It’s time to dig into this week’s Letters to the Editor. Want to join in the fun? Details about how to reach out are at the bottom of the article.

Seeing lots of chatter of how this team needs to get a legit third-line centre and that’ll really bring it together… a completely foolish sentiment, really. Kris Knoblauch and those before him have all turned this into a two-line team. This team has Connor McDavid’s line, Leon Draisaitl’s line and then a bunch of guys who make up the fourth line. There is no third line. And that’s a major reason why so many players die on the vine here if not in top6.

Rob Brown said it best recently. In the third period, if down a goal or two, 97 and 29 are playing 10 minutes each. Is a 3C going to get much ice time? On top of that, how many 3Cs, especially those on expiring deals that want to cash in, would want to agree to come to Edmonton to sit on the bench and watch the dynamic duo try to drag a team over the finish line?

As we’ve seen for back-to-back playoff runs, eventually, this system will fail. You need depth to contribute, and as Derek Ryan felt, they need a role and some agency within the team. I love 97 and 29, but to me, this is a blind spot for them as leaders. If you want guys to dig in, at some point, ya may have to share the shovel.

If KK is not going to change his ways, then the best move for Edmonton Oilers asset-wise is to forget about 3C and focus on solidifying the back end, and hoping a rock-solid back-end is enough to support the glimmer twins come playoff time.

Matt Ashfield

I am a lifelong Oilers fan, having watched them since their inception into the NHL, through the Decade of Darkness, right up to their recent successes. Having said that, does my aging memory have me misremembering the start of both Woodcroft and Knoblauch’s coaching with the Oilers?

I seem to remember them rolling four lines and having success in doing so. Maybe I’m crazy…

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.