Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Takes Major Criticism, Gets Demoted To Third Line

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Liam McCormick
November 6, 2024 (5:54 PM)

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Oilers first overall pick and longtime veteran Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is having a poor start to this season, which has put him in line for some harsh criticism and a demotion to the third line.

After spending much of the last two seasons on the left wing next to Connor McDavid, the Oilers are now turning to Jeff Skinner for the assignment with the superstar. Nugent-Hopkins is taking some serious heat for his lack of offensive production, but especially his defensive zone play and penalty kill.

NHL analyst Jamie McLennan recently joined the Ray and Dregs Podcast, and ripped apart Nugent-Hopkins for his efforts in the defensive zone. It's something out of the ordinary Oilers fans have noticed as well. Nuge looks a step behind against elite competition right now, and it's been burning the Oilers who now have the last ranked penalty kill in the league. On one particular effort against the Devils, McLennan said Nuge basically was a ghost on the ice.

»You look at Edmonton, their special teams stink right now. Their penalty kill can't You look at Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on that penalty kill goal. I don't know who he was guarding. Like he might as well, he actually should have just taken his gear off at that point.»
- Jamie McLennan, Ray and Dregs Podcast

The entire penalty kill is suffering greatly for Edmonton right now, and Nugent-Hopkins is a major piece of it that needs to be better for them to have success - but his struggles extend beyond the PK too. On the powerplay and even strength as well, he simply hasn't been productive enough to keep his spot. Jeff Skinner has moved onto the first powerplay unit too.

Perhaps on the third line tonight with Henrique and Brown, Nuge can find some success against weaker competition and even elevate the third line to be a scoring threat. If Edmonton wants to be an elite team, they'll need to get better results out of the longtime Oiler.