Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl carry the Edmonton Oilers every night, but the numbers say the bottom six is the real threat to this season.
This week, one detailed on-ice breakdown made the depth problem impossible to ignore heading into training camp.
Last season, the Oilers' bottom six goal share slipped to 39 percent at even strength, down from nearly 60 percent just four seasons ago.
That decline traces straight back to former coach Kris Knoblauch loading McDavid and Draisaitl onto one line, chasing offense in tough spots.
When both stars shared the ice, Edmonton only outscored opponents 18 to 16, a modest margin for two players of that caliber stacked together.
Away from them entirely, the rest of the roster got outscored 86 to 55, the clearest evidence yet of how thin that depth actually got.
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Compare that to the run to the Stanley Cup Final two years earlier, when the Oilers posted a plus-43 goal differential with McDavid or Draisaitl on the ice.
Even away from both stars, that group was only outscored by three goals over an entire season, proof of what real depth actually looks like.
That version of Edmonton also rode a top-five power play and one of the best penalty kills in playoff history, the kind of complete team performance the Oilers haven't matched since.
McDavid still put up 138 points last season and Draisaitl added 97 across 65 games, so the star power clearly isn't the issue here.
Two players can only carry a lineup so far. If the bottom six can't hold its own, no amount of McDavid magic changes the math over 82 games.
Edmonton added pieces this summer aimed at shoring up exactly that group, hoping a couple of young forwards take real steps forward.
Whether that depth actually holds up, or the Oilers lean on their stars to paper over the same problem again, is the story that decides this season.
Can the Oilers' bottom six actually carry its weight behind McDavid and Draisaitl this season?
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