from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

- On Tuesday, Edmonton faced off against Los Angeles without injured top-liners Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. Predictably, the Oilers fell short, even though the Kings were missing Marian Gaborik and Jake Muzzin. But they didn’t just lose. They got hammered, 6-1. The next night, the Coyotes hung seven on the Oilers.

As usual, it’s a mess in Edmonton. Injuries happen. It doesn’t help when they hit two of your best players. But management is responsible for providing depth when the inevitable takes place. Edmonton’s top two centers against the Kings were Mark Arcobello and Leon Draisaitl....

- What do Chris Kelly, Kris Letang, Matt Carle, Nicklas Grossmann, Dan Girardi, Stephen Weiss, Brandon Prust, and Nathan Horton have in common? Two things: They played for the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams last season, and they are overpaid within the context of their rosters and job descriptions. The point is that just about every management team is carrying an inflated salary. It happens. No GM is immune to this issue. There are reasons. Carle, Weiss, Prust, and Horton won their paydays as unrestricted free agents. Letang has the coveted puck-moving skill set. The Bruins like Kelly’s versatility and presence. Girardi, when he’s on, is a good shutdown defenseman. It’s better to have the player at a higher price than to lose him to a competitor.

more on the Oilers plus additional hockey topics including how teams deal with the second contract of a player...