Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to all of you. I’ve got a fresh mailbag ready to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their take on whatever is on your mind. This week, we’re discussing the Trent Frederic trade, Mattias Ekholm’s difficult season, playoff predictions, 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.

I don’t expect him to play in the first round. It is a big loss, and makes the Jake Walman acquisition even more important.

BM Note: Tyler answered before Friday’s game and the Saturday report – I wouldn’t say I’m super worried, but there is some concern here. He has no doubt taken a step back this year, and while you can say that it’s because of the injuries and illness, he’s also 34 years old, so there is no guarantee that he will ever get back to the level he was at the last few years. I would have loved to see him get into a handful of games before the end of the season just to shake off some rust, but even then, I’d still be a little worried about how he’s going to hold up over a long playoff run.

It’s definitely concerning, and as Gregor mentioned, that Jake Walman acquisition is looking mighty good right about now. Hopefully whatever ails him isn’t as serious as it sounds.

Now that we know he suffered some kind of serious injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season or at least the first round, it’s a devastating loss for the Oilers as we head into a playoff run.

High ankle sprains are never guaranteed to heal at a certain time. It is a ballpark guestimate at best. If Frederic re-signs, the trade was still worth it, however, if he doesn’t re-sign and doesn’t play much in the playoffs then it is a massive fail.

I love the player and was really pushing for the Oilers to acquire him, however, the misread on his health drastically changes how I view the trade. They gave up a lot for a guy who was clearly more banged up than we thought. In hindsight, they gave up too much, considering he’s likely going to end the regular season with seven minutes of time on ice. Some of this could be bad luck but still, front offices get judged on the outcome of their moves and this outcome is not looking good so far.

This one is looking like a strikeout looking on an 0-2 count. He was exactly the type of player they needed to grab to help round out the forward group, but this feels more and more Mike Green-esque as the days go by. Hopefully he’s good to go for the playoffs, because he can be a very effective player.

I still love the pickup because he’s the exact kind of play this roster needs for the playoffs. The unfortunate part is that his high-ankle sprain doesn’t seem to be getting better, but I do think the logic was sound.

1. Edmonton has the best FO% of any Pacific division team. Faceoffs aren’t an issue.
2. Depends on your definition of grit. Edmonton has shown in the past they can win the key battles in the playoffs. Kane will add physicality when he returns and if Frederic’s ankle holds up he adds a lot as well.
3. Edmonton has the second most takeaways in the NHL. Puck recovery isn’t an issue.

Puck recovery is absolutely at the top for me. Winning faceoffs is second. The Oilers thrive when they dominate the possession battle and those two areas are key to making sure the other team doesn’t have the puck. I hope the Oilers can turn up the intensity a little bit in the playoffs but I will say, it’s not something that will make or break their chances of winning a series.

The Oilers have been strong in both the faceoff dot and puck recovery, two really important keys. They need to up the gritensity.

Puck recovery is the easy number one here — I want to say faceoffs for the schtick, but I won’t. Next I would say grit and finally faceoffs. Being able to retrieve pucks without being knocked off it once you get it is a massive need in the playoffs.

Do you mean who will lead team in goals, then I pick Draisaitl. If you mean unexpected goal production, then I will go with Viktor Arvidsson. He is heating up at the right time and he will play with Draisaitl.

Connor Brown. He’s getting hot at the right time and has some decent finish.

Why do I feel like Corey Perry’s going to go out and score 10 goals in a deep playoff run? He’s bee so good this year.

To be different, I’ll say it’s going to be Jeff Skinner. Even though he’s more skilled than Pisani was, he also doesn’t play a whole lot of minutes on a nightly basis. That has me thinking he’s going to score a few massive playoff goals in his first trip to the post-season.

Rangers biggest surprise. Went from President Trophy winner to out of the playoffs. Biggest positive would be Montreal. Not many expected them to make the playoffs.

The Canadiens are the biggest surprise on the positive side of things. For them to make the playoffs this early into their rebuild is very impressive and when you look at the core of young players they have, it’s hard to envision a world where they don’t go on a run of 5+ years of playoff appearances.

The Nashville Predators have been surprisingly terrible this season. I didn’t think their offseason acquisitions would make them a serious contender or anything, but they regressed in a serious way this season.

The Canucks. I knew they weren’t going to be as good as the PDO heater from last season led everyone to believe, but I didn’t see them imploding this badly either. Oh, and the New York Rangers too. I definitely didn’t see them being this bad.

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