The Edmonton Oilers have lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in back-to-back years, so Edmonton is looking to make some minor changes to get over the hump.
The Oilers haven’t made any major additions this summer. But, Oilers’ analyst Jason Gregor appeared on Sports1440 and believes former first-overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be demoted to the bottom-six.
“I think Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be more minutes in your bottom six than in your top six,” Gregor said. “Now he’s obviously going to play in the power play. He’s going to play a ton of the penalty kill. So his minutes will still be fine, but I’m just talking five on five. I think by the end of the year, he will be more of a third-line center. I could be wrong, but that is my spidey sense thing.”
Nugent-Hopkins was selected first overall by Edmonton in the 2011 NHL Draft. Since joining the NHL, he’s been an impact player, but Gregor believes that if he is the Oilers’ third-line center, it makes the team that much deeper and better.
Nugent-Hopkins is entering the fifth year of his eight-year, $41 million deal with the Oilers. He recorded 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in 78 games. In the playoffs, he had 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 22 games.
Nugent-Hopkins ‘Grateful’ to Only Play for Oilers
Although Nugent-Hopkins is a dominant NHL player, as some may have thought after his junior career and being picked first overall.
However, Nugent-Hopkins has still been an effective NHL player, and he will also surpass 1000 career games this upcoming season. He says he’s grateful to have spent his entire NHL career with just one team.
“It’s been a huge honor to do it with one team,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “This is such an historic team, and this fan base has been so incredible for so long. Even in the early years when things weren’t going well, you still felt the support and the passion every day. I was lucky to get through some of those years when it seemed like everyone was getting traded and the team wanted to go different directions here and there. They always stuck by me. I’m grateful for that.”
Nugent-Hopkins has skated in 959 career games, recording 271 goals and 477 assists for 748 points.
Oilers GM Expects Nugent-Hopkins to Play in Top-6
Edmonton did make some additions this offseason, adding the likes of Andrew Mangiapane and Curtis Lazar.
However, the Oilers lost the likes of Corey Perry, Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown, and Evander Kane. Although there are some changes to the forward group, Oilers’ general manager Stan Bowman believes the mixture of forwards is better.
“I think that’s the one thing I like about this mixture is that in Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman and Mangiapani, there are three of the four wingers to play in the top six. The other one, we don’t have just one person we’re hoping can fill it,” Bowman said. “We’re going to try some different looks, and I’m sure with the way Kris likes to mix and match, we’ll get a bunch of different players getting the opportunity, and then we’ll find out which one is the best fit as we move forward.”
The Oilers enter the season with the third-best odds of winning the Stanley Cup at +900.
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