Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
The funniest exercise yet for me is comparing "opportunity" or "role" for each player.
For Neal it's pretty easy.
You add up the time he played with any of the clear cut top six forwards; in this case five skaters (Monahan, Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Lindholm, Backlund) though cases could be made for Frolik and maybe even Derek Ryan.
Those five forwards are 1-5 in terms of total ice time but also average ice time per game; not much argument against using them as "opportunity" measures.
Then you go to the Oiler side.
They don't have five guys that represent opportunity. They have three. Lucic's time with McDavid, Draisaitl and NH is obvious but if you extend the analysis you have to include that huge opportunity to play with Alex Chiasson and Zack Kassian too.
Too funny.
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To add to this, it's also a myth that playing with a player like McDavid will automatically boost your numbers by astronomical amounts. You still have to have chemistry with these high end players. Often, the high end players struggle to find wingers that jive with their style of play. They also expect their linemates to conform to what they're doing.
This is the same reason that Pittsburgh always struggled to find players to play with Crosby/Malkin. Strangely enough, it was often plugs, capable of doing one or two things well, that performed the best with them...cough cough Neal.