The Oilers don’t have many job openings. I outlined the battle for the fourth-line centre spot earlier this week, as it is likely the only potential roster spot battle among forwards. The lack of job openings reflects how good the Oilers forward group is, and the most intriguing question heading into the season is what will the top two lines look like.
Kris Knoblauch has decided to keep his top line from last season intact. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman were together in the first session, and on Tuesday, after the Oilers golf tournament, Knoblauch stated he wanted to keep them together. “They were exceptional last season, so my plan is to start with them,” said Knoblauch. “We’ve talked about the need to get Leon (Draisaitl) some wingers, and we did that by adding (Jeff) Skinner and (Viktor) Arvidsson, so we have them as a unit.”
Knoblauch quickly added that the opening day plan can change, maybe early in the season or later, but from my chair, it is the right decision to start with those two lines.
With the addition of Jeff Skinner, the Oilers now have four of the top-20 most productive 5×5 scorers over the past three seasons. That isn’t a small sample size, and if the goal is to give Draisaitl a more consistent producing winger at 5×5, then sliding Skinner on his left wing is ideal.