October 4, 2021 by Eric Friesen

Edmonton Oilers’ superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are undoubtedly the two most dominant offensive players in the game today.

Since 2015-16, McDavid and Draisaitl rank first and third in the NHL in points with 574 and 497 respectively. They have each won the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion and the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player before turning 25.

If healthy, McDavid and Draisaitl should be among the league leaders in scoring again in 2021-22. But who will finish third in team scoring this season? Here are four options.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Since he arrived in Edmonton in 2011-12, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been a consistent power-play performer. However, Nugent-Hopkins saw his even-strength results dip last season despite spending much of the time on the first line with McDavid.

From 2018-19 through 2019-20, Nugent-Hopkins recorded 130 points in 147 games, tying him for 37th in the league in points during that span. While he might not on the same level offensively as McDavid and Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins can still give the Oilers a third forward among the top 40 offensive producers in the NHL.

Nugent-Hopkins enjoyed the most successful stretch of his 10-year NHL career when he was playing alongside Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto in the second-half of the 2019-20 season. The 28-year-old was on pace for a career-high 77 points in 82 games before the NHL canceled the remainder of the regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the trio can rediscover their magic from two years, then Nugent-Hopkins has a real shot of putting up 70 or more points for the first time in his career.

Zach Hyman

Following consecutive early exits from the playoffs, General Manager Ken Holland made significant changes to the Oilers’ roster this off-season in an effort to push the club closer to contending for a Stanley Cup.

Zack Hyman, who signed a seven-year contract worth $38.5 million contract with the Oilers on July 28, was one of the most sought after free agents this past summer, and will be counted on to play a major role in Edmonton. Hyman, a late bloomer at the NHL level, has increased his points-per-game average in each season he’s played, hitting a career-best 0.77 in 2020-21.

Though he has never scored more than 21 goals in a single season, Hyman has averaged 29 goals per 82 games since 2018-19. Hyman also has plenty of experience playing with an elite centre, as he regularly lined up alongside Auston Matthews with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the past few years.

The 29-year-old will almost surely play the left side on the first line with McDavid in Edmonton, which gives him an even greater chance of reaching the 30-goal mark.

Jesse Puljujarvi

After spending almost two calendar years away from the NHL, Jesse Puljujarvi returned to the Oilers in 2020-21 and emerged as an impact player in Edmonton.

Despite a slow start that saw Puljujarvi with no goals and only two assists in his first 11 games of the season, the former fourth-overall pick tallied 15 goals and 23 points in the final 44 games. Puljujarvi, who began the 2020-21 campaign on the third line, supplanted Zack Kassian as the first line right winger before the end of January.

The 23-year-old has picked up right where he left off in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs with three goals and one assist in two pre-season contests, including a rocket from just inside the blueline in a 4-3 win over the Jets on Saturday. Puljujarvi has a powerful slap shot, outstanding size and strength, and skates well, which makes him an ideal linemate for an elite passer like McDavid.

Puljujarvi looks poised for a poised for a breakout year, and if he can put up 25 goals and 50 points, then he will be due for a significant raise on the $1.175 million he’s slated to earn in 2021-22.

Tyson Barrie

After finishing third in team scoring in 2020-21, Tyson Barrie should not be overlooked as a candidate to be the Oilers’ top point producer outside of McDavid and Draisaitl again this year.

Last season, Barrie led the NHL in points and finished second in the league in assists among defencemen. Barrie became the first Oiler to lead the league in points by a defenceman since Paul Coffey in 1985-86.

While young gun Evan Bouchard could quickly become Edmonton’s best right-shot defender, Barrie is still their most proven offensive contributor on the back end with three 50-point seasons in the NHL. The 30-year-old joined an already lethal power-play unit in his first season with the Oilers, and helped it finish atop the league for the second straight season (27.6%).

Barrie, who would have been on pace for a career-high 71 points in a full 82-game schedule in 2020-21, is a safe bet for at least 45 points this season.

My take

On the surface, Hyman should be the front-runner to finish third in Oilers scoring in 2021-22 based on last year’s numbers. But I predict Nugent-Hopkins will rebound with a career-high 73 points to take sole possession of third on the team.

For the Oilers to achieve their goal of a deep playoff run in 2022, they will need Nugent-Hopkins to return to his 2019-20 form when he was playing on arguably the best line in the NHL with Draisaitl and Yamamoto. The former first-overall pick is excellent on the power-play, but he’s also scored at least 15 even-strength goals five times in his career.

Nugent-Hopkins already looks to have rekindled some chemistry with Draisaitl, as evidenced by his game-winning goal against the Jets on Saturday. Now reunited with Draisaitl and Yamamoto, Nugent-Hopkins has a great opportunity to put up the best individual numbers of his career, which should translate to more team success.