Edmonton Oilers Should Try Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at Wing

Bob Stauffer posted a list of the Edmonton Oilers projected lineup for 2017-18 and had an interesting first line.

Instead of the Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl combination that Edmonton had for this past year, Stauffer recommending making Draisaitl the second line centre and putting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the first line right wing.

Edmonton Oilers

Nugent-Hopkins didn’t have his best season, but it wasn’t his worst either. In his first-ever full 82-game season, the 24-year-old finished with 18 goals and 43 points.

However, Nugent-Hopkins has struggled at times, going through lengthy scoring droughts and putting up inconsistent point totals. In addition, his 43.8 percent success in the faceoff circle was nothing to write home about.

With Nugent-Hopkins looking to put up more points and to perform more to his full potential (which he hasn’t reached playing centre), a move to the wing could benefit him. Not only is he an outstanding playmaker, but he has an underrated shot and has great speed. In addition, Nugent-Hopkins knows how to take care of the puck, and plays a solid game at both ends of the rink.

The former first-overall pick also has decent shooting percentage over the last few seasons, and though just nine percent of his shots found the back of the net this season, he takes plenty of shots and has had a shooting percentage over 10 percent in four of six NHL seasons.

Playing on the top line, he could definitely play well with Connor McDavid; considering both are playmakers, they can bounce off each other and read each other well. This would help them create solid plays, and with similar mindsets, both would be able to think the same way and communicate well. Additionally, both could get the puck to Patrick Maroon, who has proven ability to find the puck and put it in the net.

Putting Nugent-Hopkins on the wing also allows Leon Draisaitl to carry his own line and prove his worth as the second-line centre. This will highlight his true skill-set, while also giving him more responsibility and the opportunity to thrive on his own.

While Edmonton could place Draisaitl on the second-line wing without promoting Nugent-Hopkins to the top line, it would make Nugent-Hopkins a third line centre and the Oilers would find themselves paying $6 million a year to a third-line player.

Next: Edmonton Oilers: Mark Fayne Faces Tough Road Back to NHL

Overall, Nugent-Hopkins would be an interesting option on the wing. It wouldn’t hurt for the Oilers to try him there, especially when they want more points out of him.