Is RNH at #2C really that bad of an idea?

[Fourier]

That was always going to be a <9 game trial to give him a glimpse of what it's going to be like. He also didn't produce. In fact if I recall correctly McDavid had career-low numbers with him as a linemate.

I'd give him a year in the AHL and develop him properly. We really need to start developing our forwards properly.

Statistically that line had lots of chances while they were together. He played 61 minutes with McDavid and Maroon and he had 14 shots on net and 10 high danger scoring chances himself. The line had 48 scoring chances vs 24 against and they scored 2 goals. For high danger chances it was 25 for vs 8 against. Shots were 50-27.

That last stat shows you that the line was probably just unlucky. We are talking basically 1 game here in total time. What do you think the Oiler's record would be if they consistently outshot the opposition 50-27? 14 shots is also a lot. That is like a pace of 3.5 shots per game. Over 82 games he would have 287 shots. Last year that would have been good for 6th overall and that would be based only on 15 min/gm at 5vs5 with no pp time. Of course it is a small sample size but it shows how active that line was.

The AHL is a fine place to develop most players. But it is not always the best place for highly skilled players to learn to adjust to the league. Most of the game's top talent played very little in the AHL. So if he is ready you play him. If not you send him down.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

If that is the case then I could see a Klefbom for Hoffman with a slight retention deal. Or we finally give Jesse a shot with them and roll with Looch and Yamamoto with Nuge.

Klefbom for Hoffman?

Signing Neal and throwing the rookies to the wolves in the previous post?

No more late night posting for you.

 

[Todd from Leduc]

I love Nugey but he needs to get on some steroids and human growth hormone this off season. A 5 month cycle and clean for the regular season would do wonders for his game.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Klefbom for Hoffman?

Signing Neal and throwing the rookies to the wolves in the previous post?

No more late night posting for you.

I could see such a move if we draft or acquire a better defender.

The 2nd line is hardly being thrown to the wolves, the McDavid and Draisaitl line will always face tougher match-ups unless McLellan is coaching another NHL team next season.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

I could see such a move if we draft or acquire a better defender.

The 2nd line is hardly being thrown to the wolves, the McDavid and Draisaitl line will always face tougher match-ups unless McLellan is coaching another NHL team next season.

If the coach is gone they still have to worry about away match-ups. It will be nice to see other teams not have basically last change in Rogers place though.

 

[ujju2]

I'm not a fan of the 3 down the middle with this team, and Strome has been pleasantly surprising recently. I think RNH should be on McDavid's wing, but barring that, Drai can stay on the wing.

 

[Satire]

Line Match? Lol. Our coach does not line match... ever.

Yup... It's one of my biggest pet peaves of him. I understand that McDavid's line tilts the ice 90% of the time anyways, but we have 2 viable options that could realistically lockdown other teams' top lines while trading chances (RNH and Draisaitl are both capable) that could open space. At least using this as an option against certain teams would be nice...

 

[SomeDudeOTI]

I don't understand this logic. He makes the same money regardless of where he is playing. What it all comes down to is which combination gives you the best chance to win. I also don't think that it has to be written in stone that he is one or the other. The flexibility to use these guys in various ways is actually where the value is.

Totally agree. People seem to get caught with the $$ figure whether it's Drai on wing or Nuge as 2/3 C and lose sight of the flexibility those players give. Having a guy like Drai that can bump up to 1st line wing is huge. The only way it could be better is if they try Nuge on Connor's wing as well. I'd love it if it ended up with either Nuge or Drai on wing with the other as 2C and mix and match depending on the situation. Meanwhile if any one gets injured we still have two lines.

 

[Fourier]

Totally agree. People seem to get caught with the $$ figure whether it's Drai on wing or Nuge as 2/3 C and lose sight of the flexibility those players give. Having a guy like Drai that can bump up to 1st line wing is huge. The only way it could be better is if they try Nuge on Conner's wing as well. I'd love it if it ended up with either Nuge or Drai on wing with the other as 2C and mix and match depending on the situation. Meanwhile if any one gets injured we still have two lines.

Trading Nuge for a winger right now makes little sense to me. (A top end defenseman is a different story). Especially since people seem to think they can get that guy on a cheap deal.

What is also true is that the Oilers have a strong group of wingers in their prospect pool with Yamamoto, Maksimov, Safin, Benson and with Puljujarvi still only 19. Even Hebig may well end up on the wing. But aside from Hebig there is not a single guy in their prospect pool that could reasonably be projected as a top 6 center, or even a top 9 center. And it is unlikely that they come out of this draft with such a player. On the other hand if they make the first pick they are almost sure to have either another top end winger or a blue chip defense prospect.

Having McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge, Strome and JJ gives the Oiler at worst the second best depth down the middle in the League.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

With McDavid as the #1 and Strome as the #3, I really don't like Nuge as the second line centre. It just makes the lines too similar to one another.

You're better off with Draisaitl there, as it lets the attack be more dynamic from line to line. You can let McDavid and Nuge play catch at a mile a minute, and then have Draisaitl cycle with Lucic. Suddenly everyone's in a position to succeed with linemates that work for them.

This is due to Draisaitl, where he can work with any style. So start taking advantage of that, and stop forcing Lucic and McDavid/Nuge to fit together when their styles are completely different.


Even if you don't make any moves at forward, you could make this group work...

Cammy/Caggiula-McDavid-Nuge
Lucic-Draisaitl-Slepyshev
Caggs/Cammy/Aberg-Strome-Puljujarvi
Pakarinen-Khaira-Kassian

Cammy/Caggiula on the top line is the one upgrade you'd like, but even then, both are capable of being the 3rd wheel to that line. Issues start when you have Lucic (or Maroon) as the LW and Cammy/Caggs need to be the main give-and-go guy with Connor.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

If the coach is gone they still have to worry about away match-ups. It will be nice to see other teams not have basically last change in Rogers place though.

Well all 3 are defensively responsible and the McDavid line could in turn whup on the other teams 2nd line.