Let’s Talk About Forwards

If the Edmonton Oilers have been horrible at finding defencemen since 2010, the forwards are no different.

From this chart, the Oilers have employed 62 different forwards. Over half of those forwards no longer play in the NHL, with 31 players either playing in a different league or retired.

The Oilers have only employed 26 players currently playing in the NHL; however once again, half of those players (13) are playing for different teams.

It’s a remarkable 21% of the players employed by the Oilers that are still with the team today. That’s much worse than the previous percentage from the defence which sat at 34% of the players still staying with the Edmonton Oilers.

What does this tell you? As mentioned above, bad teams tend to cycle through players like toilet paper.

This is not exactly news. Previous management failed to supplement the younger players such as Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle with a suitable veteran cast. Instead, we were forced to watch these young players sink or swim, given top six minutes right from the gate. It is arguable that this has effected some of the players development.

Even recent additions like Leon Draisaitl was given too much too soon. This would be rectified in Draisaitl’s case as he was sent back to juniors, but 37 games already into the season.

When Jason Gregor wrote that the Edmonton Oilers failed Taylor Hall , he is absolutely right.

Are things different finally with Chiarelli on board? Yes. Are they a better team? Too soon to tell, but I lean towards yes.

The Roster

My current Oiler projections as of late July 2016

Lucic-McDavid-Eberle

Pouliot-Nugent-Hopkins-Yakupov

Maroon-Draisaitl-Pulujarvi

Hendricks-Letestu-Kassian

Spares: Lander, Pakarainen

First Line Forwards

I think with the off season being focused on the Hall for Larsson trade, we have been forgetting a key piece that still remains: Connor McDavid.

McDavid had a great rookie season, posting 48 points in 45 games last year. However, it was a season that was only a sample of what McDavid is capable of as we were all robbed a full season due to a freak clavicle injury in November.

This is Connor McDavid’s team. By October, he will be the captain of the Oilers. By April, I think he will also merit some Hart Trophy consideration.

Milan Lucic represents a completely different dynamic with the team, filling in the top Left Wing spot that was vacated by the Hall trade. While he will not produce like Taylor Hall, Lucic brings those darn intangibles that are the line in the sand for some. He’s big, tough, and plays with a nasty edge. Not only that, the big man is damn productive in his NHL career. While people are looking at his contract length, they forget this is a player that has missed only six games due to injury in his near ten years of playing. Not only that, but I want to show this tweet from Sean Tierney who looked at CF% at 5v5 for players who played over 800 minutes last season.

It's a long story but I was looking up Patrick O'Sullivan's CF% and I accidentally made this. pic.twitter.com/a7zRWV2q9P

— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) July 20, 2016

That’s Milan Lucic at the top. Of the entire NHL.

Jordan Eberle had a rough season. He missed several weeks early in the season due to a shoulder injury. That said, he showed chemistry with Connor McDavid. I think you could also swap him with Nail Yakupov due to Eberle’s strength: he’s an ultimate complimentary player that gels with either Connor McDavid or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. In a position that is a bit top heavy, Eberle is now a key part of the forward unit, rather than being the most likely to be moved.

Second Line Forwards

I have Benoit Pouliot ahead of Patrick Maroon here. While Maroon had a nice little run, I think Pouliot is the better player. Pouliot, too, had his season cut short due to injury. He was on pace for about 55 points though, which would have been a career high. He’s not a darling to some due to his frequent offensive zone penalties and “softness” in the corners, but Pouliot is an effective possession player. He’s like Eberle in a way that he showed good chemistry with both 97 and 93 and could move accordingly.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (stop me if you heard this before) had injuries ruin his season. He posted career lows and never seemed to find his groove. I’m high on Nugent-Hopkins and he’s now an important part of this team: while not the number one centre, he is going to be one heck of a number two. Would it be surprising that Nugent-Hopkins has higher boxscores due to not facing the most difficult minutes every night? I’m still waiting for him to break out offensively. I feel he’s underrated and forgotten on this team, which is not right.

Nail Yakupov needs to do something this season and there will be little to no excuses this time around. He will be having some quality line mates be it with 97, 93 or 29. I get playing with Mark Letestu hurt his production, but something has to give now. I like the enthusiasm Yakupov brings, but there needs to be something. Like I said, there’s going to be little excuses this year.

Third Line Forwards

This is the Wildcard Line with a lot of questions.

Can Patrick Maroon keep up his production to prevent himself from being traded? Players often have a nice run but when the next season starts, they can’t maintain that lightning in a bottle. Still, Maroon does a lot of things fans love: a blue collar work ethic, big body that works hard in the corners. Heck, I even switched my Schultz name bar for a Maroon.

Can Leon Draisaitl produce without Taylor Hall? This scares me a little bit. Draisaitl was absolutely on fire in November and December, but trailed off in dramatic fashion. There are some people who like to compare him to Joe Thornton, but when Draisaitl was not with Taylor Hall, his production vanished. Draisaitl could also play second line RW as needed, but I have him on the third line. He will be with some towering forwards. There’s a lot to like about Draisaitl, but man this worries me.

Jesse Pulujarvi – I have him making the team where hopefully he could play sheltered minutes to start instead of being thrust into the top six. The Oilers can actually ease in a young player for the first time in forever. I really like Pulujarvi and I still cannot believe the Oilers snagged him. It will not be long until he is a top six forward, potentially by the end of this season.

Fourth Line Forwards

Thanks to better depth, and assuming no injuries, Hendricks and Letestu will not need to play higher than these minutes.

Hendricks for all his blue collar and grinder ways, is much more suitable here. Ditto for Letestu, who should not be playing Power Play minutes. Ever.

Kassian is here but he can play on the third line. He has shown some offensive flair and definitely faded down the stretch. I’d like to see what Kassian does with a full season to work with.

Conclusion

The Oilers have a much more balanced forward unit on paper compared to a year ago. There’s a lot to like here: they are a nice blend of speed, size and skill. It’s not as one dimensional as in the past. There’s an added element of nastiness brought in from Lucic, Maroon and Kassian.

Losing Hall stinks and I worry about Draisaitl’s production without Hall, however I’m excited to see what Pulujarvi does and he’s the true trump card for the season.