Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. As always, I&#8217;ve got a post-draft, pre-free agency mailbag ready to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their take on whatever&#8217;s on your mind. This week, we&#8217;re discussing the Edmonton Oilers being contenders, a one-year offer sheet review, consulting the grit chart, and more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at <a class="text-accent" href="mailto:baggedmilk@oilersnation.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">baggedmilk@oilersnation.com</a> or on Twitter at <a class="text-accent" href="https://www.twitter.com/jsbmbaggedmilk" rel="noopener noreferrer">@jsbmbaggedmilk</a>, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

<figure id="attachment_172890" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-172890" style="width: 812px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-172890" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-1024x683.jpg" alt="St. Louis Blue Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg" width="812" height="541" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-300x200.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-768x512.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-172890" class="wp-caption-text">Oct 19, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) celebrates with defenseman Philip Broberg (6) after scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure>
1) Calvin asks &#8211; We&#8217;re a year out from <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/we-wouldnt-have-been-able-to-field-a-team-no-regrets-dylan-holloway-philip-broberg-offer-sheets-edmonton-oilers-stan-bowman">the St. Louis Blues offersheets</a>, and I&#8217;m wondering what everyone thinks of how Stan Bowman handled the situation with the benefit of a year of hindsight?
Tyler Yaremchuk:
I mean, the short answer is that the Oilers definitely regret not keeping at least Dylan Holloway. With the Walman addition, even though it costed a first-round pick, you could make the argument that they covered for the Broberg loss to an extent. But not having Holloway in this top-six, scoring 50+ points on his current contract? That&#8217;s painful. I like the Podkolzin add, I also like the Emberson add and I do like that Bowman went out and got Ike Howard this summer to add a young player to the mix&#8230; but not having Holloway still hurts.
Zach Laing: 
The Oilers have made out fine, and adding Ike Howard and Matt Savoie lessens the blow of losing a young winger like Dylan Holloway. He&#8217;s the one the team likely should&#8217;ve held onto in the first place.
Baggedmilk:
Not matching on Dylan Holloway was a mistake. Full stop. Right now the Oilers are looking for young forwards that can score, and that&#8217;s exactly what they had on him. And to not match for about $1 million more than they wanted to pay was a big miss.
<figure id="attachment_176350" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-176350" style="width: 799px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-176350" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26363837-1-1024x590.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers Stan Bowman Kris Knoblauch" width="799" height="460" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26363837-1-1024x590.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26363837-1-300x173.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26363837-1-768x442.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26363837-1.jpg 1250w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-176350" class="wp-caption-text">Jun 3, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman along with Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch are seen during media day in advance of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure>
2) Cliff asks &#8211; Assuming this is the roster the Oilers are starting the season with, did Stan Bowman do enough to keep Edmonton as a genuine contender?
Tyler Yaremchuk:
Yes. They still have a very good forward group and a solid blueline with a very good amount of depth. The goaltending will remain a question mark, but it&#8217;s not going to sink them. It&#8217;s gotten them to the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years. They might still need to upgrade, but you can&#8217;t argue against the fact that it&#8217;s at least playoff calibre goaltending. They&#8217;re still one of the best teams in the NHL and their roster actually has more upside than it did a year ago.
Zach Laing:
Without a doubt. The Oilers&#8217; blueline was very good in the playoffs last year and far from the issue, while there was some change needed to the forward group. Howard, Savoie, Mangiapane and potentially others should be beneficial.
Baggedmilk:
Yes, they&#8217;re still contenders because they still have the two best players on earth with an array of strong complimentary pieces. The goaltending needs to be more consistent, but the Oilers are definitely a contender.
<figure id="attachment_150154" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-150154" style="width: 794px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-150154" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues-1024x819.jpg" alt="Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman photoshop" width="794" height="635" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues-300x240.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues-768x614.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-150154" class="wp-caption-text">Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk</figcaption></figure>
3) Sue asks &#8211; David Staples wrote an article that wonders “Can the smurfs get it done?” and it has me wondering what the Oilers&#8217; identity will be this year. What’s your take?
Tyler Yaremchuk:
Their identity will be the same as every other year: they are going to outscore you and possess the puck more than you. They&#8217;ve never been a tough team who will run you over with their physicality so the idea that we should be concerned that they aren&#8217;t going to be that this season is insane.
Zach Laing:
It&#8217;s not the size of the dog in the fight, it&#8217;s the size of the fight in the dog.
Baggedmilk:
The Oilers didn&#8217;t lose to the Panthers because they couldn&#8217;t hit. They lost to the Panthers because they couldn&#8217;t score. They need guys who can produce offence from the dirty areas on the ice, and we&#8217;ll see if this mix is the group that can do that.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-160069" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Leon-Draisaitl-throwing-money-1024x576.jpg" alt="Leon Draisaitl photoshop" width="817" height="460" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Leon-Draisaitl-throwing-money-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Leon-Draisaitl-throwing-money-300x169.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Leon-Draisaitl-throwing-money-768x432.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Leon-Draisaitl-throwing-money.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 817px) 100vw, 817px" />
4) Mark asks &#8211; There has been a lot of talk regarding how tight the Oilers are to the cap ceiling. What I don&#8217;t understand is that there were reports at the trade deadline that Stan Bowman was far down the path of potentially landing Mikko Rantanen in trade and extension, and it was a lack of assets that killed it. Can anyone please explain how this was possible?
Tyler Yaremchuk:
There are a bunch of things that probably would have had to happen. Offloading some contracts like Adam Henrique and Brett Kulak would have been necessary. They wouldn&#8217;t have signed Mangiapane either. The Trent Frederic deal wouldn&#8217;t have happened. The short answer is: they would have been able to afford Rantanen, but they would have needed to swap out the four players I just mentioned for guys who are making league minimum.
Zach Laing:
The Oilers <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-list-teams-mikko-rantanen-accept-trade-and-sign">didn&#8217;t have the assets</a> to make it work, but it <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-trade-extension-mikko-rantanen-rickard-rakell-ryan-donato">doesn&#8217;t mean they didn&#8217;t try</a>. I loosely ran through <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/theres-some-belief-they-can-make-that-happen-oilers-signing-mikko-rantanen-isnt-that-far-fetched-of-an-idea">the scenario in January</a> when rumours first surfaced about it, but long story short, the Oilers would&#8217;ve needed to move Evander Kane, Adam Henrique, with Evan Bouchard taking a lot less money than he did.
Baggedmilk:
I&#8217;m not smart enough to figure out this math, but it would have likely been Bouchard + Henrique + picks + other like pieces to make the math work, but we didn&#8217;t get there, so we&#8217;ll never know.
<figure id="attachment_176484" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-176484" style="width: 833px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-176484" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-1024x683.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers" width="833" height="555" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-300x200.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-768x512.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 833px) 100vw, 833px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-176484" class="wp-caption-text">Jun 4, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers left wing Viktor Arvidsson (33) reacts after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period in game one of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure>
5) Yves asks &#8211; Everyone always talks about one era of hockey being better than others for whatever reason. What era do you personally see as the NHL&#8217;s prime and why?
Tyler Yaremchuk:
Right now. This is the best era that I&#8217;ve ever been alive for so it has to be my answer. Beautiful, top tier arena and the best player of this generation in orange and blue. Back to back trips to the Stanley Cup Final. This is pretty close to what we dreamed about during the decade of darkness.
Zach Laing:
I genuinely believe &#8220;the best era of hockey&#8221; was the era you grew up watching, or have the most memories around. Our brains work in mysterious ways, but it&#8217;s safe to say the game is the most high-flying it&#8217;s ever been today.
Baggedmilk:
Honestly, I think I&#8217;m having the most fun watching the Oilers right now so I&#8217;m going to say this is my favourite era of hockey. Close second would be in the 90s because Pavel Bure was my favourite player and he was absolutely electric to watch.
<h2>PRESENTED BY STAR MECHANICAL</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-146181" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Article-2-SME.png" alt="" width="728" height="404" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Article-2-SME.png 728w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Article-2-SME-300x166.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" />
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Stan Bowman Edmonton Oilers GM free agency live blog

Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. As always, I've got a post-draft, pre-free agency 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 Edmonton Oilers being contenders, a one-year offer sheet review, consulting the grit chart, and more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at <a class="text-accent" href="mailto:baggedmilk@oilersnation.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">baggedmilk@oilersnation.com</a> or on Twitter at <a class="text-accent" href="https://www.twitter.com/jsbmbaggedmilk" rel="noopener noreferrer">@jsbmbaggedmilk</a>, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.



[caption id="attachment_172890" align="aligncenter" width="812"]<img class=" wp-image-172890" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_24538858-1024x683.jpg" alt="St. Louis Blue Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg" width="812" height="541" /> Oct 19, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) celebrates with defenseman Philip Broberg (6) after scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images[/caption]

1) Calvin asks - We're a year out from <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/we-wouldnt-have-been-able-to-field-a-team-no-regrets-dylan-holloway-philip-broberg-offer-sheets-edmonton-oilers-stan-bowman">the St. Louis Blues offersheets</a>, and I'm wondering what everyone thinks of how Stan Bowman handled the situation with the benefit of a year of hindsight?

Tyler Yaremchuk:

I mean, the short answer is that the Oilers definitely regret not keeping at least Dylan Holloway. With the Walman addition, even though it costed a first-round pick, you could make the argument that they covered for the Broberg loss to an extent. But not having Holloway in this top-six, scoring 50+ points on his current contract? That's painful. I like the Podkolzin add, I also like the Emberson add and I do like that Bowman went out and got Ike Howard this summer to add a young player to the mix... but not having Holloway still hurts.

Zach Laing: 

The Oilers have made out fine, and adding Ike Howard and Matt Savoie lessens the blow of losing a young winger like Dylan Holloway. He's the one the team likely should've held onto in the first place.

Baggedmilk:

Not matching on Dylan Holloway was a mistake. Full stop. Right now the Oilers are looking for young forwards that can score, and that's exactly what they had on him. And to not match for about $1 million more than they wanted to pay was a big miss.

[caption id="attachment_176350" align="aligncenter" width="799"]<img class=" wp-image-176350" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26363837-1-1024x590.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers Stan Bowman Kris Knoblauch" width="799" height="460" /> Jun 3, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman along with Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch are seen during media day in advance of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images[/caption]

2) Cliff asks - Assuming this is the roster the Oilers are starting the season with, did Stan Bowman do enough to keep Edmonton as a genuine contender?

Tyler Yaremchuk:

Yes. They still have a very good forward group and a solid blueline with a very good amount of depth. The goaltending will remain a question mark, but it's not going to sink them. It's gotten them to the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years. They might still need to upgrade, but you can't argue against the fact that it's at least playoff calibre goaltending. They're still one of the best teams in the NHL and their roster actually has more upside than it did a year ago.

Zach Laing:

Without a doubt. The Oilers' blueline was very good in the playoffs last year and far from the issue, while there was some change needed to the forward group. Howard, Savoie, Mangiapane and potentially others should be beneficial.

Baggedmilk:

Yes, they're still contenders because they still have the two best players on earth with an array of strong complimentary pieces. The goaltending needs to be more consistent, but the Oilers are definitely a contender.

[caption id="attachment_150154" align="aligncenter" width="794"]<img class=" wp-image-150154" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GDB-Edmonton-Oilers-Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach-Hyman-Blues-1024x819.jpg" alt="Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman photoshop" width="794" height="635" /> Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk[/caption]

3) Sue asks - David Staples wrote an article that wonders “Can the smurfs get it done?” and it has me wondering what the Oilers' identity will be this year. What’s your take?

Tyler Yaremchuk:

Their identity will be the same as every other year: they are going to outscore you and possess the puck more than you. They've never been a tough team who will run you over with their physicality so the idea that we should be concerned that they aren't going to be that this season is insane.

Zach Laing:

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

Baggedmilk:

The Oilers didn't lose to the Panthers because they couldn't hit. They lost to the Panthers because they couldn't score. They need guys who can produce offence from the dirty areas on the ice, and we'll see if this mix is the group that can do that.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-160069" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Leon-Draisaitl-throwing-money-1024x576.jpg" alt="Leon Draisaitl photoshop" width="817" height="460" />

4) Mark asks - There has been a lot of talk regarding how tight the Oilers are to the cap ceiling. What I don't understand is that there were reports at the trade deadline that Stan Bowman was far down the path of potentially landing Mikko Rantanen in trade and extension, and it was a lack of assets that killed it. Can anyone please explain how this was possible?

Tyler Yaremchuk:

There are a bunch of things that probably would have had to happen. Offloading some contracts like Adam Henrique and Brett Kulak would have been necessary. They wouldn't have signed Mangiapane either. The Trent Frederic deal wouldn't have happened. The short answer is: they would have been able to afford Rantanen, but they would have needed to swap out the four players I just mentioned for guys who are making league minimum.

Zach Laing:

The Oilers <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-list-teams-mikko-rantanen-accept-trade-and-sign">didn't have the assets</a> to make it work, but it <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-trade-extension-mikko-rantanen-rickard-rakell-ryan-donato">doesn't mean they didn't try</a>. I loosely ran through <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/theres-some-belief-they-can-make-that-happen-oilers-signing-mikko-rantanen-isnt-that-far-fetched-of-an-idea">the scenario in January</a> when rumours first surfaced about it, but long story short, the Oilers would've needed to move Evander Kane, Adam Henrique, with Evan Bouchard taking a lot less money than he did.

Baggedmilk:

I'm not smart enough to figure out this math, but it would have likely been Bouchard + Henrique + picks + other like pieces to make the math work, but we didn't get there, so we'll never know.

[caption id="attachment_176484" align="aligncenter" width="833"]<img class=" wp-image-176484" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/USATSI_26375367-1024x683.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers" width="833" height="555" /> Jun 4, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers left wing Viktor Arvidsson (33) reacts after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period in game one of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images[/caption]

5) Yves asks - Everyone always talks about one era of hockey being better than others for whatever reason. What era do you personally see as the NHL's prime and why?

Tyler Yaremchuk:

Right now. This is the best era that I've ever been alive for so it has to be my answer. Beautiful, top tier arena and the best player of this generation in orange and blue. Back to back trips to the Stanley Cup Final. This is pretty close to what we dreamed about during the decade of darkness.

Zach Laing:

I genuinely believe "the best era of hockey" was the era you grew up watching, or have the most memories around. Our brains work in mysterious ways, but it's safe to say the game is the most high-flying it's ever been today.

Baggedmilk:

Honestly, I think I'm having the most fun watching the Oilers right now so I'm going to say this is my favourite era of hockey. Close second would be in the 90s because Pavel Bure was my favourite player and he was absolutely electric to watch.
<h2>PRESENTED BY STAR MECHANICAL</h2>
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Monday Mailbag: Did Stan Bowman do enough to keep Oilers genuine contenders?

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