It’s been a minute since I’ve had a chance to sit down and empty out my brain, and seeing as there are no Oilers games this week, I felt like it would be the perfect time for a few Random Thoughts. This week, I’m looking at Oilers vacations, Warren Foegele getting scratched again, the bye week timing, and getting fired up for the trade deadline.

On Saturday night against Chicago, Warren Foegele was up in the press box for the third time in a matter of weeks, and it makes me wonder what the future holds for McLovin and the Oilers organization. A bull in a china shop at his best, Warren Foegele has all of the tools to make an impact when he’s playing at his best, but so far this season, we haven’t seen a whole lot of that guy or any of the benefits you’d expect from that player type. Instead, Foegele has been inconsistent on both sides of the puck and finds himself falling behind the likes of Dylan Holloway and Klim Kostin on the depth chart. With one more year on his deal with a cap hit of $2.75 million, Foegele is making too much money to have sitting on the sidelines and I wonder if that’s a factor that could be pushing him toward the end of his time here. Through 36 games played so far this season, Foegele has five goals and 10 points and you’d have to think that level of production has at least some folks in management wondering if those dollars aren’t better spent somewhere else.

Seeing as the Oilers have an eight-game point streak going on as they enter the all-star break and bye week, I couldn’t help but wonder if these 10 days off couldn’t have come at the worse time. No, I don’t think they’re going to forget how to play or anything like that just because they have a week off, but I do know that if I had millions of dollars and some open runway to spend it that I’d probably be making some poor life choices during my vacay. I do know what it’s like to go on a bender in another country, and what kind of fog can linger when you try to resume your normal life. And for an Oilers team that needs to take advantage of these games against weaker opponents, the ask gets a whole lot tougher when you’re rusty and working off a pound or two. We’ve all been there, you know how vacations can go sideways. All I’m saying here is that it makes me nervous about what kind of shape the group will be in given the endless possibilities for what they could be getting up to.

Does anyone else feel good when they see Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl vacationing together this week? It can’t just be me, right? I mean, those two guys spend so much time together during the season that having them choose to vacation together on their days off just shows how tight their friendship actually is and how much they enjoy spending time together. Maybe I’m wrong — Gord knows it happens all the time — but this bromance they have going on makes me feel like the bond they share is going to be a big reason they’ll both re-sign here long term. Even though we’re still years away from those decisions being made, I can’t help but feel like Connor and Leon love playing together so much that they see this as an opportunity to stick and ultimately win together. I know other markets love to speculate about what’s to come with these two guys once their contracts run out, but I don’t see anywhere else that would allow them to play on the same team, and the fact that they love spending this much time together can only bode well for Oilers fans. Besides, there are no games this week and with this much time on my hands, my brain starts spitting out this nonsense. Just me?

After seeing Bo Horvat moved for a trio of pieces to the New York Islanders, the start of the silly season has officially arrived and I could not be happier about the chaos that is sure to come both here in Edmonton and around the league. Not only do I love reading hockey rumours, but these days, I have Frank Seravalli’s number in my phone and I fully plan on blowing him up on a daily basis until he gives me some kind of Oilers info about what’s cooking or what to expect. Without a doubt, Ken Holland will be working the phones but I really want to know is how aggressive he plans on being to try and improve the roster. I want to know where the line is for who is available and how much Old Dutch is willing to spend to make some moves. That said, I’ll also admit that I’m a little bit scared of what kind of madness is cooking up in the OEG offices, ya know? It could get weird around here.

Do you want to come with us to Toronto in March for an HNIC matchup that we’ll be watching in a suite? Of course you do. That’s why I’m telling you to sign up for the #NationVacation to T.O. and join us for a weekend that no one will soon forget. Check out the details you need right here.