Knoblauch reveals the real reasons why McLeod was benched

With Ryan McLeod being benched for tonight, Kris Knoblauch talked to the media on what went in to his decision making process. He made it a point to tell them that it wasn't because of a lack of performance on McLeod's side, but more about the fact that all other Oilers have been playing amazing.

Knoblauch talks about it being a reset for McLeod, which focuses on it being more of a mental issue for him instead of a lack in his gameplay. This tracks with what we've seen of McLeod, as his decision making is sometimes very questionable and his turnovers can be very detrimental.

Knoblauch is careful to never talk bad about McLeod's game and focuses most on the positives, talking about his great defensive work and penalty kill performance. McLeod just needs to work on his game and get a little bit better on offence and then Knoblauch says he'll be back in the lineup soon enough.

A guy like McLeod will always be productive because his main skills are his speed and his understanding of the game. That's why he's so valuable to the Oilers and I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back in if the Oilers PK starts to struggle again.