team got the power play straightened out heading toward Christmas, it was absolute fire. I think they’ll be fine, and may try Matt Benning in the Sekera role until the veteran returns. I’m more concerned about the penalty kill.

The Oilers, and every team, need the threat of a shot from the point to stretch the box toward the blue line rather than allow defenders to collapse down low. Can Matt Benning be that guy?

They had the fifth best power play percentage in the league last year and, well, the numbers indicate that it got better with time. You don’t necessarily need a big shot on the power play, though it would add another element to the team.

I think they’ll be okay. Kelfbom and Larson’s shots will only get better from here on out. They’ll handle the pressure.

I really wish they had a big shot from the point. Imagine what it would be like if Connor also had a guy like Sheldon Souray to use as an option. I think Klefbom has a solid shot and could be a decent stop gap, but I think Chiarelli would still have that PP guy on his wish list.

He will be patient. I’d be surprised if Tavares is a target, because he’d still cost a lot at the deadline and there is no chance the Oilers could afford to re-sign him. I could see them looking at a James Neal at the deadline, but it will depend how the team is playing and which area Chiarellie feels they need to improve. They still don’t have a lot of depth outside their young NHL roster, so I’m not sure this is the year he pushes all his chips in and adds multiple players, but much will depend on how good they look at the deadline. Keep in mind the Oilers cap is only $74 million, they have just under $1 million in cap penalty from last year. They still have a lot of cap space, but when we reach the deadline it is important to remember their cap is right around $74.1 million, not $75 million.

I don’t see a big free-agent addition to the team next summer. The Oilers have a plethora of RFA’s, including Matt Benning, Darnell Nurse, Anton Slepyshev, Drake Caggiula and Ryan Strome. There’s also a free agent group that includes Patrick Maroon and Jussi Jokinen.

No chance. None. Can’t add add the size of contract Tavares will demand to the deals Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl just signed.

The Oilers don’t have the cap room to acquire another big fish from here on out. With McDavid and Draisaitl coming in it $21 plus, guys like RNH, Sekera, and Lucic getting paid $6 million, the only additions Chiarelli will be able to make in free agency will be minor. Eventually Maroon, Caggiula, Benning, Nurse, Puljujarvi, and so on are going to need new deals. I said when Drai and McD signed that it wasn’t those two that would put Edmonton into cap hell, it would be generous contracts to auxiliary players handed out in free agency in the future that could sink them. Furthermore, the difficulty with rentals is that Edmonton needs to consistently be filling the team with new, cheap, young players, making it difficult to deal draft picks at the deadline. There’s going to be a lot of ride or die with this group.

Honestly I kind of hope something like that happens. I can’t see it, but if we’re in a position to push for the cup and we have the cap space, why not?

I bet he’ll go fishing for some free agents around the deadline but I can’t see him spending the assets required to get a guy like Tavares. I think the moves would be bigger than Davidson for Desharnais, but not as big as whatever it will take to get a huge fish.

To be honest I’ve never thought much about it, but that channel is based out of Toronto and they cater to who they think is their biggest audience, Toronto fans. The NHL decides who plays in the outdoor game, and you will notice the Oilers have 37 National games on TV this year. The NHL knows McDavid is a massive draw and he will be promoted a lot. I wouldn’t worry about too much Matthews on a channel based out of Toronto.

I’m not sure the organization has a lot of control over Los Angeles. He is saturated here and it’s well earned. Connor McDavid’s talent and brilliance is his brand, and Auston Matthews appeal has a lot to do with where he was born. Hockey fans know who Connor McDavid is and who Auston Matthews is, there’s no real rivalry I can see.

McDavid is the best player in the game. Over time, there is no better way to raise a profile than that. I don’t care how much the radio Johnnys pump Matthews. Outdoor games? Too many of them now.

The Matthews thing largely comes down to him being the new, hyped American star player. There isn’t much the Oilers as a franchise can do to make people outside of Edmonton care about their player just because he’s good. Really, the only thing they can do is win it all, and then I guess he’ll get more coverage in different markets because that’s when they start to pay attention.

Yes they are, but I really don’t think anyone needs to try and raise his profile, everyone will come to him with opportunities. I’m sure Connors agent has dedicated his life to the McCareer.

That’s an interesting question. You would think that the Oilers could make more money as Connor’s star grows so I don’t know why they wouldn’t market him as much as possible. I wonder if they’re trying to push Matthews so much because he plays in the biggest market in the NHL. Matthews is not as good as Connor but the Leafs are still making bank on him.

He is a major wildcard for me. If he isn’t ready to play consistent top-nine minutes in Edmonton, then I’d gladly play him in the AHL and hopefully for the Oilers he rips it up. He wasn’t a massive point producer prior to being drafted, and if he becomes one I think it occurs in a few seasons. He needs time to develop and I caution those who expect huge offensive totals right away just because he was the fourth overall pick. I sense he will be more of a late developer. I’d guess he scores 20 points in Edmonton in around 60 games.

I expect he’ll be in the NHL most or all of the season, scoring 10-15 goals and playing a regular shift on RW (possibly third line).

Depends, of course, how high in the line-up he plays and how many games he plays. In a full season I’d consider 35-40 points a nice step forward.

Hopefully he can play an entire season and pot 20 goals. That seems to be the hope that he can fill up a decent chunk of Jordan Eberle’s offence. That said, Puljujarvi is a massive wild card, and he could catch fire and become a star player on the first line or he could look completely lost and spend most of the year in the AHL. Nobody knows.

IF he can maintain his lineup spot all season I would love to see 40 points from him. I truly believe he’ll be a huge asset to the team, it’s just a matter of when it will happen.

I think he’ll land somewhere in the 13-16 goal range with 25+ assists. One thing people need to remember is that he didn’t have a full summer to train last year, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that he’ll be better. If the Oilers can get him on the ice in softer minutes then he could have himself a solid season.

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