{"id":385235,"date":"2026-01-01T18:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T18:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/385235\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T18:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T18:25:12","slug":"oilers-finally-cop-to-whoops-with-roslovic-will-correct-course-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/385235\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers Finally Cop to ‘Whoops’ with Roslovic, Will Correct Course in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhatever I need to do to help the team, you know, just be deployed wherever I can be, as long as I\u2019m playing.\u201d That was Jack Roslovic<\/a>\u2018s response after being asked about the decision to elevate him off the third line and move him back into the top six mid-game versus the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. Edmonton\u2019s head coach sees things a little differently. <\/p>\n

According to Kris Knoblauch, it\u2019s become apparent that Roslovic is too skilled to be stuck on a line with anchors, and that\u2019s essentially what the Edmonton Oilers\u2019 third line has become. <\/p>\n

The Oilers may not have intended to arrive at this conclusion. Still, the reality is becoming unavoidable: they don\u2019t have the horses they need to form a dangerous third line, and they can\u2019t afford to bury a legitimate top-six forward anymore \u2014 not after a 6-2 loss proved that he\u2019s too valuable alongside the team\u2019s elite stars. Not as the calendar turns toward 2026.<\/p>\n

Roslovic Can\u2019t Be Used To Spark Players Who Aren\u2019t Producing<\/p>\n

Some of this is about Roslovic\u2019s performance against the Bruins. Much of it is that no one else is taking the opportunity. As complementary a player as Roslovic seems to be, he might not be capable of dragging guys into the battle. He certainly wasn\u2019t able to pull much out of Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But when Roslovic got the look in an elevated role, he scored. Andrew Mangiapane<\/a> had essentially shown that the chance he was being given to make good with a top-six spot was going to go to waste. Knoblauch didn\u2019t dance around it either, openly stating, \u201cWe made that switch putting Roslovic there. Obviously, we feel that Roslovic is a better player, but I thought Andrew did some things that helped us.\u201d <\/p>\n

When asked if it\u2019s time to keep Roslovic on that second line, Knoblauch responded, \u201cLooks like we need him playing in the top six.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s about as close to an admission that the Oilers\u2019 margin for error up front has vanished as Knoblauch has ever offered.<\/p>\n

\"JackJack Roslovic Oilers room<\/p>\n

The Oilers Can\u2019t Sacrifice Their Top Six for Their Third Line<\/p>\n

For much of the season, Edmonton has tried to walk a fine line: maintain a functioning third line while juggling combinations around Connor McDavid<\/a> and Leon Draisaitl<\/a>. It feels like they\u2019ve found a first line that is clicking. McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/a>, and Zach Hyman<\/a> are as solid as it gets. But, trying to pull someone like Roslovic off the second line to boost the third is no longer working. <\/p>\n

The Bruins game showed exactly why. Draisaitl needed help, didn\u2019t get it from Mangiapane \u2014 who played under 8 minutes following a healthy scratch and in a showcase role \u2013, and the coaching staff reacted accordingly. Roslovic moved up. Mangiapane\u2019s ice time evaporated.<\/p>\n

Knoblauch all but confirmed the Draisaitl\u2013Roslovic\u2013Vasily Podkolzin<\/a> trio is the direction moving forward. The Oilers are prioritizing top-six stability over depth optics, because weakening their top two lines simply isn\u2019t an option anymore.<\/p>\n

This also reframes Roslovic\u2019s role entirely. He\u2019s no longer a depth luxury or a matchup-based experiment. He\u2019s a necessary piece to keep Draisaitl clicking.<\/p>\n

As 2026 approaches, the Oilers are learning a hard truth: if you have a forward who can contribute in the top six, you play him there. Trying to take that player and fit him into the wrong role just isn\u2019t good roster management.<\/p>\n

Next: Did Team Canada Drop the Ball?: No Oilers Linemate for McDavid<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhatever I need to do to help the team, you know, just be deployed wherever I can be,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1824,5,1648,4,2175],"class_list":{"0":"post-385235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-andrew-mangiapane","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-jack-roslovic","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-top-story"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115821250141681899","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}