The NHL trade deadline is fully in the rear view mirror now and the Edmonton Oilers made a few solid moves. They picked up Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks for a first- and fifth-round picks, as well as a fourth-round pick given to Tampa Bay to help pay the bill. What are the Oilers lines going to look like with the additions? What should they look like?
Henrique’s 2023–24 season so far
Adam Henrique is the centrepiece of the deal. The 34-year-old centreman is having one of the best production years of his career, putting up 42 points in 63 games so far. With a shooting percentage of 15.7% on the season he led the Ducks and sits third on the Oilers among players with greater than 30 shots. Looking back at Henrique’s career shows that he has put emphasis on shooting. At 257 career goals and 264 career assists, Henrique has scored nearly as many goals as he has assisted. This is a rarity among NHL players who have played a respectable amount of games, and is mostly associated with players like Alex Ovechkin and Auston Matthews. While Henrique is obviously not of that calibre, having a player who can put the puck in the net as is not afraid to shoot is a huge assset. “You miss 100% of the shots you take” my Uncle Ernest always said!
Another impressive stat is the +3 plus-minus rating he upheld during his time with the Ducks. Now +3 is not an impressive rating, and the plus-minus stat is to the hockey stat world what relish is to the condiment world. However, the facts are that the Ducks are 30th in the league, carry a -62 goal differential, and Henrique was tied for fourth on the Ducks in plus-minus and tied for first among forwards. He was, in fact, one of only three forwards on the Ducks with a positive plus-minus. Considering the desperate situation the Ducks are in, and keeping in mind that even relish has its place in certain dishes, it’s fair to say that Henrique is doing something right defensively.
Some possibilities of lineups
In the few games since the trades have been made, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch has had the team lined up like this:
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Connor McDavid | Zack Hyman |
| Ryan McLeod | Leon Draisaitl | Warren Foegele |
| Evander Kane | Adam Henrique | Connor Brown |
| Mattias Janmark | Derek Ryan | Corey Perry |
Truthfully, this lineup looks great. The Oilers quickly find themselves deeper than the Laurentian Abyss down the centre of the ice. One thing every Stanley Cup winning team needs is a great third line to keep constant pressure on the opponents. Edmonton has been criticized in the past for a being a one-line, two-player team but you won’t be able to say that this post-season. A small change I would make to this lineup is giving Corey Perry a chance on the third line, he may be old but he is a proven goal scorer and an agitator like he needs more time on the ice to stir things up.
Considering Henrique is much more of a goal scorer than a play-maker, it may be smarter to play him on a line with a play-maker. Evandar Kane is one of a small minority in the NHL with more career goals than assists, and I can’t see a line of two shooters and Connor Brown finding too much success. Switching Henrique and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins puts Kane on a line with a playmaker in RNH, and puts Henrique on McDavids line, who could gift 50 points to a llama if they played on a line together, so a natural goal scorer like Henrique would find it easy. Alternatively, Kane could play on the first line with McDavid, and RNH could play centre or left-wing on the third line with Henrique. Henrique being excited to prove himself with a new team and being given the opportunity to play with McDavid may spark him to new heights though, so the first option may be the best.
One thing to note about Henrique’s year in Anaheim is that he has played with 15 unique pairs of linemates, none of them for more than 100 minutes. Many of the lines were not filled with what you’d call prolific point getters; his most common line-mates were Max Jones and Jakob Silfverberg. Despite this, Henrique is still having a near career year. His ability to produce on lines with traditionally low scorers presents another possibility: bring either Ryan McLeod or Warren Foegele down to his line and move Kane up with Draisaitl. This appears to make the line-up too shallow, but if Henrique can make it work it makes the first two lines powerhouses while still holding onto a measure of depth.
What Carrick has to offer
The other player acquired from the Ducks made it immediately clear what he offered the team when he fought in his first game with the Oilers. The fans love a good fighter, and a proper donny brook has been known to turn the tide in a big game. This makes the fourth line the perfect place for Sam Carrick. Carrick-Ryan-Perry sounds like an agitator line that can hold their own during play as well.
Stecher still has to prove himself
Stecher hasn’t seen any ice time with the Oilers yet and I suspect he won’t unless someone is hurt or someone accidently hits McDavid during practice but he is a very capable third pair D-man. That experienced depth can be lifesaving come playoffs.
All said and done, the Oilers on paper and on the ice look good heading into the final stretch of the season. One thing to keep in mind is that they still have 20 games to play with the lines and see what works best.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
