Monday Mailbag – Will the refs be better in 2021-22?

It’s a Monday morning once again and that means we’re back with a brand new Mailbag to not only get your week started but to help you make sense of everything that’s happening with our beloved Edmonton Oilers! This week, we’re looking at the refs, the Oilers depth on defence, Tyler Benson, 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.

I do think we will see a crackdown on crosschecks. Remains to be seen if they will continue that in the playoffs though. I think that is the bigger issue.

Hopeful, mainly because new US TV deals might mean selling the game and broadening the fan base in the U.S. Not counting on it.

No, unfortunately not. Hockey is too set in its roots to see an overarching change to the way in which the game is reffed. We saw a bit of a change back after the full-season lockout and even that only lasted for a few seasons. There’s no way it’ll randomly change now.

No. Fans and players complained but Gary Bettman seemed adamant at the Stanley Cup Finals that the NHL has the best officials in the world and that there aren’t any problems. While I agree that the NHL has the best referees in the world, and they are very good, there is also clearly a problem with how the NHL allows high-end offensive players to be suffocated by less skilled shutdown players. It’s a problem and they should address it, but they won’t.

Lol. No. I don’t. The refs have been and will continue to be horrible in the NHL. Why they don’t feel the need to protect their stars is a mystery I don’t think will ever be solved.

It should help quite a bit if they spend more time in the offensive zone, because that should lead to less time defending. I also think this group of D-men is better at moving the puck than last year’s group, so they will move puck out quicker and with more forwards capable of making plays Edmonton should spend less time in the D zone.

Don’t know. Let’s see how the new line-up translates from paper to the ice first. Looks improved. Let’s see if that’s so.

This group’s offence will be stronger than it was last year, which will be a big plus. Edmonton had a good offence last season, finishing seventh in the league in goals, but the key will be having more depth and more play drivers, as pushing the puck up ice more often than not ultimately helps you on the defensive end. The forwards will need to be good because keeping the puck out of the net won’t be a strength, I can’t imagine.

I mean, the best offence is a good defence, right? I’m actually not terribly concerned about the Oilers blueline. I don’t think they’re as good as they were last season, but I still think they’ll be good enough to get the Oilers into the postseason. The Oilers group of defenseman won’t be so bad that it costs them a playoff spot, their goaltending might be though. The offence is far from a concern and I think you’d be smart to bet a lot of overs this season.

I guess you’d hope that a better offensive group will be able to keep the puck in the opposing zone more often than not, but I don’t know that it will matter much if the defence gets caved in. I don’t think that will happen necessarily, but I am nervous about what this new group will be able to do.

He is in a battle with Shore and Perlini for the 4th line LW spot. Even if he doesn’t make it out of camp doesn’t mean he is done, but he would be waiver eligible so there is a chance a team with not as good NHL depth, like Arizona or Buffalo, might look at him.

He’ll get as good a shot as he’s going to get because he needs waivers to go to the minors now and could be claimed if sent down. I don’t know if Benson can play the style of game needed in the bottom six.

Probably. He’s waiver eligible and I would assume he’ll get a look simply because the Oilers don’t want to lose a former high pick and top AHL producer to waivers. Whether he captures the chance and plays well is a totally different story. He might be one of those guys who can perform in the minors but not in the bigs. Regardless, it’s worth a 15-ish game look.

That is a great question and I don’t really have an answer. If he worked on his skating and shows Dave Tippett that he can be trusted on the PK and in his own zone, then he will have a roster spot. That’s what it will come down to for Benson. If it doesn’t work out this season, then yes, he might be done in Edmonton.

For his sake, I certainly hope so but I also don’t know whose job he’d be able to steal on that left side. After five years with the organization, I bet both Benson and the team would both love to see this relationship move forward.

Depends on who it is. If it is Nurse, then that is a big issue since he played the most minutes in NHL last year. Left side does have way more depth with Russell, Koekoek, Lagesson, Broberg, and Samorukov (although he is out for six weeks). The right side has no other natural right-shot D-man behind Bouchard, Barrie and Ceci. That is a concern if any of them suffer a long-term injury. Short term you can move a LD over, but long term that is not ideal.

Can never have too much depth. Some promising prospects are waiting, but that’s not the same as proven, experienced depth.

It would be interesting to see a young guy like Filip Berglund or Markus Niemelainen get a look in the event of an injury but that isn’t exactly ideal. I think the Oilers should bring in a veteran like Jason Demers on a PTO as a fall-back net. They’re pretty thin on the right side, and that’s assuming Evan Bouchard is ready to step into a full-time role. If he struggles, oof, that could get ugly.

The right side is a concern for sure. That’s why I think they need to bring in a veteran defenseman on a PTO before training camp officially kicks off. If one of Bouchard, Ceci, or Barrie goes down then they’re in trouble. They are more set on the left side where they have both Slater Koekoek and Kris Russell competing for the third pairing spot and if they ran into a lot of injuries, they could take a chance on one of Dmitri Samorukov or Philip Broberg. I guess they could throw either Russell or Koekoek on their off sides as well, but I’d prefer that they brought in another veteran.

I’m worried about the right side because a single injury will result in someone having to play on their off-wing. That’s not the worst thing in the world to have happen but it’s certainly not ideal.

Neal signed in St. Louis and I won’t be surprised if he signs a one-year deal. If he is healthy and recovered fully from COVID, he can still chip in. He isn’t worth $5.5m, but I believe he can still contribute. Chiasson came to Edmonton on a PTO a few seasons ago and turned that into three years, but he is three years older. If Buffalo and Arizona are looking for a veteran who is consistent and a solid person in the room I could see him getting a PTO on a team like that.

Neal signed a PTO with St. Louis Friday. I expect Chiasson will get a look as well, maybe with Pittsburgh.

I’m more concerned about adding defencemen on a PTO. As I mentioned above, Jason Demers would be the ideal guy for me. Both Neal and Chiasson are NHL calibre, but the Oilers don’t have a need right now for wingers who can’t produce at even-strength who largely only produce on the power-play. Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi will fill those front-of-net roles.

Both guys can still play, they just aren’t what they used to be. If a team is looking for a veteran who can play competent even-strength minutes and help out on their second powerplay unit, then both of these guys are good fits. The problem is that a lot of teams like giving those roles to younger players with more upside. Neal is going to St. Louis now and I would expect that Chiasson will get a PTO in the next few days as well. They’re still good players who can produce when put in the right spots and don’t need to play every night.

I could see the Oilers bringing back Chiasson on a PTO since he seems to click with the boys on the powerplay but I don’t know how they’d be able to afford it.

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