Look at the title on this page and you’ve already recognized one of the Edmonton Oilers’ biggest issues over the past decade of the never-ending rebuild.
The Oilers’ roster has been so poor the team has not been able to play four capable lines against NHL opposition and it’s been a weakness that has hindered the growth of three consecutive first overall picks.
If Edmonton can be a lesson to anyone in the hockey world it’s that just by throwing one, two and even three 1st overall picks into a roster doesn’t guarantee success.
That’s why they ended up with a fourth 1st overall pick in six years with Connor McDavid.
If you don’t surround these players with capable players around them the ship is sinking before it’s even hit the water.
It’s time to start giving this roster some shape.
Say what you will about former GM Craig MacTavish and his declaration for bold moves but signing Beniot Pouliot turned out to be a solid addition after all and Teddy Purcell still gives the Oilers a decent supporting cast member.
McLellan, 47, enters his first season in Edmonton trying to do what five coaches before him in Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Ralph Krueger, Dallas Eakins and Todd Nelson couldn’t do, turn this thing around.
Say what you will about the coaches before him, some didn’t connect, some didn’t share the same vision as management but all were casualties of having to work with a poor roster.
McLellan is coming in at the right time near what hopes to be the end of the rebuild and has the best roster to work with (all things considered, these are the Oilers after all).
So with training camp kicking off it’s looking more like McLellan’s early vision is starting to take place.
So what are the early looks for the Oilers 2015-16 offense looking like as the pre-season schedule kicks off on Monday?
Line #1:
Taylor Hall – Connor McDavid – Teddy Purcell
|
2014-15 Statistics |
|||||||||||
|
Player |
GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | S% | TOI | Cap Hit |
Years Remaining |
|
LW Taylor Hall |
53 |
14 | 24 | 38 | -1 | 40 | 158 | 8.9 | 19:13 | $6.0M |
5 |
|
C Connor McDavid |
47* |
44* | 76* | 120* | +60* | 48* | – | – | – | $3.7M |
3 |
|
RW Teddy Purcell |
82 |
12 | 22 | 34 | -33 | 24 | 146 | 8.2 | 17:10 | $4.5M |
1 |
*Connor McDavid statistics are OHL numbers with the Erie Otters for 2014-15 season
The natural choice when McDavid was drafted was Hall riding the wing. The early looks of the Hall and McDavid duo look salivating.
It’s a high combination of speed and skill which could eventually make this the most dynamic duo in the league, and that’s saying something.
But you can’t run a line with two players and the internal training camp battle between Purcell and Yakupov will ultimately settle who rides third on this line.
The early opportunity looks to belong to Purcell who played a similar role in Tampa Bay with Steven Stamkos.
The hope is that Hall ends up scoring a career-high 30 goal season, McDavid breaks the 80 point barrier and Purcell needs another 15-20 goals this season.
Let’s not get our hopes to high though.
But let’s also not make them as low as GM Peter Chiarelli’s when he said a 20 goal 40 point season out of McDavid would be good enough.
Find your balance, this is still a development year.
Line #2:
Beniot Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
|
2014-15 Statistics |
|||||||||||
|
Player |
GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | S% | TOI | Cap Hit | Years Remaining |
|
LW Benoit Pouliot |
58 |
19 | 15 | 34 | -1 | 28 | 105 | 18.1 | 16:37 | $4.0 |
4 |
|
C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins |
76 |
24 | 32 | 56 | -12 | 25 | 189 | 12.7 | 20:38 | $3.7M |
5 |
| RW
Jordan Eberle |
81 | 24 | 39 | 63 | -16 | 24 |
183 |
13.1 | 19:30 |
$4.5M |
6 |
Without a doubt this was the Oilers most productive line last season, it worked for Eakins and Nelson so why not keep it together.
Don’t fix what’s not broken.
This line produced the team’s one-two top scorers last season in Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins. Pouliot was everything he was asked to be, the occasional untimely penalties aside.
The hope is that this line produces similar numbers to last season that gave the Oilers almost three 20-goal scorers if Pouliot played a full year.
It’s the perfect compliment to the Hall and McDavid duo and gives Edmonton two capable scoring lines that in the best of situations makes matchups a bit of a headache for the opposition.
This line can potentially score 60-75 goals for the Oilers next season.
Line #3:
Leon Draisaitl – Anton Lander – Nail Yakupov
|
2014-15 Statistics |
|||||||||||
|
Player |
GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | S% | TOI |
Cap Hit |
Years Remaining |
|
LW Leon Draisaitl |
37 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -17 | 4 | 49 | 4.1 | 12:42 | $925K |
2 |
|
C Anton Lander |
38 | 6 | 14 | 20 | -12 | 14 | 61 | 9.8 | 15:10 | $987K |
2 |
| RW
Nail Yakupov |
81 | 14 | 19 | 33 | -35 | 18 | 191 | 7.3 | 15:27 | $2.5M |
2 |
Camp is starting off with an interesting look on the third-line.
It’s no secret Edmonton wants to ice a competitive lineup but this third line could be a bit of a wildcard to start the year.
McLellan is hoping to structure an offensive third-line that gets soft minutes and protected with offensive zone starts, something that will aid the three young players.
The wildcards are endless with this combination but it looks good on paper, especially during the pre-season.
Draisaitl struggled in his 37 game stint with the Oilers last season before regaining his touch with the WHL Kelowna Rockets enroute to a Memorial Cup win and tournament MVP honors.
Yakupov is still searching for his first 20 goal season and Lander will play his first full season in the NHL after finally coming on strong down the stretch under Nelson who showed everyone he just needed an opportunity.
It’s alot of inexperience in the middle of the Oilers lineup and this could potentially blow up in their face.
Can Draisaitl be the force he was in junior last season and take another step forward while being the playmaker that Yakupov hasn’t had to break that 20 goal barrier?
Only time will tell.
Line #4:
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
|
2014-15 Statistics |
|||||||||||
|
Player |
GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | S% | TOI | Cap
Hit |
Years
Remaining |
|
LW Matt Hendricks |
71 | 8 | 8 | 16 | -14 | 76 | 61 | 9.8 | 15;10 | $1.8M | 2 |
| C
Mark Letestu |
54 | 7 | 6 | 13 | -9 | 0 | 63 | 11.1 | 13:20 | $1.8M |
3 |
| RW
Lauri Korpikoski |
69 | 2 | 18 | 20 | -27 | 12 | 82 | 7.3 | 15:15 | $2.5M |
2 |
This could be a pretty decent fourth line for the Oilers and one of the more reliable fourth lines they’ve had in years.
The two newcomers in Letestu and Korpikoski are two fairly responsible defensive forwards that play a solid two-way game.
Throw in a hard-hitting forward in Hendricks and this could turn into a decent energy line for the Oilers this season.
It’s expected they’ll get tough minutes having defensive zone starts but Letestu wasn’t all that bad on the faceoff circle last year posting a 52% winning percentage on the draw.
Still this will be a line with a lot of rotating spots for different looks, all three are locks to make the opening night roster but a few other names are contending for spots.
Spare Forwards:
Luke Gazdic – Edmonton’s smaller enforcer has already been challenged by Chiarelli to show he can offer the Oilers more than just fights and can actually play with and without the puck. It’ll be his challenge this season to assess whether he has a future with the Oilers beyond this season. Gazdic, 26, is a RFA next summer.
Rob Klinkhammer – Of all the guys who rotated on the fourth line last season it was Klinkhammer who got to skate in 69 games last year and averaged 11:13 TOI. Like Gazdic it’s a show me year for the 29-year-old, he’ll be a UFA next summer.
Tyler Pitlick – The 2010 second-round pick turns 24 this season and has yet to play more than 17 games in a season with the Oilers. He’s played in 27 in total which is an underwhelming number and injuries have played a key role in his slow development. Pitlick will be an RFA this summer and will need to show Oiler brass he can stay healthy over a full season.
