Oilers will Begin Season with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on Same Line

Head coach Kris Knoblauch wants the Edmonton Oilers to have a good start to the season, so he plans to start with his two superstars playing on the same line.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are the most dangerous duo in the NHL when they play together, so the reasoning makes sense. However, he needs his second and third lines to contribute for the strategy to work.

If Zach Hyman were available, Knoblauch likely wouldn’t be loading up Connor McDavid with Leon Draisaitl, but after sluggish starts in each of the past two seasons, the Oilers are desperate for a strong showing in October. With many new forwards in camp, Knoblauch has decided to go with what he knows will work, and then see how the rest sorts itself out. Trent Frederic will be their right winger to start, and those three will play tomorrow night vs. Seattle in Edmonton’s fourth preseason game

“We want to see Freddie up there, “said Knoblauch. “We are missing Hyman for the first month and we need to find somebody to play that spot. Freddie is a good candidate. He doesn’t get enough appreciation for his skills. He is good with the puck. But the two most important attributes to play with McDavid or Draisaitl are one, being good on the wall so you are able to break the puck out and get it in their hands, and the other is in the offensive zone, being able to be around the net and make plays. Look at the success Hyman has had, and Freddie has pretty good hands and he can make plays. We are hoping that with that opportunity, he can provide more offence.”

Knoblauch was asked about loading up his stars and how that will impact his second and third lines.

“When they are playing together, you get a lot more out of the rest of the three lines. That might sound a bit ironic, but the others get more ice time than is available when those two are playing 21 and 22 minutes (when playing on their own line), there isn’t much ice time left for the third and fourth lines and often they feel left out.

“But with Connor and Leon playing together, it allows those three lines to stay in the game, play their regular shift more often and they also get to play more to their identity. If you have a guy who maybe isn’t a top-six guy, but he is playing with Leon or Connor, you kind of have to play to a top-six line identity, even if that isn’t part of their game.

“By playing Connor and Leon together, the other guys play to their identity, and maybe you get more out of them. We saw it last year with Nugent-Hopkins when he was playing with Podkolzin and Arvidsson, they were putting up as much offence individually.”

Whether you agree or disagree with the coach, I like that he outlined his viewpoint. I also think this illustrates the Oilers’ need to acquire another top-six winger at the trade deadline. I know they tried to land Mikko Rantanen last season, and while there likely won’t be a winger of his stature available at the deadline, it is clear GM Stan Bowman is looking for another scoring winger.

If Zach Hyman were healthy, I don’t think he’d start this way. I think we will see No. 97 and No. 29 centre their own lines later on this season once Hyman returns.

“Without Hyman, we are a little slim on having top-six winger talent, and then you kind of have pieces and you have two lines you don’t really like, ” said Knoblauch. “I know when I have Leon and Connor together, I have one line I really like, no matter who is playing with them. Right now, we are trying Freddie, and it might be someone else, but regardless of who plays with them, it works. I think the other guys can just play their game, whether it is a checking role, energy line, or whatever, I think we can get more out of those guys.”

Will we see Matt Savoie get a look with the big dogs right away, or does Knoblauch prefer to let him get comfortable on a third line?

“It is important that he is in a position to have success, without having too much pressure on him,” said Knoblauch. “We can always move him up in the lineup. There will be stretches where he is not playing his best, and then you have to move him down, and I don’t think that is good for the long run. I think it is good to start lower and then move up. He’s played really well thus far. I can see him on special teams, both units, and if he is on both units and playing on the top line, that is probably too tall an order for a guy just coming into the league. If he provides offence, and is contributing on a lower line, that will be really good for us. We want more depth scoring.”

Personally, I think the Oilers are a better team when McDavid and Draisaitl centre their own lines, but for one month to increase your chances of a good start, I understand Knoblauch’s plan. If that trio starts the season, the options for the next three lines will be a mix of these forwards:

Podkolzin-RNH-Mangiapane
Henrique-Tomasek-Savoie
Janmark-Lazar-Kapanen
Howard-Philp-Jones

Maybe Henrique moves back to the middle on the fourth line. Knoblauch stated he wants the players to battle for those spots, and whoever is playing the best will be higher in the lineup. RNH will be the second-line centre for sure, and the other spots are up for grabs. David Tomasek will play the next few preseason games as a centre. That is the position he has played the most the past few seasons, so Knoblauch wants to play him there. For now.

The Oilers’ second to fourth lines should be able to score, and the puck-moving ability of Edmonton’s blue line will help them. Edmonton had four of the top-35 even-strength scoring defenders last season with Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman, Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm missed 17 games and was still tied for 35th. They can move the puck, and those lines should be able to contribute.

Knoblauch wants a good start. McDavid has mentioned the need for a good start on multiple occasions in camp, and Knoblauch believes playing his two superstars together gives them the best chance to make it happen. We’ll see how it goes.