TOP 100 OILERS: JORDAN EBERLE (35)
7 years ago
I’ve already dropped Jordan Eberle several spots on this Top 100 list based on what he’s done, or hasn’t done, since the start of this season. As of this writing (Jan. 4) Eberle is a moving target who is trending down. By the end of the season, he could be even lower in the eyes of many fans or he could end up right back where I had him. I expect the latter.
Eberle set the bar high during his first six seasons with the Edmonton Oilers but he has struggled this season to replicate the kind of offensive success expected of him after his first 420 or so games. I’m not rating Eberle based on what he’s not – if you’re looking for a gritty, physical player who drives his line, you’re wasting your time – I’m slotting him in based on what he is, a complementary player and a producer of goals.
Jordan Eberle
Right Wing — shoots R
Born May 15 1990 — Regina, SASK
Height 5.11 — Weight 181 [180 cm/82 kg]
Drafted by Edmonton Oilers
Round 1 #22 overall 2008 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
2010-11 | 20 | 69 | 18 | 25 | 43 | -12 | 22 | 158 | 11.4 | 1220 | 17:41 | |
2011-12 | 21 | 78 | 34 | 42 | 76 | 4 | 10 | 180 | 18.9 | 1373 | 17:36 | |
2012-13 | 22 | 48 | 16 | 21 | 37 | -4 | 16 | 133 | 12.0 | 912 | 18:00 | |
2013-14 | 23 | 80 | 28 | 37 | 65 | -11 | 18 | 200 | 14.0 | 1564 | 19:33 | |
2014-15 | 24 | 81 | 24 | 39 | 63 | -16 | 24 | 183 | 13.1 | 1542 | 19:03 | |
2015-16 | 25 | 69 | 25 | 22 | 47 | -12 | 14 | 173 | 14.5 | 1232 | 17:51 | |
2016-17 | 26 | 38 | 8 | 17 | 25 | -4 | 4 | 100 | 8.0 | 675 | 17:45 | |
Career | 463 | 153 | 203 | 356 | -55 | 108 | 1127 | 13.6 | 8517 | 18:24 |
NOTABLE
Eberle doesn’t get paid – and he has been paid handsomely at $6 million per season coming out of his entry level contract – to bang bodies or be the first guy to lead the troops over the hill. Would it be a bonus if those dimensions were a bigger part of his game? Sure. I’d prefer it. You’d prefer it. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t matter. I’ll take a take a 25-30 goal player who gets in your face over a guy who puts up the same numbers but plays a softer game any day. That softer guy would be Eberle.
That said, Eberle’s bread and butter and his bottom line, his value to the team, is as a goal-scorer. The problem is that bottom line has slipped and that simply magnifies what he doesn’t do, thus all the consternation by fans so far this season. Understandable. Completely. If you’re a one-trick pony, you’ve got to get that trick right.
The statistic that really jumps out at me is Eberle’s single-digit shooting percentage. Through 39 games (as of Jan. 4) he was at 8.0. For a player who had registered seasonal shooting percentages of 11.4, 18.9, 12.0, 14.0, 13.1 and 14.5, that’s like falling down an elevator shaft. Eberle was on pace (100 shots after 39 games) as of writing this to improve on his career-high of 200 shots on goal in 2013-14.
THE STORY
Warts and all, Eberle had scored 145 goals in 425 games through six seasons (18-34-16-28-24-25) coming into 2016-17. That makes him a bonafide first-line right winger, even if he hasn’t played like it this season. While Eberle lacks attributes I prefer and aspects of his game leave me wanting more, I’m not going to put more weight in this season than in the previous six.
Since 2005-06, just five Oilers have scored 25-or-more goals in a single season. Ryan Smyth did it twice. Dustin Penner and David Perron did it once each. Taylor Hall and Eberle did it three times each, with Eberle just missing making it four times with 24 in 2014-15. No Oiler has scored more goals than Eberle since that trip to the 2006 Stanley Cup.
I’m open to debate where Eberle belongs on this list because he isn’t done here yet, be it a matter of months or years until his tenure here is over. For me, the question isn’t if he’s in the top 40 or so, but where he slots in. Might he be higher than No. 35 if he sticks around for four or five more seasons on a team that’s actually good, actually a contender? I think so.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
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