And after seeing teammates Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle shipped out, the 24-year-old knew that he was expendable as well. So, the message may have been unvocalized, but it was clear. If he didn’t improve his numbers, he wouldn’t be staying with the Oilers much longer.
Heading into this season, Nugent-Hopkins was either going to start on the third line or stay in the top-six, all depending on if Leon Draisaitl ended up taking over as the second-line centre. However, after evaluating each player’s skill-sets, head coach Todd McLellan decided to keep Nugent-Hopkins as the second-line centre and to have Draisaitl remain on the first line wing alongside McDavid.