Insider reveals Oilers GM and President met to force a change with McDavid and Draisaitl
Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas - USA Today Sports
According to new reports from Oilers insider Bob Stauffer, the high levels of management met to force a change into Coach Knoblauch to separate McDavid and Draisaitl in the lineup.
The Oilers fell into a serious rut in the last few weeks, which caused Knoblauch to turn to uniting his top two players on the first line - at the expense of the rest of the team.
Oilers GM and President met to force McDavid and Draisaitl separation
Insider Bob Stauffer revealed on last night's intermission panel that Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson met on the Oilers road trip to force Knoblauch into separating McDavid and Draisaitl onto two lines again.
I think there was a decision made a couple games ago. I know for a fact the Oilers had a discussion at the higher levels. Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman were in New York City and they thought we have to diversify the minutes and split these guys up.
- Bob Stauffer
- Bob Stauffer
Knoblauch definitely loses some autonomy as a Coach by accepting management's dictation of the lines, but it still may have been a temporary fix just to win some games. In the end, Knoblauch has seen the Oilers at their best with two strong lines.
Oilers executives are right to force coach into McDavid and Draisaitl line change
While the Oilers were in a losing skid after the 4 Nations break, Knoblauch fell into the trap that every coach in Edmonton has tried by uniting McDavid and Draisaitl.
The problem that always occurs is the rest of the Oilers roster begins to slip into becoming useless while the coach plays the top line 30 minutes a night.
With the superstars spread out over the lineup and their minutes are diversified, they can elevate more of their teammates. When the Oilers supporting cast gets engaged, they're a much better group. Otherwise, they face the real criticism of a one-line team.
It's interesting to hear that this edition of Oilers management identified the problems of the past and took immediate action to separate McDavid and Draisaitl again. After last night's blowout win over Utah, the lines should definitely stay the same next time out.
| POLL | ||
MARS 19 | 516 ANSWERS Insider reveals Oilers GM and President met to force a change with McDavid and Draisaitl Do you think the Oilers are right to split up McDavid and Draisaitl? | ||
| Keep McDavid and Draisaitl together | 127 | 24.6 % |
| Split them up, it makes them deeper | 389 | 75.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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