Good morning, everyone, and a happy 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 Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson’s rDonecalls, Andrew Mangiapane rumours, waivers, 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.

A combination of many things. Inconsistent defensive play, giving up too many quality chances, the goalies haven’t been good enough and the forwards haven’t pulled their weight either. Complete team effort.

Goaltending deserves to be in the conversation, and the Walman injury has hurt. I think the forwards and their lacklustre efforts need to be mentioned as well. Playing good defence is a full-team thing, not just on the goalies and blueliners.

It’s a combination of factors, but one I’ll throw in is injuries. In the postseason, Ekholm was a shell of himself due to injury. In 25/26, it hasn’t helped that Walman has missed a chunk of the season already, mostly due to bad luck; a bone bruise could happen to anyone. Some players we saw regress as well, in Ekholm, more particularly Kulak, who we saw get shipped out.

I think all of the above is appropriate, but I’d also include that our goalies weren’t exactly lights out to start the year. A big chunk of that lands on the skaters in front of them, but the goalies didn’t make enough saves through the first two months either.

Mangiapane, Arvidsson and Skinner are the same player in a different body. Smaller, not overly quick players who don’t move the puck very well. Not ideal to play with 29 or 97, so I’d say the pro scouts need to adjust what they think works with either of them. Not surprisingly, players like Hyman and Podkolzin have worked. Relentless workers, who skate well and are great at retrieving pucks.

It’s very frustrating, and that’s why I’ve said for a while now that they need to stop messing around with the mushy middle in free agency. Go use your money on high-end pieces in free agency and fill out the bottom part of your roster with $1m players. Go big or go home. Curtis Lazar is making better contributions than Adam Henrique, and that says something.

All these players seemed to be productive before arriving in Edmonton. It is puzzling, but I think the main factor is the coaching staff allocating a majority of the ice time to the top six forwards, specifically Draisaitl, Hyman and McDavid. Especially when the Oilers are down a few, Knoblauch loves to load up McDrai and limit the rest.

It’s been a big problem that a lot of these UFAs haven’t worked out. I don’t know if it’s the pro-scouting, how these guys are sold on coming here, where they end up playing, or if it’s a combination of all of the above, but something has to change. The Oilers have spent a bunch of money on players that aren’t moving the needle much.

The Oilers won’t win in the playoffs with three rookies in their top nine. The coaching staff can’t magically insert experience and size into their game. If either sticks, they are likely better served in a third line role where they can get easier minutes. If you play with McDavid or Draisaitl then you face tougher competition. The Oilers need to acquire a top six winger who skates well, and most importantly can move the puck quickly and efficiently. Then RNH can be the 3C. Howard has to move the puck quicker if he wants to play in a top six role. Hutson just needs to gain a bit more strength, which will occur in the off-season most likely.

Howard needs to play better when the puck isn’t on his stick. That’s the big thing there. For Hutson, I really think it’s as simple as getting more opportunities. I really liked his game.

The coaching staff needs to believe in them and not have such a tight leash. Playing under 10 minutes a night won’t help anyone. If Knoblauch and company can give them a bit more trust, it could go a long way.

The Ice Man needs to remember to play some defence. His offensive instincts are sky-high, but he needs to remember that most of NHL games are played without the puck. As for Quinn Hutson, I think he’s good enough to force someone out of the bottom six. Maybe I’m drinking the Kool-Aid again, but that kid looks like found money for a bottom-six role.

No. Lavoie isn’t an NHL player. Philp isn’t a regular one yet, and time will tell if he becomes one or not. They chose Regula and Emberson over Stecher due to age and size. They claimed Regula on waivers last season, and when they did, I believe the plan was for him to replace Stecher. Stecher is a good solid NHL depth Dman, but he didn’t play a lot in the playoffs the past two seasons and at his age they opted for young, bigger D-men. I don’t see any of those losses being significant.

Not really. I wish Philp got more of a leash over the last number of years, but it’s not the end of the world. They opted for younger pieces than Stecher, and that was the right call as well. Lavoie has never panned out, so whatever.

Yes and no. Philp would’ve been nice to keep considering how bland the Oilers bottom six has been. Stecher brought energy but at times looked like a mess defensively. Lavoie, well even Vegas is taking their time to see if he’ll become an NHL player.

I wouldn’t say that I’m concerned but it is definitely annoying. My tinfoil hat theory is that other teams are taking shots at the Oilers on purpose, but that could also just be my feelings getting hurt. Don’t miss Lavoie at all. Do miss Stecher. The biggest miss was not matching on Holloway.

It is mainly between the ears right now. The difference between playing with and without confidence is glaringly noticeable. Frederic has to battle his way out of it. Maybe the Olympic break will be a good reset for him, but until then he just has to find a way to contribute in a positive way, albeit in a limited role. He has to move his feet consistently to be effective.

Try to get him to commit to a role in the bottom six. He needs to bring energy, go to the net and just create more of an impact on a shift-to-shift basis. He doesn’t need to be scoring, but he needs to stop having games where he’s just a total ghost. If the coaching staff can get him to buy into that, then the results will come with it.

For Frederic, it comes down to the player. There’s no doubt he’s lost a lot of confidence, but it comes down to the coaching staff giving him a defined role where he can succeed. For whatever reason, we haven’t seen the brash, bruising player he was billed to be; you don’t even see him getting under players’ skin. He needs a role in which he can rebuild his identity as a player.

Lock him in a room and show him highlights from his time in Boston. Just play like that, and he’ll be fine. Sometimes I wonder if he’s putting way too much pressure on himself because he knows everyone is puzzled by that contract. Just a working theory, of course.