The Edmonton Oilers are facing a paradox: their greatest strength, superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, may also be their tragic flaw. The team has relied heavily on these two players, but there is a growing consensus that reducing their ice time could lead to greater overall success.
The Problem of Over-Reliance
No coach who has stood behind Edmonton's bench has resisted the temptation to put the weight of the entire team on the shoulders of McDavid and Draisaitl. General managers have also failed to assemble a supporting cast strong enough to ease that load. However, that is about to change.
"It's natural when you've got those players who are the best players in the league, it's natural to lean on them," said Stan Bowman. "They get it done and they deliver. Connor led the league in scoring; it's hard to say we should play him less."
But they should play them less, not just to save wear and tear on bodies that will both be 30 next season, but to get the rest of the team more involved.
Building a Deeper Roster
"It gives other players more opportunity to grow their games," reasoned Bowman. "The more players you have in your group who are playing and gaining their confidence and expanding their game, the better position you're going to be in."
The top guys are fine with the new direction. "There is no choice but that," said Draisaitl. "The best team that we've had, in 2024, was where everybody played such a major role in it. Everybody was so big. The (Ryan) McLeods, the (Warren) Foegeles, all those guys. They played such a massive role in all of it. (Vinny) Desharnais, (Cody) Ceci. You need those guys to win, you need those guys to go deep."
A Collaborative Effort
That's the model the Oilers have to get back to. But it's a collaborative effort: the GM has to build a roster where third and fourth line guys are legitimate options, the coach has to show discipline to spread the wealth, and the players have to deliver.
That's where it fell apart this season. "Going into the season, the plan was for (McDavid and Draisaitl) to be playing together and let everyone else play to their own identity, to their strengths," said head coach Kris Knoblauch. But sharing the wealth wasn't going to work with Zach Hyman injured and Trent Frederic and Andrew Mangiapane dragging things down, so the strategy had to change after Edmonton got off to another bad start.
Come September, they'll be trying again.
