The Edmonton Oilers have been disappointing to start the 2024-25 season, and there are several reasons why the team has not had consistent success to start the new campaign. With a 7-7-1 record through their first 15 games, the team has been decent at best, but they’ll be hoping to build on a huge 7-3 win. against the Vancouver Canucks in their most recent match and can continue to climb the Pacific Division standings.

One of their unfortunate surprises was the disappointing offensive production from the forwards. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins WHO has only one goal and five assists for six points in 15 games this season, and he hasn’t been able to create many opportunities on the power play either. With a slight demotion in the lineup, Nugent-Hopkins could experience more success.

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The Oilers have enough forward depth to experiment with their lines until they find something that works. Many people, myself included, prefer lines to stay the same and players to find chemistry over time. However, when something isn’t working, it needs to be changed. Nugent-Hopkins has played both center and left wing throughout his NHL career, so the team has many different options when it comes to putting lines in a blender and move him to a more defensive role.

Nugent-Hopkins as bottom six suggests more ideal spot for him

The Oilers used Nugent-Hopkins on the first line for most of his career, and he was on Connor McDavid’s wing for most of the previous two seasons. His offensive ability has slowly declined as he has aged, but his defensive game has remained at an elite level. Demoting him to a third-line center role or even playing left wing with Adam Henrique in the middle, his current game would be used differently. He hasn’t been horrible by any means, but he hasn’t been able to do anything offensively, so a role change should be head coach Kris Knoblauch’s next consideration.

Nugent-Hopkins has shown previously that he can explode offensively and be one of the best players in the league at times. In the 2022-23 season, he scored 37 goals and added 67 assists for 104 points in 82 games, setting a career high in all three categories. Placing him in the bottom six forward group shouldn’t be seen as a demotion by anyone, but rather an attempt to both boost his offensive abilities and utilize the way he’s been playing. Placing him in a more defensive role alongside teammates he’s never played with before could be just what he needs to get going this season.

One issue some fans may have with dropping Nugent-Hopkins in the lineup is whether or not the team has the personnel to move him down. Although the team is missing Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele, who both left for new teams this past offseason, I think they still have the strength to make the switch. Considering how good Vasily Podkolzin is in an increased role, moving him with McDavid and Zach Hyman seems like a smart move. Keeping a second line of Jeff Skinner, Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson together also makes sense.

The Oilers also got off to a slow start to their 2023-24 campaign and ended up making it to the Stanley Cup Final. No one should panic that the team has a lackluster record heading into mid-November and since they were able to turn things around last season, they should be able to turn things around this season on as soon as possible.

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