“Brothers fight”: The boss move with Corey Perry and Evander Kane? Keep them on the same line

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The Edmonton Oilers had an optional practice today, giving a number of players some rest so they weren’t on the ice, meaning we don’t have new line combinations today, meaning it’s still not known if Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch will keep Evander Kane and Corey Perry on the same line.

Why is this an issue?

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Because Kane and Perry had a now famous set-to on the bench Saturday night against the Calgary Flames.
After Monday’s practice, Kane and Perry appeared to laugh off the incident, as Edmonton sports commentator Tom Gazzola reported.

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Reid Wilkins of CHED reported that both Kane and Perry said heated interactions like that are more common than fans might think.

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It’s not known with certainty what Perry said to Kane or what Kane replied in their evidently testy discussion, but there’s been much speculation that Perry berated Kane for making a weak pass into the slot, as opposed to keeping the cycle going.

On Hockey Night in Canada, analyst Kevin Bieksa — as astute an observer of the game as there is when it comes to hockey commentators — said, “You can tell this is a team that’s thinking about the playoffs and how they’re going to play and thinking about high percentage, and this is Kane, kind of a hope pass, nobody there And you can see Perry, obviously we’re speculating, but I’m thinking he’s saying, ‘Hey, keep this puck down low. There’s nobody there. Like you don’t need to throw it away to Calgary to go the other way. And this continues on for awhile, and I can tell you from playing with Perry, he doesn’t do this very often. He doesn’t yell at teammate. He doesn’t get this fired up on the bench. He’s usually in his own little world. So it takes a lot, but this is a team, they care about how they play.”

My take

1. The boss move from Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch right now is to keep Perry and Kane together on the same line with Ryan McLeod at centre. It would send a clear message to both to a) work things out, gentlemen, b) our team is best right now when this particular line is together so live with it, and c) if the dispute was indeed about the play that Bieksa identified, Perry was right to raise the issue, so let’s keep eyes on the prize and move forward.

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2. Good to see Perry and Kane’s light-hearted response in regards to their spat. It was no big deal. It’s part of a competitive group of people working out dynamics on the fly. I also loved Perry’s framing of it: “Brothers fight.” Yes, they do. But, in the end, they’re still brothers.

3. What do you think of the Oilers leadership group now? I’m liking it more than ever, at least since 1992. There are a number of strong veteran players here now to keep one another accountable. That’s exactly what is needed in Edmonton. Even superstars need to hear it when they regularly make mistakes and it appears that the Oilers now have the cast of strong characters to do that work. If you always leave it up to the coach, that will wear thin fast. It’s in large part up to the players to figure out how to perform at a high level as group, and that aspect now appears to be part of the Oilers DNA.

4. The line of McLeod, Perry and Kane got off to an iffy start but put up three goals against the Avs. In limited minutes, they’re not at three goals for and three against. But the line might well work because it blends three players with complementary skill, McLeod with his blazing speed and finesse, Kane with his great shot and hard hitting, and Perry with his strong hockey sense, puck skills and ferocity in front of the net. McLeod’s speed makes up for Perry’s slower feet. Kane’s intimidating presence makes up for McLeod’s less aggressive stance. Perry’s sharpness and puck sense makes up for Kane’s occasional lapses.

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5. Perry and Kane are no longer at their peak level of performance, not surprising given that Perry is 38, Kane 32. Both have plenty of hard miles on them, Perry have played 1305 regular season NHL games, Kane 927. But they’re still reliable contributors, chipping in points at even strength, playing physical and at times intimidating hockey. They’re both still hard men of hockey, fierce players disliked and sometimes feared by opposing teams.

6. When it comes to point scoring, Kane ranks 199 out of 420 regular NHL forwards (300+ minutes at even strength) with 1.77 points per 60 even strength minutes. Perry ranks just behind him at 224, with 1.66 pts. per 60. They are both behind the Top 6 forwards on the team, Connor McDavid, 3.87, Leon Draisaitl, 2.93, Zach Hyman, 2.67, Warren Foegele, 2.16, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2.0, and Adam Henrqiue, 1.99. If we go by points per 60, those six deserve to be on the top two lines. It also makes sense the Kane, Perry and Ryan McLeod, the next three top scorers, form a third line.

7. Some pundits and fans are itching to see Kane on a line with Leon Draisaitl, but I’m not in that camp. I see both players as question marks on defence, and having them together on the same trio might well put the Oilers in defensive jeapardy on too many shifts. I prefer to see them split up. Both players offer a lot, obviously, as NHLers, especially Draisaitl, an attacking genius. But the Oilers are best off with them on separate lines.

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