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It’s time for the Oilers to limit Adam Henrique’s role
Adam Henrique Edmonton Oilers
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Golden Hockey
Dec 23, 2025, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 22, 2025, 20:59 EST
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The Edmonton Oilers acquired Adam Henrique ahead of the 2024 trade deadline to play in their top nine, mainly as the third-line centre.
While he had some short-lived success on a line with Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown that spring, Henrique has become an offensive blackhole.
The Oilers are only scoring 1.13 goals per hour in Henrique’s 5-on-5 minutes this season, which is less than half the league average, and ranks dead last on the team. Edmonton simply doesn’t score when Henrique is on the ice, and his individual production has reached a career low.
Henrique hasn’t helped the Oilers control shots and chances at even strength since his arrival in Edmonton, but a sky-high PDO of 108 led to strong results in his first 22 games with the team in 2024. The truth is, he has had a largely negative impact on shot and expected goal shares from the start. 
At age 35, Henrique doesn’t have much success attacking off the rush, so his game is mainly limited to a half-court style of offence. There isn’t enough finishing, skill or creativity between him and his linemates to turn that into meaningful offence. With Edmonton’s bottom two lines getting badly outscored this season, it’s become clear that his role on the third line isn’t sustainable.

What should the Oilers do with Henrique moving forward?

Henrique is in the final season of a two-year contract carrying a $3-million cap hit. His full no-movement clause makes the contract untradeable, and they can’t send him to the AHL. The Oilers likely won’t be resigning him this offseason, but for now, they’re stuck with him on the NHL roster.  
Despite the alarming offensive struggles, a healthy scratch probably isn’t necessary. Henrique can still provide some utility if the Oilers play their cards right. He leads all Edmonton forwards in penalty killing TOI per game, and he’s been one of their stronger players while shorthanded this season. He’s also winning just under 55 percent of his face offs, which is a skill he’s been executing with consistency for years.
If the coaching staff deploys Henrique in a fourth-line penalty killing role with limited even-strength minutes, he can still provide some value. In today’s NHL, though, it’s next to impossible to win the Stanley Cup with only two scoring lines.
Now that the Oilers have Zach Hyman, Jack Roslovic, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all healthy for the first time this season, they should be able to spread out the offence. Nugent-Hopkins playing third-line centre makes a lot of sense, but Roslovic is also a potential option. Kris Knoblauch seems to prefer both players in the top six on the wing, but the third line needs more juice.
In Roslovic’s first game back against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, the Oilers kept Henrique on the third line, centring Matt Savoie and Andrew Mangiapane. The line generated only one shot on goal in 7:01 together and took a combined three minor penalties. Not a great performance in a game where the Oilers largely dominated at even strength. 
If Henrique is going to help the team moving forward, it’s time to redefine his role, rather than hoping that he rediscover an offensive element of his game that’s disappeared in his mid-thirties. 

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