If the NHL regular season started tomorrow, how would Edmonton Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch deploy his lineup?
I am getting a bit ahead of myself. Lots of Summer remains. Training camp will decide a few things. And that stretch from the start of the regular season through American Thanksgiving will really separate the wheat from the chaff.
But gazing into that old crystal ball through the lazy, hazy days of summer, I see this…
Scenario 1-
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Mangiapane
Frederic – Henrique – Savoie
Janmark – Lazar – Kapanen
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Walman
Kulak – Emberson
Skinner – Pickard
Comments
-Call this the “traditional” lineup, if you will. You know you can rely on that first line. Podkolzin meshes well with Draisaitl who also seems to like playing with him. Mangiapane should be an effective “give & go” guy with Leon. The third line puts Savoie with two veterans, both responsible defensively, and Frederic with the size. Line four is a “checking” line with some grit and decent speed on the wings. Pairings are “most predictable”. Predictable? Sure.
Scenario 2 –
Henrique – McDavid – Hyman
Nugent-Hopkins – Draisaitl – Savoie
Podkolzin – Frederic – Mangiapane
Janmark – Philp – Kapanen
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Walman
Skinner – Pickard
Comments
-Adam Henrique is a very smart player who should be able to think with McDavid, Hyman is the forechecker and all three can score. This puts Savoie in an even better opportunity to be an offensive contributor and still with two vets for shelter. Frederic will get a shot at Center, this trio would forecheck like a damn, with Mangiapane the finisher. Line four is subbing Philp for Lazar, maybe a training camp result. Nurse pairs with a guy he has a reasonable history with. And that would be one of the best third pairings in hockey.
Scenario 3 –
Draisaitl – McDavid – Hyman
Frederic – Nugent-Hopkins – Mangiapane
Podkolzin – Henrique – Savoie
Kapanen – Tomasek – Jones
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Kulak
Walman – Emberson
Pickard – Skinner
Comments
-This is the “nuclear” option. Some love it, some hate it. But it is a load to handle for most teams. This moves Nuge back into the middle where he was effective during the playoffs, and with two truculent wingers. Savoie again gets two vets but in an even more sheltered situation. Jones as your 13-14F would likely see some action here. Maybe Tomasek slots in higher but lets start him here. Kulak proved he can play his off-side, and I do think Emberson will get a long look. I put Calvin Pickard first in case the starter falters, but not because I hope he does
Not all farm hands and bubble players get a mention above. Matt Tomkins is an injury call-up in net. Riley Stillman could provide NHL minutes if a LHD gets nicked up. Josh Brown the same over on the right side. Alec Regula needs to be healthy, nit sure shat he is yet. Anyone else is a long-shot.
Conclusions
Are there other options in addition to the ones above? Of course, I could probably drone on endlessly. What I am sure of is that Kris Knoblauch is almost certainly going to try these three and many more as the season goes on. Situational, injuries, etc.
It is not the perfect roster. But it is one that gives Knoblauch lots of potential looks in-game. And that I see as an Oilers advantage. I also like that there is competition on the bottom pairing and the fourth line. Good clubs have that.
Is it good enough to win the West again? Yeah, I think so. The Stanley Cup? Well, maybe third time is a charm. But I also expect Stan Bowman to be aggressive between Christmas and the deadline.
Pre-Season
The 2025 pre-season schedule is out: Split squads versus Calgary on the 21st, in Winnipeg the 23rd, at home to Seattle the 24th, Winnipeg the 26th and Vancouver the 28th. In Seattle the 1st of October, and close out in Vancouver the 3rd.
Now on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social.
This article is not AI generated.
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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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