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 the Oilers‘ consistency issues, bold predictions for the trade deadline, the Pacific Division, 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.

Yes, I would. I said it at the time of the trade, and I never felt Skinner was as bad as many claimed. He could have off games, but he also proved many times that he could reset and play well. Plus he was a bargain at $2.6m AAV.

Yes. They spent assets to make a lateral move, and they bought on Jarry at the peak of his value. If Jarry would have played at this current level over the last few weeks on the Penguins, he might have been back on waivers. I didn’t love the trade at the time, but I was willing to see if the change of scenery would spark Jarry, but it’s clear that hasn’t happened.

No doubt about it. Jarry has not been anywhere near good enough, and the Oilers are paying him $2.775 million more than the Penguins are paying Skinner. Couple that with the fact that Skinner’s been better than Jarry, and you have one of the worst trades this team has made in a long, long time.

Yes. 1000%. It’s a bad trade in a one-for-one, let alone putting Kulak and a 2nd rounder in there. Really bad trade so far.

They need one guy to put together multiple good starts in a row. They only have two games this week, so I expect them to split time so no one guy sits for too long, but eventually, they need one guy to grab the job. It is a wide-open competition right now.

It’s too late in the season for that. Every two points is crucial and you can’t risk letting more games slip away because of a struggling goaltender.

Ingram has clearly been the better of the two as of late, and it’s time to give him some run as the No. 1.

I don’t care if it’s Ingram or Jarry. I just care that someone can stop the puck consistently.

St. Louis makes multiple big moves. Florida trades Bobrovsky.

I think that the New York Rangers might make a trade that surprises everyone. I also think that the Seattle Kraken could be itching to make a big splash.

The Canucks trade Elias Pettersson.

Leafs sell. Not a bold prediction, but it’s a fun one.

No. You have McDavid and Draisaitl in their prime. You have to add and assume the team will wake up and play to their capabilities.

You absolutely can’t sell and I think that standing pat is also a bad idea. I don’t think they’re a team that should necessarily be ‘all in’ but they need to try give Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl some amount of support.

I’m starting to think it may not be the worst move, but who do the Oilers have of any negligible value? Does Henrique get you more than a late-round pick? Would the team be open to moving Roslovic or Kapanen, given how well they’ve been playing? At the very least, Mangiapane and Regula on waivers could open up more ice time for the youth.

Can’t really do that when you only have a two-year extension on Connor McDavid. I understand why you’d say it, but the circumstances don’t really allow it.

Just how the season has played out. Last year, they had three of the nine 100-point teams. In 2023, they had four. The Pacific has been very good over the past three seasons, with a team in the Cup Final each of those years. Vegas and Edmonton have underachieved thus far.

Teams like the Kings and Kraken are just painfully mediocre. The Ducks and Sharks are good stories, but they’re just starting to come out of their rebuilds and there are two teams in Calgary and Vancouver that are squarely in rebuilds. Simple as that.

Because Vancouver and Calgary suck.

I blame the Gords! It’s the only explanation.

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