Why Drastic Oilers’ Line Shift Isn’t the Answer — Yet

The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples makes a compelling case that something has to change for the Edmonton Oilers. The numbers don’t lie: when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aren’t on the ice, the Oilers are getting crushed. A bottom six that’s underwater by a wide margin isn’t just a weakness — it’s a playoff liability.

He suggests a solution that won’t exactly sit well with the top superstar on the team and many of the fans who know the top line is the only line that’s clicking — break it up.

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Moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to third-line center might be the cleanest theoretical fix on paper, but it comes with a massive cost: breaking up the Oilers’ most dominant line. Since being reunited, the McDavid–Nugent-Hopkins–Zach Hyman trio has been one of the NHL’s most effective units at five-on-five, driving offense, limiting chances against, and carrying the team during an otherwise uneven stretch.

That matters. A lot.

The Oilers don’t have the luxury of casually dismantling one of the few things that’s consistently working. In a Western Conference where margins are thin, elite top-end production often determines how successful a team like the Oilers will be. Frankly, the only reason Edmonton is still in first place in the Pacific Division is that the other teams in that division are losing. If that stops happening, Edmonton has to turn its struggles around. Robbing Peter to pay Paul on the third line could easily create a new problem bigger than the one it’s meant to solve.

Have the Oilers Exhausted All Other Options?

Staples is not wrong about the urgency. The bottom six does need help. A rookie line seems problematic. Adam Henrique hasn’t been a good 3C solution. Trent Frederic doesn’t play hard, and Andrew Mangiapane looks to be on the way out. This feels less like a coaching puzzle with a couple of missing pieces — which, for anyone who puts puzzles together, is like the worst thing ever.

Kris Knoblauch shouldn’t have to choose between elite top-line chemistry and functional depth. That’s a front-office problem, not a bench problem.

But, before breaking up the top line, Edmonton still has avenues to explore: giving Kasperi Kapanen meaningful minutes upon his return, experimenting with Jack Roslovic in different roles, or seeing whether one of the younger forwards can tread water higher in the lineup without sinking the ship. It appears that the process starts on Tuesday night as the Oilers take on the Nashville Predators.

Those options may not be perfect, but they don’t require detonating the team’s best weapon.

At some point, Nugent-Hopkins at 3C may become unavoidable. But making that move now — when the Oilers desperately need elite offense to cover other flaws — risks solving one issue by creating another.

Next: Kapanen’s Return Comes as Oilers Coach Searches for a Specific Spark