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Originally Posted by Oil Stain
Well that's the talking point, but Eberle and Lucic spent a lot of time on McDavid's line last year and they weren't obliterating their past results.
Maroon's goals were way up last year but he played with Perry/Getlzlaf and put up basically the same ppg in 14/15. Only 40 points when playing with a guy that gets 100 and another guy that gets 77 is probably kind of hard to do actually.
Obviously playing with Mcdavid is not going to hurt, but I'm not sure he or anyone in the NHL explodes his line mates numbers.
Look at Anisimov. Goes from third line center in NY to playing with Kane/Panarin and sees a minimal scoring bump.
I generally think that guys get the numbers, that they have the talent to get.
Now I think that Draisaitl's numbers might be a little inflated due to a high shooting percentage last year, but I think that's just luck in general, and not McDavid induced.
I think his numbers will drop a bit next year. That's an easy bet though because I think most guys need some luck to get into the top ten. From 14/15 to 15/16 only Benn and Crosby repeated as top ten scorers. And from 15/16 to 16/17 only Kane and Crosby repeated.
There are more than a few Oilers fans suggesting a bridge deal. That is probably a non-starter from Draisaitl's camp though. If the Oilers can get something starting with a 7 they have done very well considering Draisaitl's bargaining position.
The Flames were lucky that Gaudreau didn't have arbitration or offer sheet eligibility, or I believe his cap hit would have been in the 7s as well. He mentioned "getting screwed" by his situation in that Barstool Sports interview with Whitney.
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It is going to be interesting to see where Draisaitl peaks and plateaus over the years. Some guys don't see much of a bump in points depending on how they are utilized on a line and how a line can build chemistry.
For instance, I think that Anisimov is tasked with being the defensive stalwart on that line to allow Kane and Panarin to free-wheel more. He is going to get an increase in points while doing it, but offence is probably his secondary focus on that line. Draisaitl didn't have that focus being the winger.
Eberle is a tough guy to get a read on with anybody. He just doesn't engage enough in my opinion, and I don't think he goes to the dirty areas enough. McDavid causes havoc with his speed, and that leads to secondary chances. Eberle just didn't get to them often enough (and also suffered from a low shooting percentage IIRC).
Draisaitl I think converted a whole lot of chances. He was way more opportunistic than Eberle, and unlike Eberle, would go to the hard areas. That's a really good part of his game. Nothing wrong with being opportunistic - it still takes a tonne of skill to convert those chances.
The big question for me is if Draisaitl can create enough on his own consistently away from McDavid. We have had short sample sizes thus far. Is Draisaitl the beast during the Anaheim series? Or is he a very strong complimentary player who struggles somewhat when he is 'the guy' on a line? We don't have enough of a sample size in his young career thus far, but I would bet the truth is somewhere in the middle. On which side of the fence he leans to will be really interesting, and that is why any long-term deal with high dollars at this point carries some risk with it. He MAY not be that guy, or he may end up truly an elite center.