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 first impressions of the Oilers‘ newest friends, Tristan Jarry’s future with the club, Jake Walman’s struggles, 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.

At the start of the trip, I said a 2-1-1 record would be good. They played three good games out of four, and ideally, they would have finished off with a win in St. Louis. Blowing a two-goal lead in the final eight minutes was far from ideal, and the team shares your disappointment. They need to win three of four at home this week.

Blowing that two-goal lead obviously sucks, especially with the race being as close as it is, but considering the quality of opponents that they played, I’ll take it. If they get five out of every eight available points for the rest of the year they’ll get into the playoffs. I’ll give it a solid B+ as a grade.

It was… fine? They walked out with a winning record, which is what matters most, but blowing leads to Dallas and St. Louis surely left as sour taste.

I think it’s fine to come out of a trip like that with a 2-1-1 record, given the teams they played on that run. That said, not coming back to Edmonton at 3-1 is extremely disappointing, given where they were against the Blues with very little time left.

Walman needs to dig deeper at times, and I wonder how his conditioning is with him battling injuries a few times this season. If he continues to play like this throughout the contract, it will be a concern, but I need more than 50 games to say if a contract is bad or not.

It’s always a risk to sign a player to an extension as early as they did, but I was a fan of it at the time because of what we saw from Walman last year during the playoffs. Honestly, my concern with letting him go into the year unsigned was that he would put up 60+ points and end up being too expensive, especially with how weak the upcoming free agent class looks. I think the injuries really threw him off this year but there’s no denying that he needs to be better. Positonally he has been brutal and he’s made some very uncharacteristic mistakes with the puck.

It’s been a tough year for Walman, missing pre-season and the first six games. He suffered another injury that kept him out between Games 23 and 46, and it just hasn’t seemed like he’s been himself at any point. It’s far too soon to call it a bad contract.

He’s gotta be hurt still, right? I mean, he doesn’t look like he’s near the level we expect from him, and given the time on the shelf he’s already had, I wonder if any of those injuries are still lingering.

They have been what I expected. It is too bad Dach only played two games before getting hurt, but he brings a style of play they don’t have a lot of among their young players. Dickinson and Murphy should help make the Oilers a more consistent defensive team down the stretch.

I’m a big fan. Murphy has been excellent defensively and has given Kris Knoblauch a second pairing that he can trust. Dickinson is finding a way to make an impact in a limited roll, which is exactly what they need. Again, the cost was high but these two have given the Oilers exactly what they needed and that’s improved defensive play.

I’ve been happy with what we’ve seen. Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy have been rock-solid additions, and it’s a shame Colton Dach got hurt, because I liked what he was bringing, too.

I’m a big fan of Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson. I like guys who take care of their own yard first, and it’s clear through the first handful of games that that’s what they do. I also liked seeing Colton Dach throw his body around despite limited minutes, and it’s a shame he got banged up already.

At this point, I’d say yes. Buyout isn’t an option, and no one will trade for him at this moment. The organization needs to work with the player and help him find his game. It is easy to support players when things go well, they need to ensure they support him and help him rediscover his game.

I’m going to say no. The relationship is off to a very rocky start and it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Jarry gets a chance to redeem himself considering how late in the season we are. The trade this summer will be ugly, and the team might have to attach assets to get rid of him, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the tandem next fall is Connor Ingram and someone else.

He’s more likely than not going to be back, but that doesn’t mean the Oilers shouldn’t try to move him. His acquisition has been a mess nearly from the start.

I’ll say yes because no one will want to take on the last two years of that contract. Bowman made his bed, and he’s going to have to live with it.

No. Tampa and Florida went to three in a row recently. The Oilers simply need to be more consistent defensively. It has to be a regular commitment. Look how they played in Colorado and St. Louis, but then forgot how to defend in Dallas. It isn’t the system. It is a mental commitment to make the right plays. It is hard to play consistently defensively. You have to want to do it.

I really don’t want to use that as much of an excuse. Florida went to three straight Stanley Cup Finals. I think it’s a factor as to why they haven’t had a great regular season, but there are other issues at play and simply shrugging and saying ‘well, they’re tired’ is letting this group (the players, management, and coaching staff) off the hook. Early in the season, I would have bought it a bit more, but it’s been too long now. They should have figured things out months ago.

I don’t think the Cup final runs have had to do with it. The team has just checked out on games far too many times this year.

No, they’re playing like trash in the defensive zone. That’s not being tired, that’s cheating for offence.