CENTRE STAGE

Oilers shift Leon Draisaitl from wing in hope of recapturing last season’s magic

I need to step up and maybe playing centre will give me a little spark.”

Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl

BOSTON — Leon Draisaitl has always been ambivalent to where he plays, as long as he plays, so he hasn’t been screaming for a move back to the centre.

But when your Edmonton Oilers team has won eight of 23 games, and you’re 80th in league scoring behind people like Jonathan Marchessault, maybe it’s time for a change of scenery, so Draisaitl won’t be on right wing any longer. He’ll be in the middle against the Boston Bruins Sunday afternoon.

Draisaitl has been a shadow of last year’s dominant self when he finished eighth in league scoring playing on Connor McDavid’s right side for much of the season.

Loathe to change last season’s regular-season script, Oilers head coach Todd McLellan has kept him on right wing, although he shifted him onto a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on this five-game road trip to try and jumpstart Draisaitl, who has 17 points, none on the power play.

“Leon didn’t live up to Leon’s standards in Buffalo and I talked to him (Saturday) before practice and we know he has to get back to skating like he can. He has to command some ice,” said McLellan. “You have to skate at centre and maybe this also will cut back on the minutes for our other centre men and they’ll have more energy and jump. Connor’s been sick, although he’s starting to feel better, showing in his legs.”

Draisaitl has always been ambivalent to where he lines up.

“Like I always say, I don’t care where I play,” said Draisaitl, who had a poor game in Buffalo Friday. “My game hasn’t been close to good enough. I need to step up and maybe playing centre will give me a little spark.”

You handle the puck more at centre than the wing, also log more miles because centres have to come back and play deeper defensively than wingers. Maybe, this is what Draisaitl needs.

“I have to get my game back together and I haven’t been skating very well,” he said. “Hopefully, centre will give me a little change.”

You also see where McLellan’s been coming from with Draisaitl on right wing, especially with Nugent-Hopkins’ strong early-season play as No. 2 centre.

He didn’t have anybody else but Draisaitl to play on the No. 1 line, and after they dealt Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders for Ryan Strome last June, it left a big hole on the right side.

He did try Strome with McDavid early in camp, and early in pre-season games, but eventually felt Strome was better and more comfortable, not even as the No. 2 RW but as the third centre.

“Last year Connor and Leon were the best duo in the league (points-wise, 100 and 77) and the line with (left-winger) Patty Maroon was one of the top lines. They were comparable to what the Brayden Schenn line is doing in St. Louis right now,” said McLellan. “We wanted to start there, with Leon and Connor.

“And in my opinion, Nugent-Hopkins has played extremely well as the second centre. He’s had some average nights too but we’re 23 games in and it’s hard to be perfect all the time. And Ryan Strome’s had his best games as the No. 3 centre.”

McLellan didn’t want to slight Nugent-Hopkins, who was doing a nice job as the No. 2 pivot, also winning more than 50% of his draws, until he could find wingers to complement him. Anton Slepyshev returning gives him three lines, if he can stay healthy

“We used the options we had but we haven’t been as productive as we’d like,” McLellan said.

The key for McLellan has been to find wingers for his top three centres. Against the Bruins, he’ll go with Milan Lucic and Mike Cammalleri flanking McDavid. He’ll have Maroon and Slepyshev, coming off injured reserve, with Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl with Strome and Caggiula.