From the moment he was hired, Mike Babcock and the leaders of the Edmonton Oilers have talked about making everyone feel important. It makes sense, but we shouldn’t pretend this hasn’t happened in the past. I disagree with the notion that a few more shifts will guarantee better production from the bottom eight forwards, and I’d argue it is more about producing when you are on the ice, rather than needing more ice time.

Here is a look at the production of the forwards over the past three seasons. Kris Knoblauch was the coach for all but the first 13 games of the 2024 campaign. I put a line below Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins because those four have played the most minutes each of those three seasons. Will Vasily Podkolzin or Matt Savoie (when he’s healthy) end up playing more time on ice per game this season? Possibly, but it will depend on how they play and produce.

I wanted to have the three seasons side-by-side, so it is easier to see the production compared to time on ice.

McDavid played the most minutes last season, mainly due to averaging 1:03/GP on the penalty kill. I wouldn’t have him as one of my main penalty killers to start the season. I know he can do it, but I’d allow others to grab that role and own it. Jason Dickinson, Kasperi Kapanen, Mathieu Joseph, Kirby Dach, Vasily Podkolzin, Josh Samanski and Alex Formenton can get a look there.

But McDavid isn’t suddenly going to be........

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