Several days ago I wrote about Connor McDavid’s effect on linemates. The article looked specifically at the point production of middle
tier players Patrick Maroon, Nail Yakupov, and Benoit Pouliot. These players
all received a significant boost to their scoring while lining up with the
wonder rookie. Now it’s time to look at the effect he had on the already elite
scoring Jordan Eberle.

It’s no secret that I believe it should be Jordan Eberle
before all others that the Oilers part with if the Core has to be separated. I
feel strongly about collecting centers like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon
Draisaitl, and Connor McDavid. I also hold Taylor Hall’s on-ice contributions
in extremely high esteem. From where I sit, it’s Eberle that has to be the
first to go.

That is NOT the same as saying that Jordan Eberle is not
very good. In fact, we couldn’t be further from the truth. Jordan Eberle is a
goal scorer and point producer who ought to be considered among the elite of
the NHL. Surely if the Oilers hadn’t wasted the first six years of his career
playing for a team that wasn’t worthy of leaving the basement of the league
then he would be better regarded.

Nothing leaves me more annoyed than seeing Eberle’s name
come up in trade proposal discussions as something the Oilers would really need
to add something to in order to facilitate a trade. Jordan Eberle can play on
the top line of most NHL teams. Not that many have players who can put the puck
in the net like he can and goal-scoring should never be discounted as far as
skills go.

So what kind of a scorer is Jordan Eberle?

As a point producer, he was killing it long before Connor
McDavid joined the team. During the four seasons between 2011 and 2015 there
were only 101 players in all of the NHL who played more than 4000 minutes 5v5. Jordan
Eberle tied for 1st in Points per 60 minutes with 2.28 P/60. Ryan
Getzlaf shares the honor of being tops in the NHL with Eberle. It’s a who’s who
of NHL elite scoring talent and Eberle is chief among them.

In the category of Goals per 60 minutes in the same group,
Jordan Eberle ranks fourth among NHL players with 0.99 G/60. The top
three with 4000 minutes in that time-span are Ovechkin, Kessel, and Tavares in
that order with 1.03, 1.02, and 1.00 G/60 respectively. This is the company
that Jordan Eberle keeps in regards to goal and point production.

Eberle has been a top line right wing from the moment he graduated to the NHL. He has all the requisite skills to be there. While his defense can be much maligned (by me as much as anyone else) the fact is that from center ice and in, he’s one of the most consistently dangerous players in the NHL. The facts support the statement. He’s one of the best.

Enter Connor McDavid.

This season Eberle missed the first month of the season with
injury and took a while to get back up to speed. He had three points in his first
13 games this year and McDavid was already injured when Eberle made his season
debut. In total, Eberle played 608.5 minutes 5v5 without McDavid this year
including the difficult beginning of his season. During that time he produced
1.38 P/60 and just 0.69 G/60. These are well off the 4 year average he came
into the season with.

Eberle didn’t get his chance with McDavid until February
when the Oiler rookie was “cleared by doctors” to play again. On paper the
union between the two players couldn’t have been better. Generational playmaker
meets sniper. And, as it turns out, the combination worked out quite well in
practice as well.

The Oiler sniper turned out to be McDavid’s most common
linemate, playing 364.25 minutes 5v5 with McDavid. During that time the former
Regina Pat produced a very exciting 2.64 P/60 and 1.32 G/60. These numbers are
indeed lower than that produced by Pat Maroon, but done in almost three times
the amount of time together. It’s much more likely to represent reproducible
scoring numbers than what Maroon was putting up.

Alexander Ovechkin lead the league in goal-scoring yet again
this season. He scored 1.37 G/60 and the next closest to him was Spezza at 1.27
G/60. We know Jordan Eberle left goals on the table this year while he was
riding shotgun to Connor McDavid because he blew multiple chances with his
inability to get off a one-timer without dusting the puck off first.

If the Oilers do indeed opt to trade Jordan Eberle to fix
the massive hole left on their blue line, it’s important to note that the Oilers
are giving up someone who could be scoring at an Ovechkin-like 5v5 pace with
McDavid next year. Trading a Jordan Eberle who would be playing with Connor
McDavid is potentially trading away somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 goals
and 43 points 5v5 (assuming 1100 minutes). This doesn’t factor in the Power
Play at all.

Jordan Eberle is no throw-away player that the Oilers are
adding to trade proposals hoping to catch a GM on a bad day.

If Jordan Eberle is being offered in any deal, he represents
an elite goal scorer that any team should be excited to get. Every fan wants
Edmonton to give up Hall or Draisaitl to get their spare defenders. The fact of
the matter is that Jordan Eberle shouldn’t be looked at as the B prize at all. He’s
one hell of a player in his own right. Giving him up is making a significant sacrifice in order to address the blueline.

Why he doesn’t get a lot of respect around the league for producing as he has isn’t much of a surprise. His reputation is getting confused with the reputation of the team. It happens all the time with losing clubs. Unfortunately, it’s very likely that for the Oilers to finally get better they have to give up a player of Eberle’s caliber.