The Edmonton Oilers have been underwhelming to start the 2024-25 season, and there are several reasons the team hasn’t found consistent success to start the new campaign. With a 7-7-1 record through their first 15 games, the team has been decent at best, but they are hoping they can build off of a huge 7-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in their most recent game and can continue to climb their way up the Pacific Division Standings.
One of their unfortunate surprises has been the underwhelming offensive production from forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who has just one goal and five assists for six points through 15 games this season, and he hasn’t been able to create many opportunities on the man advantage either. With a slight lineup demotion, Nugent-Hopkins could find more success.
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The Oilers have enough forward depth to experiment with their lines until they find something that works. Many people, including myself, prefer if the lines stayed the same and the players found chemistry over time. However, when something isn’t working, it needs to be changed. Nugent-Hopkins has played both center and left wing throughout his NHL career, so the team has plenty of different options when it comes to putting the lines in a blender and moving him down for a more defensive role.
Nugent-Hopkins as Bottom-Six Forward a More Ideal Spot for Him
The Oilers have used Nugent-Hopkins on the first line for the majority of his career, and he has been on Connor McDavid’s wing for most of the previous two seasons. His offensive ability has slowly declined as he gets older, but his defensive game has remained at an elite level. Demoting him to a third-line center role or even to play left-wing with Adam Henrique up the middle, his current play would be utilized differently. He hasn’t been awful by any means, but he hasn’t been able to get anything going offensively whatsoever, so a role change should be the next consideration from head coach Kris Knoblauch.
Nugent-Hopkins has shown previously he can explode offensively and be one of the best players in the league at times. Back in the 2022-23 season, he scored 37 goals and added 67 assists for 104 points through 82 games notching a career-high in all three categories. Placing him in the bottom-six forward group shouldn’t be viewed as a demotion by anyone, but rather an attempt to both spark his offensive ability and utilize how he has been playing. Placing him in a more defensive role alongside teammates he hasn’t played with previously could be exactly what he needs to get going this season.
One issue that some fans may have with dropping Nugent-Hopkins in the lineup is whether or not the team has the personnel to afford to move him down. While the team is missing Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele who both left for new teams this past offseason, I believe they still have the strength to make the change. With how well Vasily Podkolzin has looked in an increased role, moving him up with McDavid and Zach Hyman seems like a smart move. Keeping a second line of Jeff Skinner, Leon Draisaitl, and Viktor Arvidsson together makes sense as well.
The Oilers had a slow start to their 2023-24 campaign as well and ended up making it to the Stanley Cup Final. Nobody should panic about the team sitting at a lackluster record heading into the middle of November and since they were able to turn it around last season, they should be able to turn it around this season sooner rather than later.
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