Good morning, everyone, and a happy holiday Monday to you all. As per tradition, I’ve got a brand new mailbag set to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their takes. This week, we’re discussing Oilers bounce back candidates, Misha Donskov joining the bench, Isaac Howard, and more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

Playing them together at times makes sense, but on the road it doesn’t. DJ Smith said when I asked him about coaching against them. “I didn’t mind it when we were at home and I could get the matchups I wanted. On the road is where it was an issue.”

Playing them together for about 1/3 of the season is fine, and it depends how the team and they are playing. When one was in a funk, playing them together to get him out of it makes sense. It is situational. Suggesting it must be all or nothing isn’t wise.

I’ve always used the analogy that coaches should treat playing Connor and Leon together like how a pitcher uses a really good curveball or changeup. If the other team knows it’s coming, it’s easier to stop. They can line match heavier and not really have to worry about the rest of the lineup. If it’s used more sparingly as a way to catch the other team off guard, it will be more effective. Going with the nuclear option shouldn’t be the Oilers fastball and the numbers reflect that it doesn’t make them a better team.

Man, that big red button sure is tempting, hey? I get the idea of them playing together — it’s inevitable, and it’s easy to understand why — but I think they should spend more time apart.

I would prefer if the Oilers kept them apart to increase the overall team depth, but I also understand why it’s been nearly impossible for every single head coach to avoid that nuclear deterrent. I’m worried, again, about them scoring all the goals and the rest of the lineup lagging behind.

He is a coaching consultant as he will only be in Edmonton six days a month. He will help virtually, and will help on tactical decisions and possible deployment. I don’t see a negative in having another set of experienced eyes helping the team. I will be asking Babcock specifics on how Donskov will help and what is role will be, but having more previous coaches has zero impact on his ability to help this coaching staff.

I’m not totally sure. He’s a highly respected coaching mind and I do like that the Oilers are willing to be a little bit outside of the box, that’s a good sign as we head into the Mike Babcock era, but as for the impact that he’ll have on the team? I’m not sure.

I love the idea. The idea behind it, Stan Bowman said last week, is to help bring in another mind who can help the team work through problems. Him not being around the team every day might help bring in some ideas that aren’t present.

I have no idea. I’m going to default to Gregor. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Tristan Jarry would be at the top of my list. He is healthy and he won’t face as many high danger chances as last year, or at least he shouldn’t.

Jake Walman is an obvious candidate. He was so good during his first playoff run with the team and last year, it’s easy to point to injuries as being the reason why he struggled so much. I still think he’s a very good fit on this team and could form a really solid second pairing with Connor Murphy.

I want to see Trent Frederic unleashed.

I wrote about this on Saturday, and I have four guys who could realistically bounce back based on their awful seasons. Tristan Jarry, Trent Frederic, Isaac Howard, and Jake Walman.

I never buy into make or break for any player. My goodness he has played 29 NHL games, people need to stop rushing players and thinking they must be proven NHLers. He was drafted four years ago. Relax. Only 12 players from his draft class have played even 100 games, and he’s at 29. He could play 80 games this season and that won’t guarantee that he is destined for a 10+ year career. As long as he keeps improving that is what matters. He had an excellent first pro season last year and if he builds on that this season that is great progress.

I think make or break is a little extreme. I don’t think he’s a lock to make this team out of camp and if they determine that he needs more time in the AHL, then that’s not necessarily a bad thing. At the same time, with Savoie out for the first month of the season, there is a clear spot in the top six for him. He just needs to go out and earn it. But if this season isn’t spectacular, I’m not going to write off the player. He’s still very young.

He hasn’t gained much traction in the NHL because he’s barely played in the NHL. I talked with prospect guru Steven Ellis last week, who said Howard needs to be able to find his game away from being a goal-scorer. That has to happen before he’s an NHL regular.

Way too early for make or break talk. Last season was his first full year of pro hockey, and it can take a minute for these kids to figure things out.

Not really. He has a $1m base AAV. He gets $600K bonus at 10 games and another $400K at 20 games, and then he has playoff bonuses tied to him playing. I never felt he was signed to be a starter. He was signed in the hope that he can split playoff games. I don’t think he was signed to be the regular every day starter in the regular season or playoffs.

No, the risk actually seems very calculated. His $1m AAV is dirt cheap and all his bonuses are tied to games played in the regular season and winning playoff rounds, so if he doesn’t play then his AAV won’t change. On top of that, they have two other goalies that they’re clearly somewhat comfortable with in Levi and Jarry, so Andersen can take his time recovering from his injury and when he is back, they can have him on a sort of load-management type schedule. This early injury does nothing to change my opinion of the signing.

Not at all. The contract as a whole is bonus-laden with a low salary. If he plays, which is what the Oilers surely want, he’ll earn his dues. If he doesn’t, then the risk is low.

I’m not worried about it for $1 million. Let him get healthy. Keep him on a pitch count.