LAST SPOT ON THE MAGIC BUS (AGAIN)
By Lowetide
7 years agoA year ago, we were talking about the one open spot among the Oilers top two lines: 2RW. Today, on the eve of training camp, 2RW stands as the unsolved mystery inside the top 6F.
- Five of the top 6F one year ago: Hall, Pouliot, Nuge, McDavid, Eberle.
- Source
- Five of the top 6F one year ago: Lucic, Pouliot, McDavid, Nuge, Eberle.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR?
A year ago, the skill 5×5 minutes (with skill C’s) went like this:
Connor McDavid
- Jordan Eberle 364:14
- Nail Yakupov 205:19
- Zack Kassian 38:32
- Teddy Purcell 13:10
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
- Jordan Eberle 349:09
- Leon Draisaitl 99:57
- Teddy Purcell 90:16
- Nail Yakupov 82:30
Leon Draisaitl
- Teddy Purcell 509:06
- Jordan Eberle 128:03
- Zack Kassian 92:58
- Nail Yakupov 78:38
HOW DID THEY PERFORM?
- Jordan Eberle—8-8-16 (2.63) with McDavid; 7-6-13 (2.24) with Nuge; 0-1-1 (0.47) with Draisaitl
- Nail Yakupov—2-7-9 (2.63) with McDavid; 1-1-2 (1.45) with Nuge; 1-1-2 (1.52) with Draisaitl
- Teddy Purcell—6-12-18 (2:12) with Draisaitl; 0-1-1 (0.67) with Nuge; 13 minutes with McDavid
- Zack Kassian—2-2-4 (2.58) with Draisaitl; 0-1-1 (1.55) with McDavid. 8:42 with Nuge
Quick notes:
- I have mentioned this before, but Yakupov’s numbers with McDavid should not be ignored.
- Jordan Eberle takes a lot of guff over dusting off the puck (he was hurt folks!) but the man performed very well with McDavid and Nuge.
- Teddy Purcell is a good hockey player, solid with Leon.
- Zack Kassian with Leon looks pretty damned good, something to consider when formulating lines.
RANKING THE OPTIONS
- Eberle is the gold standard here, and the one player who can play with more than one center and deliver.
- Yakupov was terrific with McDavid, and the Nuge and Leon offensive numbers were not so bad we should consider either man a poor choice
- Nuge-Nail is not good in possession, never has been. I would suggest this is a poor option.
- Zack Kassian plays well with Leon. Small sample size but worth consideration.
SOOOOOOO…..
- McDavid—Yakupov
- Nuge—Eberle
- Draisaitl—Kassian
Thoughts? I know Jesse Puljujarvi is going to come along and win one of these jobs someday soon, but for now, what do you think of this trio? Assuming Peter Chiarelli plans on bringing the current group to camp, this alignment may be the best available.
Note: I know you are thinking ‘give it up, Lowetide! Nail doesn’t deserve McDavid’ and I get it. Understand completely. I would suggest McDavid—Yakupov has nothing to do with the Russian deserving to play with 97, but it has everything to do with making decisions based on winning.
Three scoring lines. It is there. Nail with McDavid. Sing it with me.
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