The search for No. 97’s sidekick continues
Displaced centre Nugent-Hopkins latest to offer captain some consistency on line
Do the great ones need a regular linemate?
Yes and no.
Wayne Gretzky had fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Jari Kurri on his right side with the Edmonton Oilers.
Sidney Crosby had Chris Kunitz for years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Kunitz, while resourceful, would still need to buy a ticket to get into the Hall of Fame and Sid is doing just fine alongside Jake Guentzel or Conor Sheary or Bryan Rust these days.
Mario Lemieux never had a constant on the wing in Pittsburgh like Gretzky did Kurri, more of a revolving door with Rob Brown getting a sniff and running with the chance to score 49 goals as part of a 115-point season in 1988-89.
Which brings us to the ongoing saga in Edmonton with Connor McDavid. We’ve got the continuing education of Ryan NugentHopkins, who usually plays centre but now lines up at left wing with the Oilers captain. It looks like it might be a fit through the first three games, but that’s a small sample size.
But who would be the perfect winger for McDavid?
OK, it’s Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine, but that’s not going to happen. Same with Tampa Bay ’s Nikita Kucherov.
Kurri thought the game like Gretzky and was also the defensive conscience to No. 99’s brilliance. Kunitz was good and a comfortable pair of slippers for Crosby.
The search for McDavid’s ideal sidekick continues.
“The Penguins traded for a few guys who they thought might play with Mario — Tony Tanti, Rick Tocchet,” said Brown, a former junior phenom who is now a colour commentator on Oilers radio broadcasts.
“A lot of it is opportunity and seizing it. When you’re playing with a superstar, you have to think like he does. If you see the game the same, you know how to get open and where the puck needs to be.
“The stars have to produce, too, and if there are six great chances in a game and you don’t do anything with them, that means the star is not doing what he needs to do.”
Nugent-Hopkins has always been an offensive, creative player and he’s very sound defensively, but he’s not a shooter. He has scored 114 goals in 447 NHL games.
Last year, Patrick Maroon was a big body with soft hands who worked with McDavid.
Does McDavid need a sniper or a playmaker? Somebody who can keep up with him?
“I don’t think Connor can play with somebody who lumbers, but he’s never going to get a guy who skates as fast,” said Brown. “Maroon, for instance, was smart enough to know where to go and to get him the puck at the right time.”
But are the Oilers looking for a quick winger for McDavid?
“It depends on the night, the opponent, the game … if it’s a fast, free-flowing game, you might want somebody who can finish,” said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan.
“I guess you always want somebody who can finish because you never know where the puck’s going to come from with Connor. But in the playoffs, maybe you like to have a bigger body, somebody who might be a deterrent (against physical play), who can also finish.
“I still like Leon (Draisaitl, usually a centre) on his right side because they connect so well.”
But the Oilers need Draisaitl to drive his own line and that’s just as troublesome a storyline for him: trying to find wingers he can play with every night.
Crosby does just fine with an array of wingers.
“I don’t know if hockey fans would even know the first names of the guys he’s playing with,” said Brown.
“He should be first or second in league scoring, but he’s kind of giving something back (with his littleknown wingers) carrying guys. It’s not like (Evgeni) Malkin, who has Phil Kessel.”
But McDavid is the major thing to work on.
“It’s still evolving,” said McLellan, continually looking to help McDavid.
“I think Nuge and Connor are developing some chemistry, they’re reading and reacting to each other well. Nuge is getting his game sense and his legs back.”
I don’t think Connor can play with somebody who lumbers, but he’s never going to get a guy who skates as fast.