David Staples of the Edmonton Journal makes a compelling case that something needs to change for the Edmonton Oilers. The numbers don’t lie: When Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aren’t on the ice, the Oilers get crushed. A bottom six that’s underwater by a wide margin isn’t just a weakness, it’s a playoff liability.
He proposes a solution that won’t exactly sit well with the team’s top superstar and many fans who know the top line is the only line that clicks: break it up.
Moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to third-line center may be the cleanest theoretical solution on paper, but it comes at a huge cost: breaking the Oilers’ most dominant line. Since reuniting, the McDavid-Nugent-Hopkins-Zach Hyman trio has been one of the NHL’s most effective units at five-on-five, drawing fouls, limiting opportunities against opponents and carrying the team during an otherwise uneven stretch.
That matters. A lot of.
The Oilers don’t have the luxury of casually dismantling one of the few things that works consistently. In a Western Conference where margins are thin, elite production often determines how successful a team like the Oilers will be. Honestly, the only reason Edmonton is still in first place in the Pacific Division is because the other teams in that division are losing. If that doesn’t happen anymore, Edmonton will have to turn its game around. Robbing Peter to pay Paul on the third line could easily create a new problem bigger than the one it was supposed to solve.
Have the oil companies exhausted all other options?
Staples isn’t wrong about the urgency. The bottom six do need help. A rookie line seems problematic. Adam Henrique has not been a good 3C solution. Trent Frederic is not playing hard and Andrew Mangiapane appears to be on his way out. This feels less like a coaching puzzle with a few missing pieces – which for anyone who puts puzzles together, is the worst thing that ever happened.
Kris Knoblauch shouldn’t have to choose between top chemistry and functional depth. That’s a front office problem, not a banking problem.
But before he breaks the top line, Edmonton still has options to explore: giving Kasperi Kapanen meaningful minutes upon his return, experimenting with Jack Roslovic in different roles, or seeing if one of the younger forwards can tread water higher in the lineup without sinking the ship. It appears the process will begin Tuesday night when the Oilers take on the Nashville Predators.
These options may not be perfect, but they don’t require detonating the team’s best weapon.
At some point, Nugent-Hopkins at 3C may become unavoidable. But taking that step now — when the Oilers desperately need an elite offense to cover up other shortcomings — risks solving one problem and creating another.
Next: Kapanen’s return comes as Oilers Coach looks for a specific spark
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