Edmonton has the best centre in the league. Be happy with that, because saying anything else is grossly misrepresenting reality.

centre and centre depth. Few teams can put up 3 top 40 centres on their team.

Puljujärvi wouldn't get either Bertuzzi or Mantha right now...

You're totally right that Edmonton has great center depth, and you're also right that Edmonton needs a wing capable of scoring 20 goals. Bobby Ryan last his 17 even strength goals five years ago, and hasn't since because he's getting old and slow, just like Lucic.

The Oilers should try to add Andre Burakovsky, having a weak start with Washington, who hit 17 at even strenght 3 years ago, is 23, and scored 41 goals and 87 points in 57 games when he and McDavid were rookies together in Erie. He was consistently a line or two ahead of Chiasson on the Caps' depth chart last year, and Chiasson currently leads Oilers wings in goals.

With Orpik out, I think the Caps should trade Burakovsky for Nurse to help them kill penalties. They probably have to add prospects to balance that out. I think Kammerer and Williams fit best into the Oilers' future plans.

I also really like the idea of the Oilers bringing back Sam Gagner, who scores as many goals as Bobby Ryan lately, but doesn't cost as much. Vancouver would probably give him away for nothing, with some salary retained, because it's cheaper than buying him out next summer. Or if you want to trade him for Kassian to make the cap hit work, then you can add picks.

I agree that Edmonton has depth in goal, but I disagree that Koskinen or Montoya necessarily have the conditioning to take over the workload that Talbot is used to. Koskinen's 49 games played in last year were his only season over 40 at any level. Trading Talbot does create cap space, and Koskinen's winning right now, but it might not be worth it. https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/k/koskimi01.html

Is on the Penguins.

Finished your sentence for you!

Edmonton does not have 3 top 40 centres. They may not have 2 top 30 centres. Two teams in the East have 2 top 10 centres each.

You telling me there's 40 other centres in the league better than nugent-hopkins...?

It really depends how you meansure, I mean, totalling the last twenty years, Marleau and Tavares are certainly at the top in points. Totalling the last five, just Tavares. If you're going to sneak Matthews in there based on being at the top this year and last year, then you've got to count Kuznetsov as a short term great, along with Backstrom as a medium term great. I don't think Marleau is even a center anymore, let along a top 100 center, but if you look at his stats on NHL.com, he's one of the best active centers in the league, so I'll grant your point.

Its arguable I guess, but at this point, he's a winger and if he went down to the 3rd line, he'd just be the only good player on a terrible line. He is in a group of about 10 or so centres who are all about even.

If you say you have the best centre depth in the league you are talking about right now. So even mentioning Marleau is irrelevant. TO has Tavares and Matthews and if you don't consider Matthews a top level talent you just hate the Leafs and there is no point in continuing this conversation. Backstrom and Kuznetsov are great as well, I'd put Kuznetsov in the top 10 even. Backstrom is not bad either.

Fair enough. I've seen a lot more out of RNH individually this year than the last, though

Again he's been a winger this season. So you can't even really call him a centre right now.

Two years ago when Backstrom played with Ovechkin and Oshie, he was third in points among centers. Kuznetsov, playing with Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson, was 17th. Last year, when the Caps spread out their offense across three lines like Pittsburgh does, and Backstrom played with a ragtag bunch of whoever was available until he got Oshie back for the playoffs, he was still top 30 among centers in points. I'd put each among the top 15, but it's so hard to say either is top 10 on their own when you have to factor in Ovechkin.

This year, so far, I think Matthews is way better than Tavares (16 pts in 11 games vs 17 in 16? And Tavares got the good wings?), but if Matthews stays out a couple more games, and Tavares keeps getting the ice time he's used to, Tavares is going to climb back into the top ten centers in points. Both are top 20 right now. Matthews will keep improving.

By points so far this year (way too small of a sample size to matter) Toronto, Washington, and Calgary each have two guys listed among the top twenty centers (but one of Calgary's plays a lot of wing?). Edmonton has three listed, but again, one plays mostly wing.

http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20182019&seasonTo=20182019&gameType=2&position=C&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points

If you look at last year's playoffs, the Caps had the top two in points, and Eller was 6th, but that's easy when you play more games, on the strength of great clutch goal scorers like Andre Burakovsky (?), Alex Chiasson (??), Devante Smith-Pelly (???), and Brooks Orpik (????!?!?!?!?!?!?!!).

Watching the Caps play the Oilers the other day, Edmonton's a really fun team to watch. They move the puck around really well. They understand the cycle game, pretty well, on three lines. I think Strome is underrated among Oilers fans, for his vision and playmaking skill. I also think the team's game plan of having one wing on each line just go to the net and chill is not great for helping them keep puck possession in the offensive zone. They should acquire some speedier, more skilled wingers, and/or get more use out of the ones they already have.

People talk about the Caps as a team with big guys who can create space in front of the net, and that's true, but those big guys don't just stand there when the puck goes into the corner, hoping for a lucky bounce. They go skate and try to get the puck. Sometimes it works.

I don't think any team has a 3C better than Kadri right now, that actually plays 3C. If the Leafs ever get a third RHD, they're going to be pretty good.

I'd say they are already at least pretty good. And that is without 2 of their top 4 forwards. Replacing Hainsey with someone who can skate and still kill penalties would make them scary.