The Edmonton Oilers phenom played 43 seconds more per game than the next closest in Nathan MacKinnon, averaging 22:59 for the year. That was the highest average ice-time of his career: nine seconds more than in 2018-19 which was highest, 57 seconds more per game than last season, and 1:37 more than two seasons ago.

In a truncated schedule, off of back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, and a mid-season lightning rod shock like the Olympics, the 29-year-old McDavid played more than ever before.

Leon Draisaitl’s numbers didn’t trend quite the same way. While his 21:35 per game was more than the last two seasons, it was not near his highest average ice-times.

Having these two immensely talented centres boils down into consistent themes for the Oilers.

What’s the ice-time sweet spot for these two players? Is it better to play them together or apart? And if you do play them apart, is there enough ice-time to go around, so depth players can take ownership of roles and feel a part of the team?

Whether the big horses are overtly wielding their influence to get lots of ice time or not, the conversation persists through various coaches. Draisaitl was sure to shut down the notion that him and McDavid demand ice-time from coaches.

“I think what makes Connor and I who we are is because we want to be out there. We want to be out there in every situation,” said Draisaitl in his exit interview Saturday.

“We want to play a lot. But sometimes you hear things— I don’t know if this is you guys or whoever it might be— that we talk to coaches about wanting to play 24 to 25 minutes. That is never, ever the case.”

‘Depth guys need more of a role’

Exit interviews on Saturday touched on these questions. Head coach Kris Knoblauch, whose job is player deployment, faces criticism from the fan base at times for his usage of the two.

While his job status isn’t safe heading into the off-season, Knoblauch was asked whether he needs to lower McDavid and Draisaitl’s minutes during the regular season to benefit the whole team come playoff time.

“Your best players, have to be their best in the long run to win,” said Knoblauch. “But it’s unfair for them to be responsible for every win and loss, and you need other guys stepping up and being able to contribute.

“You need other guys stepping up and being able to contribute. The only way they can do that is if they have more responsibilities, more time on the ice, so that they can contribute. I think moving forward, we have to find ways to let those other guys have more responsibilities.

“Whether that’s your fourth line guys all penalty killing, or just your third line getting more five-on-five minutes, whatever it is. But I do think that your depth guys need more of a role, more ownership on the success of the team.”

The Oilers were historically low production out of their bottom-six during the first few months of the season. The struggles were real during an “atrocious” start, Knoblauch’s word, and injuries didn’t help either.

‘You need those guys to go deep’

Coincidentally or not, the Oilers longest win streak of five games came after Leon Draisaitl went down with injury. Perhaps with more air to breathe, depth players scored at a regular rate, like the fourth line being involved in the team’s first goal four straight times in late March to early April.

But it did put more strain and onus on a player like McDavid, if not in ice-times, then in mental responsibility. Edmonton went an entire season where if McDavid didn’t register a point, the Oilers didn’t win.

In years past, Draisaitl felt like depth mattered, and that players stepped up in the right ways because they had a role.

“The best team that we’ve had in 2024, everybody played such a major role in it,” said Draisaitl. “The [Ryan] McLeods, the [Warren] Foegeles, all those guys played such a massive role in all of it. [Vincent] Desharnais, [Cody] Ceci, all those guys. You need those guys to win. You need those guys to go deep.

“Connor, Bouchey, maybe myself, the three of us, when the game’s on the line, we have to make a difference. The day-to-day we have to set the tone and we have to lead in the right way and come up with these big goals and these big moments, yes.

“But at the end of the day, it’s not a three-man team, it’s not a four-man team. You need everybody to feel important, you need everybody to want to be important, and yeah, I think something to look forward to next season.”

Going nuclear

So, that leads to the question of uniting McDavid and Draisaitl, or going “nuclear” as its been dubbed. In terms of success, that combination were better apart, rather than playing together this season.

Nowhere was that more evident than Game 6 against Anaheim.

Knoblauch had previously switched the team’s best line of Vasily Podkolzin-Leon Draisaitl-Kasperi Kapanen to put McDavid on the left wing for Game 5 and it worked, somewhat. The line was outshot and had the puck less, but they outscored the enemy, and the switch worked because Podkolzin continued to drive play, regardless of the line he was on.

With the team spinning their wheels and needing to muster a multi-goal comeback, Knoblauch switched that line back and they scored 1:13 into the third period.

Putting McDavid and Draisaitl is the failsafe option, but it began from day one of the season. It lasted two-and-a-half games. But that wasn’t Knoblauch’s idea alone, he said.

“Stan and I had some conversations, a lot of conversations in the summer, and that actually was something that came about,” said Knoblauch about uniting McDavid and Draisaitl. “That was something we thought was best for our team.

“They’re so creative and they’re dangerous that when they’re on the ice, it alters how everyone else plays around with them. The fact that when they’re on different lines, that’s probably two-thirds of the game, five-on-five, if not more. That affects how everyone else plays. So, actually, going into the season, whether Zach [Hyman] was healthy or not, the plan was for them to be playing together and let everyone else play towards their identity, to their strengths.”

By the fourth game of the year in Long Island, Knoblauch separated the two to play on their lines, reuniting them for third period comebacks. Overall, it didn’t elicit the results like they had in year’s past.

“I mean, that’s a coaching question,” said McDavid during his exit interview about the pros and cons of the team’s success if he plays with Draisaitl.

“It’s a team, and you gotta win and lose as a team, and everybody needs to pull on the rope. So whether Leon and I are playing together or not, it doesn’t really matter, just as long as everybody’s got a role and bought in and, as I said, pulling on the rope.”

In Draisaitl’s exit interview, the same where he said he was “concerned” about the direction of the team, it was a similar response.

“I think that’s a question for the coach, probably. But I think— yeah, I don’t know,” Draisaitl began. “I mean, just minutes-wise, logically, you would say yes, because we’re out there together for our 22, whatever it might be, and then you have more minutes.

“When we’re separate, he plays his 22, I play my 21, whatever it is, then that’s 45 minutes almost. Where’s the rest go, right? I don’t know how to answer it. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not.”

‘We’re open to it’

You have to play your best players — that’s the advantage of having elite talent. But how McDavid and Draisaitl have been played, or overplayed, has been a theme throughout their careers, and the various head coaches they’ve shared.

And they’ve had a few: Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett, Jay Woodcroft, or now Kris Knoblauch. After Woodcroft was dismissed in early 2023-24, Knoblauch talked at length about giving role players ownership.

Enough so that Draisaitl mentioned it unprompted. But it’s a fine line to walk.

“We’ve been around long enough that we need everybody. You need your third line to get their minutes for them to feel great about themselves,” said Draisaitl.

“We’re very aware of that, so we can squash that. That never happened. Your best players need to be on the ice though to feel good. That’s everywhere. If you go to a Nate MacKinnon, there’s a certain time frame that he needs to be on the ice. That’s just the way it is, and that’s every good player, every good team in the league.

“But I think Connor and I are both — whatever a coach wants from us, we’re willing to do. If it makes our team better, if it gives us a better chance to win, we’re open to it.”

What’s the balance? How does a role player feel more ownership, the type that former teammate Derek Ryan talked about in his critique of this year’s club back in January. McDavid said he wasn’t sure how to answer the question.

“I don’t know how to really answer this question. I’m sorry. How does it get spread around?” he said. “It’s…everybody’s just got to care, you know? I don’t know. Like, it’s got to be more than a job to you.”

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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