Viktor Arvidsson Edmonton Oilers photoshop

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 winners and losers from the NHL Draft, how the Oilers did, Viktor Arvidsson, 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_177686" align="aligncenter" width="804"]<img class=" wp-image-177686" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Edmonton-Oilers-prospect-Aidan-Park-1024x576.jpeg" alt="Edmonton Oilers prospect Aidan Park" width="804" height="452" /> Edmonton Oilers prospect Aidan Park | Photo: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff[/caption]

1) Devon asks - Who are your winners and losers of the NHL Draft, and how did the Oilers fare with their limited picks?

Jason Gregor:

I’m not a huge fan of winners and losers since it is just a projection on many players I haven’t seen play. The winning stories for me were Matthew Schaefer’s reaction after being taken 1st overall and the classy move by the Islanders to have the Cancer ribbon, in honour of his deceased mother, on his jersey.

I also smiled at the Aidan Park pick by the Oilers. Park was wearing a hoodie and shorts, because he wasn’t sure he’d get drafted, but stuck around and got to have that moment and hear his name called and put on a jersey. He was incredibly well spoken in his press conference and he’s a player I’ll be following. He’d be quite the Cinderella story.

Winners were all the kids getting drafted. If I’m being honest I found it funny how fans and some media complained about how long the draft took, yet many of the same people complain when their team trades away a “Day Two” draft pick because they are so valuable. If you deem them this valuable, shouldn’t teams take their time to make a good draft pick?

Liam Horrobin:

Winners: The Players

Losers: The Boston Bruins for not doing an audio check before chatting with James Hagens in round one.

The Oilers did a good job. Players aren't perfect when you're drafting in round 3 and beyond, but they all seem to have a top quality. Only time will tell.

Zach Laing: 

I'll refer to <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-tracker-second-third-fourth-fifth-sixth-seventh-round-day-2">Daily Faceoff's draft expert Steven Ellis here</a> for the non-Oilers teams.

It's hard to get too excited about a draft class without first and second-round picks, but I don't have any issue with the Oilers selections. They went for upside with a lot of their picks, even moving up to select defenceman Asher Barnett in the fifth round. There must be something the Oilers like there. I'm curious about their sixth round pick, goaltender Daniel Salonen, who had some great numbers in Finland's u20 league, posting a 23-1 record, a .933 save percentage and a 1.55 goals against average. He was named league MVP and its top goaltender.

Baggedmilk:

The Islanders were the obvious winner given how many picks they and where they were in the order. I also liked Philly's two first-rounders, as well. As for the losers, it's impossible to say until four or five years down the line, but I thought we might have seen a trade or two from the Oilers that never ended up happening.

[caption id="attachment_177136" align="aligncenter" width="853"]<img class=" wp-image-177136" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/P-FREDERIC-1024x683.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers Trent Frederic" width="853" height="569" /> May 27, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers center Trent Frederic (21) chases the puck during the first period against the Dallas Stars in game four of the Western Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images[/caption]

2) Yves asks - Now that <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/06/27/eight-year-contract-edmonton-oilers-trent-frederic-isnt-risky/">Trent Frederic's eight-year extension</a> is official, what do you see as pros and cons of going a deal this long with a player we don't exactly know well?

Jason Gregor:

It will be hard for Frederic to make this contract look bad. The last three years of the deal he is 32, 33 and 34. Not in his late 30s. The pros are he can play all three forward positions and he plays with an edge and has 18-22 goal potential. His high ankle sprain significantly limited his mobility in the playoffs.  The con would be if he hits the wall at 32 years of age. But even then you could buy out the final three years of his deal and only have a cap hit of $827,778 for six years.

Liam Horrobin:

A notable pro is keeping the money down. Even if its only a few $100K, that matters to a team that is pushing for a Stanley Cup. He's also only 27 and you're not going to find many players like him in the NHL. Think of him as a Evander Kane replacement in a way but he's significantly younger and cheaper.

A con would be if he doesn't find his offensive form from a couple of years ago when he had 35 goals over two seasons for the Boston Bruins. That'll need to happen immediately for fans to get on his good side after a lackluster playoffs.

Zach Laing: 

The Oilers kept the AAV (slightly) down by going long term with him, and I think there's a lot more to this player than we saw this spring. He was still battling injury, and the structure of the contract <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/06/27/eight-year-contract-edmonton-oilers-trent-frederic-isnt-risky/">helps the team avoid much risk if things go south</a>.

Baggedmilk:

The money doesn't bug me as much as the term, I think. Eight years is a long time for a guy who was injured and didn't provide a whole lot in the playoff run. That said, I'm nowhere close to being as offended about the idea as some people are. If he gets back to a 15-18 goal player, then I think this contract could end up providing tremendous value.

[caption id="attachment_171973" align="aligncenter" width="838"]<img class=" wp-image-171973" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/USATSI_25706712-1024x683.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson" width="838" height="559" /> Mar 18, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Victor Arvidsson (33) celebrates after scoring a goal during the third period against the Utah Hockey Club at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images[/caption]

3) Oilers fan in Van asks - Why do you think the <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/06/24/what-edmonton-oilers-might-lose-trading-viktor-arvidsson/">Viktor Arvidsson</a> experiment didn't go as planned in Edmonton?

Jason Gregor:

Good question. He had a slow start, then got injured, and never really found much consistency. He never seemed to find a consistent role and icetime. His penchant to fall down a lot didn’t help.

Liam Horrobin:

Viktor Arvidsson loves to shoot the puck and, in Edmonton, he didn't shoot the puck as much. Whether that was through lack of opporunity, missing games, or not finding chemistry it didn't happen. You have to wonder how his slow start played into things too. It took him 11 games to score his first goal, ironically against Nashville, and only a few less to get his first point. It's too bad but at least both parties recognize it's not working and are willing to move on.

Zach Laing:

It's hard to say. He was injured early in the season, missing 15 games, and I think that played a role in things, but even when he was healthy, he couldn't seem to find his game. After he returned from injury, he put up a modest 13 goals and 22 points in 51 games. I don't think he was terrible, but he just couldn't find any consistency.

Baggedmilk:

I think his early injury really set him back. After coming back from two(ish) months on the shel, Arvidsson couldn't find much chemistry with Leon Draisaitl and ended up tumbling down the lineup and eventually to the press box. I'm sure it sucked just as much from him perspective, and I'm willing willing to bet his next stop gets more of the player we were hoping for as a result.

[caption id="attachment_176350" align="aligncenter" width="701"]<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="701" height="404" /> 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]

4) James asks - Stan Bowman suggested in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/06/04/i-dont-think-he-gets-enough-recognition-edmonton-oilers-gm-stan-bowman-kris-knoblauch-stuart-skinner-meeting-connor-mcdavid/">his year-end press conference</a> that he'd be focusing mostly on the forwards and goaltending this offseason, but do you think there are any defensive changes coming even if the moves are strictly for space relief?

Jason Gregor:

I do not see a D-man move coming this off-season. Doesn’t mean it can’t, but they have Ekholm, Bouchard, Nurse, Kulak, Walman, Stecher, Emberson, Regula and Leppänen. Also Josh Brown could play a few games.

Liam Horrobin:

Nothing on the backend changes. Stan Bowman said in his post-draft interview that he was happy with the way the blue line is. Stated that Mattias Ekholm was healthy when he return and that he like Brett Kulak and Jake Walman's vesitality. Even gave a mention to Ty Emberson and growth he had. Therefore, I don't suspect he changes his mind, which I do agree with. It's the Oilers strongest group out of the three primary positions.

Zach Laing: 

I've wondered about if they look to move on from Brett Kulak. He's been an excellent piece of this blue line, but his game fell off deep in the playoffs this year. He only makes $2.75-million, and that could be an option. They'll likely add a defenceman in either free agency or by way of an in-season trade.

Baggedmilk:

After listening to Stan Bowman's post-draft press conference, I highly doubt we'll be seeing any of the defencemen move despite what varying "insider" accounts on Twitter have been saying lately.

[caption id="attachment_173978" align="aligncenter" width="787"]<img class=" wp-image-173978" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres-1024x683.jpg" alt="Edmonton Oilers Evan Bouchard" width="787" height="525" /> Apr 25, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defensemen Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Los Angelos Kings in game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images[/caption]

5) Sue asks - I know we’re sick of talking about Evan Bouchard. And I know he’s a generational offensive D man. And I know his plus/minus speaks volumes in a positive way. And I know he scores timely goals, an intangible that’s tough to capture via stats.

But even with all of that, here’s the reality, at least for me: I worry every time he is responsible for the puck. I worry he will execute an untimely, heartbreaking giveaway, one that will cost the team a critical win. And I can’t seem to find a way to reconcile that negative and very real intangible with his upside, particularly for $10 million plus. Is he really worth more than one really good $7M player plus one steady $3M player (as an example)? Help me understand.

Jason Gregor:

How many untimely, heartbreaking giveaways did Bouchard make in these playoffs? Two in Game 1 v. LA. I didn’t see any glaring ones after that. I think when he makes one, you, and others, focus only on it upsets you much more than you get excited when you watch him make a good play. He makes way more great plays than horrible giveaways. You need to make a sheet and put checkmarks beside all the good plays he makes in a game. All of them, and then have a column for the bad ones. You will notice quickly the column with GOOD has way more than Bad.

Liam Horrobin:

Evan Bouchard is a game breaking player. The simpliest way to put it is that he's helping you more than he damaging you. His errors are glaring at times, but look at his in pivotal moments. Huge goals against LA and Vancouver the last couple of years, while also putting up amazing numbers offensively too. Defensively, he learned the penalty kill on the fly this post season and plays against the other teams best players. He's a difficult player to understand but he's a unicorn in a good way.

Zach Laing: 

Yes, he absolutely is worth it. I certainly understand the concern about mistakes he made, but the good things he does on the ice greatly outweigh the mistakes he made. I thought as the year went on he got better and better defensively, taking a big step forward in the playoffs. He's shown he can lift everyone around him on the ice, whether that's the big guns or the depth players. He's somebody you win with.

Baggedmilk:

I think Bouchard is going to get his money and that's generally what happens when you put up points the way he can. That said, I also think people are so split on this player that it's almost hard to convince one side to line up with the other. I think he's part of the solution around here, but that doesn't mean there aren't also instances when he frustrates the hell out of me. When it comes to this extension, I'm letting go of the wheel and letting the Hockey Gords steer the ship from there.
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