What is the Oilers roster and who should play on lines together? I play armchair coach and try to make the best Oiler lines and depth chart from their current players.
After watching the majority of the Oilers games this season, I couldn't help but evaluate the players and start thinking of line combinations. So I thought I'd have a shot at what I think the Oilers and McLellan could do with their lines and roster. These lines are based on getting the most out of their current players, both for right now and looking forward to the future.
Warning - I'm Not A Scout Or Expert
OK, first of all, I do at least know Slepyshev is a left winger. And I realize moving Yakupov to play center is absolutely insane. Maybe one way to put it is that I'm not smart enough to know just how insane it is. But with that said, I'm not a purely casual watcher, or completely uninformed. Even though I'm no scout and I have never played any high level hockey, I love watching what is actually going on in the game. I've watched fairly closely at times as I've enjoyed the games this season. And I've done a bit of reading about these players in coming up with this set of lines too.
But if you think one of these ideas is stupid, you are most likely right. I'm really just another guy with an opinion. I don't know the Oilers in and out like some people who have been avid fans for the last 5 years. And I certainly don't know as much as coaches, scouts, or ex-NHLers who actually evaluate players better than I ever could. Please write your own article about all the reasons Yakupov can't play center for instance, and contact me with the link. I'd be interested in reading it. Or even better, try to write down your own full set of lines and roster. It would be neat to see how other people think the lines and depth chart of the current Oilers should be drawn up and why.
Forwards
- Line 1 - Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Purcell
- Line 2 - Draisaitl - McDavid - Eberle
- Line 3 - Pouliot - Yakupov - Letestu
- Line 4 - Korpikoski - Lander - Slepyshev
Defense
- Pair 1 - Klefbom - Schultz
- Pair 2 - Nurse - Reinhart
- Pair 3 - Davidson - Sekera
Reserves
- Forwards - Klinkhammer - Gazdic - Hendricks
- Defense - Fayne - Ference
Preface - I Like What McLellan Is Doing
And what is he doing? As far as I can tell, he is trying out different line combinations and making players know that there can and will be changes. Just because they play with someone doesn't mean they are in a linemate marriage which will never be broken up. Basically, you need to be able to play with different people. And he is going to try to find what combinations work best. However, he is doing that while also providing some consistency at the same time. For instance, Yakupov and Pouliot have played together a lot, even after McDavid got injured. Nugent-Hopkins and Hall have been together for quite a while.
But McLellan sure showed that he would make changes if needed. Boom. McDavid and Hall split up after the first regular season game. That was a surprise. Again, I'm not super informed, but I think he really believed in McDavid and Hall being a duo. While Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle would be another duo. He gave them the pre-season and one game together, but decisively tried something else when he felt it wasn't working well.
I won't go into a history of what all McLellan has done with line combinations this season. But I really like so many of the different changes and little adjustments he is making. Like the move to separate Hall and McDavid, putting Draisatl with Hall and Nugent-Hopkins, and Eberle coming back on the third line. The injuries aren't great. But they have allowed the team to evaluate players lower down in the depth chart early on in this Chiarelli-McLellan rebuild, or really "build" I would say. The possible lines I've layed out take into account some of the changes McLellan has already made, as well as players Chiarelli has brought into the team.
Lines 1 And 2 - Smart, Smart, Smart
OK, now the fun part. I've been thinking about different lineups since the first game. My overall idea for the team is to make the top 2 lines only have players on it that have good skill, but also really good hockey sense and passing ability. I think Hall, McDavid, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, and Draisatl all fit into that category.
In doing this, I think you are going with the Oilers strength. To continue with the move to put Draisatl, a great passer and quick thinker, on a wing on the top 2 lines instead of having him center the third line. To move Yakupov to the third line, because he can't keep up with the passing of those other players. To put another player who can think nearly as quickly as those other players with them. To not put a big checking winger as a third piece to the top line duos, but keep those big wingers for the third and fourth lines.
So, I'd try to pack those top 2 lines with great passers, maybe even more so than great skilled players. I also understand the idea of putting some of these scoring duos with a fast, capable, forechecking big man. My thinking is that the Hall/Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid/Draisatl duos are big enough and strong enough on the puck in the offensive zone that you don't have to put them with a big guy like Pouliot, Korpikoski, or Slepyshev. They are also capable defensively, with Nugent-Hopkins, as well as McDavid and Draisatl, a former center.
So I wonder if you can pack those top 2 lines with another good passer and scorer, and not have to worry about their forechecking ability or defensive ability. Someone who is more likely to make the smart pass to them, than shoot the puck every time. Or to find the open ice for a pass from them, since they are all good passers too. Someone like Purcell.
Lines 3 And 4 - Defense, Defense, Defense By Offense
This leaves the lower 2 lines to be focused more on defense. One thing about going with this strategy could be that you let your players know this fact. It gives the 3rd and 4th lines a role to live up to. They know that while they are all good players that can score, that they want to focus on defense just as much or more than offense.
So these bottom 2 lines eventually get packed with 4 big wingers who are good forecheckers. It just so happens the Oilers already have quite a few of these. Pouliot and Slepyshev, who also have speed and some scoring ability. Korpikoski, who Chiarelli traded for. Gazdic and Klinkhammer. These lines are also packed with players who have speed if possible. So they can hang with top skaters on other teams. Yakupov's speed in the middle could help with defense, and it moves a smaller player to the middle of the ice. The bigger wingers can get the puck wrung around the boards out, and hopefully be the first into the corners more often in the offensive zone. Letestu is a veteran center put with Yakupov so he can help him with the defensive side of being a center. Letestu can take the draws for now.
These lower lines should still have the ability to score though. And without having to "balance" the lines on purpose by moving great players like Eberle or Draisatl to the third line. Offense is the best defense. Having good offensive players like Yakupov and Pouliot on that third line gives you a chance to score still. All of Letestu, Yakupov, and Pouliot can put the puck in the net, without having to worry about making a lot of great passes like the gifted awareness and passing plays of the players on the top 2 lines. Dump or get the puck in the offensive end, and try to get the puck to Yakupov playing center, to beat a guy and score.
Oh, and if Yakupov playing center is just horrible, just switch him and Letestu. I still like this set of lines. If that big change doesn't work out, I'd still go with these same lines, but with Letestu centering the third line.
Balance On Lines
So I made the top 2 lines be "smart" players with great hockey sense only, and the bottom 2 lines be focused more on defense, but still with enough offense to score. However, I also ended up making these lines balanced in certain ways. There is at least one older player on each of the lines. Purcell on line 1, Eberle on line 2, Pouliot and Letestu on line 3, and Korpikoski on line 4. There is one very fast goal scorer on each line. Hall, McDavid, Yakupov, and Slepyshev. There is a great passer on each of the top 2 lines, with Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl. Of course the other 4 players on those lines are also good passers, being "smart" players who can make quick decisions. While not great passers, Letestu and Pouliot both play an overall game, and can set up Yakupov on the third line too.
There is depth at center, so any injuries can be handled easier. Draisatl and Letestu can be moved over to center. But if this works, I would strongly consider always leaving Yakupov at center, and rarely ever the wing except for special teams. I only changed the positions of Yakupov, Letestu, and Slepyshev, two of which are quite low on the depth chart right now. I guess Draisatl too who had been moved to right-wing first. But with these changes all players would now play on their correct sides. With right-handed players on RW and left-handed players on LW. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the defense. Reinhart is forced to play the off side with the decision to put Nurse and Reinhart together.
Putting so much scoring on the top two lines means that an injury to one player doesn't make the line poor offensively. You can move any big winger like Pouliot, Slepyshev, or Korpikoski up with any 2 of the top 6 players. The worst injury would be Hall, with Slepyshev or Pouliot probably moving up to play with Nugent-Hopkins and Purcell. But that is still a pretty good line, and you might play the Yakupov line a bit more if Hall goes down. Remember I'm looking towards the future too. The hope is that Yakupov and Slepyshev are only going to get better.
A Few Notes About These Lines And Roster
1. Lines For Right Now AND The Future
These line ideas have been made looking towards the future. Is Fayne better to have playing right now than Davidson? Probably. Is Hendricks a better guy to have on a 4th line than Slepyshev, and leave Slepyshev in the AHL? Yep. But I've made up this possible line list really thinking about who I would keep on the roster going forward. I was thinking about how I might pair players together even in late 2017 as much as right now. Who I think I would really want to play together a year or more from now. But this roster is also for right now. Basically these are lines that I would also go with right now.
2. Lines Assuming No Injuries Or Contracts
A luxury I have in writing an article like this is not dealing with all of the headaches of a real roster. Putting a lineup together every night is what is really tough. Especially with all of the injuries the Oilers have been dealt with this year. Mixing and matching has been done very well by McLellan. I'm looking at a bigger picture really. This set of lines and roster is made in a perfect world where there are no injuries, and no big contracts for players who you might want to leave off the roster. It's more of a depth chart of the players I think should be a part of the team. But also with an assessment of who I think would work best together based on just the games I've seen this year, and what has been tried so far by McLellan.
3. Missing Players Didn't Make The Cut
It's possible I missed someone. But for the most part, if I haven't included someone, I am not that high on them being in the roster going forward. Again, I understand that some players I have left off should really be in the lineup now, over someone like Davidson for instance. I thought about listing these players in a "Trade" or "Gone" section, but figured that would just be mean. But who I've left off of this roster says as much about my assessment of the players as who I have in the lineup. Also of note is the guys I marked as "Veteran". Those are players I would keep on the roster for now more for their experience. But I expect that younger and more talented players will replace them going forward.
Conclusion
Lines, Roster, And Depth Chart - Part 2
I was going to go into more detail, writing about each forward line and defensive pair. Explaining more of why I might put them together. For instance, why I might move Yakupov to center, put McDavid with Draisatl, or Nurse and Reinhart together. However this is quite long already, and it explains the main idea of the lines. I might write a second article some time about the ideas behind each line, including more of a scouting report for each player so far this season.
Jumping On The McBandwagon
I mentioned earlier that I'm not an expert, but just a guy with an opinion after watching many of the Oilers games so far this season. Unfortunately, I'm also not a true Oilers fan. I haven't been watching or keeping up with this team for the last few years. So I don't want to punch someone every time Yakupov gives away the puck in the neutral zone trying to stick handle around 3 people. And my Facebook status every other week for the last few years hasn't been "Hey do you think the Oilers could trade Nugent-Hopkins away for X?". I haven't had my hopes and dreams crushed over the last decade, seeing the Oilers at the bottom of the standings again. I actually like watching all these young players. And it's been so much fun watching some NHL hockey games again, and having a team to cheer for.
But flat-out I am jumping on the bandwagon to be an Oilers fan again. I haven't watched too much hockey the last seven years or so, other than World Juniors and Olympics. I played hockey in the 80s and 90s when I was younger. I was a huge Oilers fan the whole time, growing up in the prairies. And of course Gretzky was my favorite player, along with Fleury later.
I just really wanted to watch McDavid and my old favorite team after not watching NHL hockey too much. You can kind of think of me as an informed fan, not a real true Oilers fan. Kind of like McLellan and Chiarelli deciding to go to Edmonton because they know the Oilers have a good core of young players. I've decided to check out the Oilers and join the McDavid and Oilers bandwagon. Even though they are last in the division, it's sure been fun watching them so far, even with McDavid out. Time has flown by watching them and so far I have stayed on and enjoyed the ride on the bandwagon.
