Q: At one time, I was a fan of Ales Hemsky, but his play hasn’t progressed. You can read him like a road map. He gets the puck in full flight at centre, comes down the right side, circles the net and stops by the face-off circle along the left boards and looks to pass to somebody. Meanwhile, his teammates stand around. His style kills the power play, which needs continual movement. He’s a perimeter player.

Murray Isnor

A: First off, Hemsky isn’t a perimeter player. If he was, he’d never get tagged. He gets hit more than most Edmonton Oilers. I do agree, however, that his play on the power play has become somewhat stale. Five-on-five, he would rather go behind the net at full speed than cut to the net. The Oilers power play tends to run through him, but you are right that he’s often setting up in the same spot and the Oilers defencemen can’t or won’t slide across the blue-line for a one-timer. I would have liked to see him go to the net against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday on the five-on-three for 59 seconds when he had the puck five feet from the cage. I would rather see him do that to draw a penalty than try to pass the puck through people. I still believe he’s a world class player, but the nagging concern about Hemsky around the league is his health. He’s been hurt a lot (shoulder, groin, concussion).

Q: The goaltending situation is a tough call for the Oilers. Should they buy out Nikolai Khabibulin or keep him around for another two years and absorb the $3.75-million salary-cap hit?

Brian Green

A: I asked an excellent eastern-based agent for the answer and he said the Oilers could buy out Khabibulin at two-thirds of what’s left on his deal after this season, which would be about $5 million of the $7.5 million. That would save owner Daryl Katz some money, but because the 38-year-old goalie was signed when he was over 35, the agent says the team wouldn’t get salary-cap relief. In other words, his full $3.75 million a season would still be on their books for both seasons. As the agent said, they would get financial relief, but not cap relief. It’s a moot point anyway. I don’t think rookie Devan Dubnyk is ready to be a 60-game goalie yet. He needs Khabibulin’s guidance, even if Khabby is going through the worst stretch of his goaltending life and hasn’t won a game in almost two months.

Q: Is this the worst Oilers team in history? Yes, it’s absolutely disheartening to watch their home games. As they say, no guts, no glory. The rebuild is a long, long way from completion. They desperately need a handful of those abrasive players who won’t be pushed around.

Don and Chris

A: I can’t agree with you more. I’ve seen worse Oilers teams in the ’90s when the crowds were about 8,500 a game. But this could be a team that gets fewer points than Ted Green’s ’92-93 team that had 60. They’re preaching patience and I’m all for that, but if I’m paying good bucks to watch them at home, I’m leaving the rink muttering about not losing honourably. They’re way better on the road. They definitely need some Brenden Morrow types who will stick their nose in and refuse to get moved away from the net. Watch Morrow on Tuesday when Dallas is in town. They feel they have a strong forward draft in Curtis Hamilton, but he might not be a top-six NHLer and Teemu Hartikainen on the farm is a big, heavy body on the wing. But I’m talking real sandpaper here. They have to draft or trade for a couple of forwards with hands and a mean streak.

Q: We love Sheldon Souray here in Hershey. Thanks for sending him our way. Keep him here or, hopefully, work out something with the Washington Capitals.

Mary Whitmore

A: I like Sheldon, too. I hope he makes it back to the NHL after the Oilers loaned him to the Capitals’ American Hockey League farm club. I don’t see the Caps being interested in him, but that $4.25 million left on his contract next season is an albatross around his neck for other teams who might be interested in getting him on re-entry waivers. If he was a rental pickup, teams would be much more inclined to take his big shot.

Q: I believe Mike Bossy’s Islanders rookie record for goals was at least 50, not the 25 you said (in Hockey World).

Open-Ice Hitter

A: My mistake, for sure. I referenced Bossy in the Michael Grabner context. Grabner, picked up on waivers from the Florida Panthers after they got him in the Keith Ballard deal with the Vancouver Canucks last June, has a remarkable 24 goals on the Island. He’s now in the rookie of the year race in a big way. Bossy had 53 goals his first NHL season. I was way off. Smack me upside the head with an Islanders media guide.

jmatheson@edmontonjournal.com