Why Talented Wingers Keep Struggling After Joining the Oilers

As Sean McIndoe of The Athletic pointed out:

“There’s something weird about how the Oilers keep signing talented offensive players to cheap deals that seem like can’t-miss wins, only to see them fail to really click with any of the existing offensive firepower. Last year, it was Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. This year’s it’s Mangiapane, following an iffy year in Washington with an even less productive one in Edmonton — he has just five goals and 11 points through the first half.”

Jeff Skinner couldn’t find an advocate in head coach Kris Knoblauch. Comments like “play better hockey” were used when it was asked why Skinner wasn’t getting more looks. Ironically, Skinner wasn’t playing that badly when he was in. He just wasn’t getting any minutes. Viktor Arvidsson followed a similar path, struggling to produce the same kind of numbers he did in Los Angeles and Nashville. Eventually, and like Mangiapane, he agreed to waive his no-trade if a better option was out there. Ardvisson was moved to the Boston Bruins.

All three of these players were proven scorers at one time who, on the right line, were considered great finds with 20-goal potential. The only problem is that none of that was happening in Edmonton.

It’s the Minutes and the Deployment

Part of the problem might be the opportunity these players have with the way the Oilers run their lines and deploy their top guys. On the surface, it’s easy to assume these wingers should play well with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, they’ll always be a third wheel with a short leash. The Oilers pair up their two top guys far too often in different situations, and that leaves guys like Mangiapane, Skinner, and Arvidsson on the outside looking in. There’s no rhythm or patience for a bad few shifts. If the Oilers fall behind, they go back to the well. It’s either score immediately and frequently, or move down the lineup and get far fewer minutes. That will throw a scorer off.

It raises questions about fit, deployment, and the pressure that comes with playing in Edmonton’s unforgiving market and in a pressure cooker where it’s Stanley Cup or bust. Every mistake is massive, and confidence can erode quickly. For Mangiapane, it’s all but gon,e and he’s not playing anything remotely close to the type of game he played while successful in Calgary.

What’s scarier is that the same thing seems to be happening with Trent Frederic, who the Oilers locked in for eight seasons.