Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has long been a hard player to get a handle on.
He's maybe a bit of a disappointment as a first-overall pick, but he's far from a bust. He once authored a 104-point campaign, but he's never even cracked 70 in any other season. He's a natural center, but his best work has come on the left wing. He's got a great shot (career 12% shooting percentage), but he's primarily a playmaker. He's always had good defensive numbers, but he's definitely not a shutdown center.
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One thing's for sure: the Edmonton Oilers love him, and he's not going anywhere. Under contract through the 2028-29 season, Nugent-Hopkins should become the Oilers' all-time leader in games played sometime early in 2026-27, which would be his franchise-leading 16th season with the team.
But with four more years left on his contract at 31 years old, Nugent-Hopkins' play this season has been concerning. He's scoring at a 52-point pace, his lowest since 2016-17, and his line with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman hasn't been quite as dominant as in years past.
The Oilers can't afford a decline from Nugent-Hopkins. So how can they mitigate it?
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We might have seen the answer on Sunday. Nugent-Hopkins was moved down to center the third line as part of another massive lineup shuffle, essentially trading places with fellow veteran C/LW Adam Henrique.
RNH took to his new role with aplomb, picking up three primary assists in Edmonton's 3-1 win over the New York Rangers. His line (with Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson) was the Oilers' best, and Arvidsson in particular seemed to thrive in that role.
The Oilers would love for that new third line to stick. While their depth scoring has struggled all season, playing Nugent-Hopkins and Arvidsson on the third line would stretch out the lineup and allow the two veterans to feast on easier competition. That could leave a playoff forward corps that looks something like this:
Henrique - McDavid - Hyman
J. Skinner - Draisaitl - Kane
Frederic - RNH - Arvidsson
Podkolzin - Kapanen - Brown/Perry
That's a deep and formidable lineup if everyone is at their best. Henrique meshed well with McDavid and Hyman in the playoffs last year, while Draisaitl has been dominant this season no matter who's flanked him. His second line would look even better with Matt Savoie recalled from the AHL.
At any rate, running McDavid-Draisaitl-RNH down the middle would give the Oilers one of the best center groups in the league, not to mention the possibility of playing Trent Frederic on the fourth line upon his return. Nugent-Hopkins is a luxury at 3C, allowing the Oilers to get the best out of not only him but their raft of bottom-nine wingers.
Nugent-Hopkins is the longest-tenured Oiler and one of their most important forwards. After his season-best performance on Sunday, it's clear that he'd be most valuable as a third-line center. The Oilers have an elite blueline and more potential depth than they know what to do with up front--it's time to take advantage of it.
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