Bob Stauffer just said he doesn't expect Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to stay together all year with the Oilers.
It's a bold thing to say about a team sitting 14-3-3 and first in the Pacific Division. Edmonton has won three straight, including a 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers on Wednesday, and McDavid has 49 points in 20 games. Even his assist streak was a talking point this week, when Connor McDavid's assist streak hung on a scoring call.
Stauffer was asked whether this is the Oilers' actual lineup come playoff time. In comments shared in a post, he answered that he doesn't necessarily believe the two stars will play the entire year together.
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His first reason is Matthew Savoie. Stauffer said the young center is going to come back in, which changes the math up front.
Savoie hasn't played this season. He's listed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, with an expected return of at least Nov. 24, and that date is an estimate.
The 22-year-old was the ninth overall pick in 2022 and has 38 points in 87 career games. The post cuts off before Stauffer finishes the thought, so how he sees Savoie fitting in is unclear.
Would the Oilers really split McDavid and Draisaitl?
Stauffer is talking about a possible change down the road, not an announced one. Nothing in the post says Mike Babcock has any plan to separate them.
And the results don't ask for it. Draisaitl has 18 goals and a +20 rating, and McDavid is at +25. Eight of Draisaitl's goals have come on the power play, and McDavid has 19 power-play assists. Moving either one away from the other would break up a pairing that's working.
Still, depth is where a team gets tested in the spring, and a healthy Savoie gives Babcock another center to play with. Stauffer's point is that the lineup tonight isn't the lineup in April, and that's a fair read.
It also lands at a loaded moment. McDavid admitted Friday that he grew up cheering for Toronto, comments that fueled the trade rumors around Edmonton's captain, and the Oilers visit the Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Whether they play on the same line there is the first test of Stauffer's theory.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Should the Oilers split McDavid and Draisaitl at some point this season?
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