Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. As always, I’ve got a fresh mailbag ready to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their take on whatever’s on your mind. This week, we’re discussing the other Oilers waiting for contracts, Isaac Howard at rookie camp, Matt Savoie, 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.

Good question. It comes down to negotiations. I think Ekholm might be the easiest as he’s older and family really wants to be here, but Walman would be first priority as his deal will be a longer term deal I suspect. Podkolzin will likely wait and see how his season goes. If I was his agent I wouldn’t be rushing to sign.

Jake Walman is absolutely #1 on that list for me. He’s 29-years-old but has very few miles on him since he was a late bloomer and he is a very safe bet to be an impactful top-six defenseman for the next five or six years in my eyes. Get him signed now before he puts up 65 points playing with this Oilers offense. Next would be Podkolzin, who I could see having a breakout year and scoring close to 20-goals. Get him locked up before that happens. I would personally wait until the end of the season to sign Ekholm. Need to see what kind of shape he’s in coming off the injury and also how his body holds up.

It’s definitely Jake Walman for me then it would be Podz. I think Ekholm would be last on my list just because of age. Pro sports really are a cruel mistress.

I don’t think it is really as big of a distraction as some think. On the road he could get asked about it, but it is one or two questions, for a total of less than three minutes. As he said, if that keeps you from playing well you are in the wrong business.

Not at all. Every road crowd will be chanting “Connor’s leaving” and every road media scrum will come with questions about it. Every bad stretch will be overanalyzed. It will be a mess if he’s not signed by opening night.

Nope. It’s going to get worse, in fact.

It matters more for long term health as it is 10-15 pounds less weight on his joints. His hockey equipment hasn’t changed, just his suit pants. If he feels a bit lighter, I could see it helping him in sequences where he’s up and down and moving a lot in a short period of time.

His lateral movement was very poor last year so if he’s lost some weight, it should mean that he can go side to side in his crease much easier. This is actually a very important development.

Maybe it will lead to feeling fresh in the third period? I don’t actually know, but if there are opportunities for improvement and this is one of them, then let’s go. I guess.

I think Howard could play more games in AHL than NHL this year. Last year no one expected Matt Savoie (9^th overall pick in 2022) to make the NHL, and he had a great year in the AHL. Yet, this year some have talked about Howard (31^st pick in 2022) coming and playing in the top six and scoring 20-30 goals. The NHL is very hard, and it is harder for rookies on a Cup contender. I think many need to readjust their expectations for Howard. He’s a rookie. If he makes the team that is great, but if not, that is fine too as it is his first year as a pro and the AHL is a great league to learn and develop in.

None. He hadn’t really been skating before that, unlike Savoie who was at the Captain’s skates, so I’m willing to cut him some slack.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting more from him during the rookie games because of the hype around here, but I don’t think it means much at all when it comes to the upcoming season.

Make the team, play top nine minutes and be reliable. If he scores 25-30 points that would be a solid first season. Anything higher would be great.

I think being a legit top-nine player for 82 games would be a massive win. Score 15+ goals, crack the 40 point mark, and just show Kris Knoblauch that you can be trusted with important minutes come playoff time.

If he gets to 30-40 points this year — that’s not easy in the NHL — then I think that’s a pretty good start. Essentially, can he replace Jeff Skinner or Viktor Arvidsson’s production from last year? I think he can.

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