IS THE ANSWER ARCO?

9 years ago

The current slow play by GM Craig MacTavish at center benefits Mark Arcobello in a big way. Even if the Oilers go out and find a suitable 2line C, Arcobello will compete with No. 3 overall pick Leon Draisaitl for 3line duty this fall. Even if THAT duel ends in a loss for the diminutive center, he’ll hang around as an extra forward waiting for slump or injury. Mark Arcobello keeps matriculating!

MARK ARCOBELLO PLAYER CARD

In exactly half a season (WHY they sent him down is a mystery) Mark Arcobello showed well for the Edmonton Oilers. You may recall he was a plug-and-play when Sam Gagner was injured and played well.

VOLLMAN SLEDGEHAMMER

Arcobello shows up in the “less difficult” part of the graph, but it’s borderline. He didn’t play the soft minutes and he didn’t get a zone start push. If the Oilers play him on the 2line this year, Arcobello’s spot on the Vollman will move up to Gagner-level but it isn’t an impossible climb. As the Sledgehammer shows, Arcobello delivered 1.82/60 at even strength—that’s a better number than other Oil centers this past season.

5×5/60 2013-14 (via behind the net)

Mark Arcobello 1.82
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1.56
Sam Gagner 1.47
Boyd Gordon 0.93

Source

This is interesting. The Oilers need a bridge player to play on the 2line until Leon Draisaitl is ready. Arcobello scored well at 5×5/60 this past season, and as the graph above shows he played well—his shot differential is pretty damn good, especially on this team.

I’d say it is completely reasonable to put Arcobello’s demotion this past season at the feet of the head coach, not the player.

SAM GAGNER 13-14

5×5 points per 60: 1.47 (6th among regular forwards)
5×4 points per 60: 2.20 (6th among regular forwards)
Qual Comp: 2nd line opposition
Qual Team: 2nd line teammates
Corsi Rel: 0.7 (6th best among regular forwards)
Corsi for % 5×5: 44.2
Corsi for % Rel 5×5: 0.0
Zone Start: 55.5% (4th easiest among regular forwards)
Zone Finish: 47.2% (5th best among regular forwards)
Shots on goal/percentage: 143/7% (7th among F’s>100 shots)
Boxcars: 67, 10-27-37

MARK ARCOBELLO 13-14

5×5 points per 60: 1.82 (4th among regular forwards)
5×4 points per 60: 2.65 (7th among regular forwards)
Qual Comp: 4th line opposition
Qual Team: 2nd line teammates
Corsi Rel: 6.4 (3rd best among regular forwards)
Corsi for % 5×5: 48.1
Corsi for % Rel 5×5: +3.7
Zone Start: 47.7% (8th toughest among regular forwards)
Zone Finish: 39.5% (7th best among regular forwards)
Shots on goal/percentage: 70/5.7% (10th among F’s w/70 or more shots)
Boxcars: 41, 4-14-18

Gagner got the tougher opposition, but a nice zone start push,
Arcobello was slightly above Gagner in the points disciplines. I don’t
think Arcobello is a long term solution at 2line C, but he certainly
looks capable of replacing the Gagner of last season.

Does Craig MacTavish give Mark Arcobello the push? Magic 8-ball says too soon to know, but the early transactions are in a nice direction for him.

I don’t think he brings enough offense, but Arco is a better option than blowing your brains out on a faded free agent.