RNH With McDavid Vs. Draisaitl With McDavid

[nabob]

Agreed. I just dont understand the coaches love with Cagguila. I like Cagguila well enough. Hes a good energy guy, plays hard, plays with an edge but hes a fourth line player imo. He doesnt have the skill or the defensive awareness to be much more. Why not try Aberg - Drai - JP and see how it goes? The seasons lost and the coach is still beyond stubborn to try anything logical because he thinks hes fighting for his and Woodcrofts job I guess.

I think that line would light it up. Both those wingers are cheap too. Wouldn't hurt to see what we have there before the season ends. We know Puljujarvi looks good with Strome, but I think there is more than a 3rd line winger there. Drai will be in his 5th season next year, he should be able to carry a line.

 

[onetweasy]

I have heard this mentioned before and I think that there may be something to this. Sometimes he just doesnt look comfortable handling the puck.

IIRC - Adam Oates is a huge proponent of finding the correct stick length.

How comforting would it be to hear that the Oilers have hired a skills coach to work with certain players over the summer. Jesse's current game looks to be screaming out for it.

 

[FlameChampion]

IIRC - Adam Oates is a huge proponent of finding the correct stick length.

How comforting would it be to hear that the Oilers have hired a skills coach to work with certain players over the summer. Jesse's current game looks to be screaming out for it.

Oilers should hire Oates to work with JP for a couple weeks in the offseason. It would give them another opinion on JP's game and hopefully improve his game.

 

[guymez]

IIRC - Adam Oates is a huge proponent of finding the correct stick length.

How comforting would it be to hear that the Oilers have hired a skills coach to work with certain players over the summer. Jesse's current game looks to be screaming out for it.

Its a very good idea.
That being said I am pretty sure the Oilers are very limited under the new CBA in terms of what they can have a player do in the off season.
Ultimately it is up to the player so Jesse has to want to do this. Hopefully Jesse is more open to new ideas than a player like Yakupov who was a closed book.

 

[Satire]

RNH and Mcdavid with a shoot first winger.

Drai and JP with an all-rounder.

I think Drai is more capable of carrying his own line then RNH and had a bigger skill set. JP will figure it out I think. I hope we give him time to do so.

Lucic might have a bounce back year but him being stone hands and slow makes him a hard peice to fit on the team when your top 2 centres are rush/transition players. He needs to be better at the cycle and return to the player we know he can be. Considered that his age might be part of the issue.

A healthy Klefbom and Sekera will go a long way next year.

 

[Aerchon]

I like strength down the middle and love the center depth we have. Keep all our centers center and have a solid center on every line is my preference.

However our over team depth has taken a hit and I can certainly see the value of big minutes in a top 6 bottom 6 format moving forward.

In this scenario Nuge makes way more sense on McDavids wing than Draisaitl. As good as Draisaitl is on his backhand its easier for the give and go of two lefties with Nuge playing LW than Draisaitl playing RW. Also Draisaitl is very obviously built for being a powerhouse center than Nuge. Better on draws ect. Nuge will potentially have less injuries playing LW... Although that may just be wishful thinking.

Its funny but Nuge would be excellent on Draisaitls wing as well most likely. Freeing McDavid to hopefully play well with 2 scrub wingers to alleviate his massive cap hit.

 

[HugginThePost]

RNH-McDavid-Draisaitl

/thread

PS. ImO the issue is not about Connor's line dominating .it is about secondary scoring... one can argue that RNH is a better 2C than Draisaitl in terms of carrying a line.

Drai with scrubs as wingers hasnt been producing.. RNH with scrubs on his line was kinda/sorta producing this year. .

Drivesaitl incoming.......5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!

 

[Drivesaitl]

Drivesaitl incoming.......5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!

Not even. The post was completely fictional. No point really. Drai HAS been producing with scrubs. He's had scrubs half the season.

 

[Duke74]

Not even. The post was completely fictional. No point really. Drai HAS been producing with scrubs. He's had scrubs half the season.

If not longer than half.

Yeah, there's no numbers to backup his statement. How was Nuge producing with lesser players? Nuge, with 30 fewer points that Draisaitl, had Maroon for a while, and Draisaitl's put up nearly 70 points with the likes of Cammelleri, Slepyshev, Cagguila, Aberg, Strome, Khaira, and Lucic. He's played probably 2/3 to 3/4 of the season with not only scrubs but a rotating cast of them, making it difficult to establish any type of chemistry. And, with a dysfunctional power play to boot, it's a wonder he's anywhere near last year's production.

I find it interesting how people are salivating over Nuge this year when, despite having a better year than last, he has .75 PPG in comparison to Draisaitl, whose been absolutely vilified on these boards despite posting a .92 PPG.

 

[guymez]

If not longer than half.

Yeah, there's no numbers to backup his statement. How was Nuge producing with lesser players? Nuge, with 30 fewer points that Draisaitl, had Maroon for a while, and Draisaitl's put up nearly 70 points with the likes of Cammelleri, Slepyshev, Cagguila, Aberg, Strome, Khaira, and Lucic. He's played probably 2/3 to 3/4 of the season with not only scrubs but a rotating cast of them, making it difficult to establish any type of chemistry. And, with a dysfunctional power play to boot, it's a wonder he's anywhere near last year's production.

I find it interesting how people are salivating over Nuge this year when, despite having a better year than last, he has .75 PPG in comparison to Draisaitl, whose been absolutely vilified on these boards despite posting a .92 PPG.

RNH was the teams leading goal scorer before he got injured.

 

[AM]

Drai makes too much money to play with McDavid.

 

[AM]

RNH was the teams leading goal scorer before he got injured.

Its not the points for Drai. Its the points against.

 

[MessierII]

I think Draisaitl is a better center than Nuge. Mcdavid is find either way.

 

[Duke74]

Its not the points for Drai. Its the points against.

Nuge was a minus before he started playing with McDavid.

 

[Duke74]

RNH was the teams leading goal scorer before he got injured.

Sure, but McDavid would have surpassed him. And he has maybe half the assists Draisaitl does. Assists don't mean anything? Yet somehow RNH is a hero and Drai's a bum. That narrative makes no sense.

 

[guymez]

Sure, but McDavid would have surpassed him. And he has maybe half the assists Draisaitl does. Assists don't mean anything? Yet somehow RNH is a hero and Drai's a bum. That narrative makes no sense.

The point being that RNH was generating offence on his own line.

 

[Duke74]

The point being that RNH was generating offence on his own line.

And Draisaitl hasn't been? As I stated in another threat, he's been saddled with a rotating cast of bottom liners, including Cagguila, Slepy, Camm, Aberg, etc. and has nearly 70 points with the likes of those players. Add in the dysfunctional power play and it's a miracle he has as many points as he does. But I guess some people are short-sighted and only see what they want to see. Nuge is the shiny new toy of the year. A refurbished one, if you will.

 

[AM]

Drai needs to grow up abit. Ever noticed how he hangs his head when he doesnt get to play with Mc David? this attitude does not help the team.

As for how good he is, I think Drai has played alot of hockey in the last year. I think hell be better next year. Which he has to be to make our salary cap work.

 

[guymez]

And Draisaitl hasn't been? As I stated in another threat, he's been saddled with a rotating cast of bottom liners, including Cagguila, Slepy, Camm, Aberg, etc. and has nearly 70 points with the likes of those players. Add in the dysfunctional power play and it's a miracle he has as many points as he does. But I guess some people are short-sighted and only see what they want to see. Nuge is the shiny new toy of the year. A refurbished one, if you will.

What does Draisaitl have to do with this? I never mentioned him at all.
Also not sure why you are trying to polarize the discussion on RNH.
Just because you dont like him that doesn't mean that is isnt a valuable player.

Draisaitl makes $8.5M and should be (and is capable of) driving his own line. RNH is a smart player that can skate...a nice compliment to McDavid IMO.
The current arrangemet just makes sense on multiple levels.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The point being that RNH was generating offence on his own line.

3 of them were empty net goals and another 2 of them were own goals that Nuge was credited for. That's 5 out of his total.

just saying.

Maroon and Drai were among the team leaders in goals last year. What CREDIT did they get for that? There is most definitely a double standard at work.


The worst possible scenario for the club is it gets the impression that Nuge can be groomed into an elite weapon and thus being a center result in Drai being expendable. If this org figured that I think I would be about done.

I've had the odd thought the org is softening the look of a Drai trade by going "look, Nuge will take up all the slack"

I don't trust Chia not to get hoodwinked in some deal again.

 

[Duke74]

3 of them were empty net goals and another 2 of them were own goals that Nuge was credited for. That's 5 out of his total.

just saying.

Maroon and Drai were among the team leaders in goals last year. What CREDIT did they get for that? There is most definitely a double standard at work.


The worst possible scenario for the club is it gets the impression that Nuge can be groomed into an elite weapon and thus being a center result in Drai being expendable. If this org figured that I think I would be about done.

I've had the odd thought the org is softening the look of a Drai trade by going "look, Nuge will take up all the slack"

I don't trust Chia not to get hoodwinked in some deal again.

It's nice to have some common sense in here.

 

[Duke74]

What does Draisaitl have to do with this? I never mentioned him at all.
Also not sure why you are trying to polarize the discussion on RNH.
Just because you dont like him that doesn't mean that is isnt a valuable player.

Draisaitl makes $8.5M and should be (and is capable of) driving his own line. RNH is a smart player that can skate...a nice compliment to McDavid IMO.
The current arrangemet just makes sense on multiple levels.

I'm not anti-Nuge. I like Nuge a lot and I'm scared to death that he's only playing on McD's wing as a way of showcasing him for a trade. I also agree that the current lines work best. I only mentioned Drai in response to people (maybe it was even you?) saying that while RNH can drive offense on his own line, Drai couldn't. I was simply disputing that point by saying that Drai has been (albeit not as consistently as we would all like). Plus, this is a discussion about Nuge, McD, and Drai, so I don't think I'm off topic.

 

[McSuper]

RNH and McDavid should stay together next year with Draisaitl centering the #2 line.

I would like to see Puljujärvi and Yamamoto fill out the top 6...... just need a LW to play on Leon's line that it's named Lucic.

Maybe Benson can make it . Health is the biggest question with Benson

 

[VainGretzky]

Yamamoto will be on Draisaitl wing next season book it

 

[McShogun99]

Depending on which shooting winger we get this off season should determine whether RNH or Draisaitl plays with Mcdavid. We get a LW then Draisaitl plays with Mcdavid, we get a RW then RNH plays with Mcdavid. I don't know why we don't try RNH-Mcdavid-JP then find 2 middle six wingers for Draisaitl.