News that the dialogue continues and that there’s a desire from the team to keep him as a long-term part of the organization is good news for Edmonton fans. Nugent-Hopkins continues to be a solid piece of the club’s top-six where he’s found himself as a staple over the last decade.

In 641 games with the Oilers, he’s scored 180 goals and 470 points and his production has only gotten better with time. Over the last three years, he’s scored 61 goals and 157 points in 184 games.

In that same time he’s remained in the 91st percentile of even strength offensive production and the 96th percentile of powerplay production, according to JFresh Hockey. On top of that, he ranks in the 75th percentile in goals per hour, and the 100th percentile in quality of competition. There’s no denying Nugent-Hopkins’ immense value to the club.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported two weeks ago Nugent-Hopkins’ camp and the Oilers had re-entered contract negotiations with previous negotiations being in the $6-$6.5-million range.