Andrew Berkshire recently put together a nice piece comparing the point production of the Montreal Canadaiens to the rest of the league by position. He does a nice providing realistic expectation of players and setting benchmarks for different positions. I thought it’d be interesting to see how the 2014-2015 Oilers measure up with the rest of the NHL.

Below is a summary table of the point ranges by line and position. What Andrew did was find the range of points based on the top 30 players at the position. Second line range was based on players ranked 31st-60th at that position, and the third line range was based on the 61st-90th ranked players. Please note, I prefer evaluating players based on even-strength play, so I focused on those numbers.

So how did the Oilers rank in 2014-2015?  Below are the points for each player, by position, at even-strength. I’ve also included the players’ points/60 and the average time on ice per game to provide some context (Source: War on Ice).

Here’s where the Oilers fit compared to the ranges from Andrew’s piece.

Couple thoughts:

• RNH made significant strides this past season and is well on his way to becoming a star. His point totals just missed the cut-off to be a first line center, but there should be no issues for him going forward.
• Hall had an off-year, but you can be sure he’ll be back to elite status next season.
• Eberle is the only player who falls into the first line category based on even-strength points. He’s not the most productive player, as in he gets a lot of minutes. But he’s become a very consistent player for the club.
• My guess is if Lander had a full season, he’d make a push to fall under the third-line center category. It is good to know what the realistic expectations should be of him.
• Since the guy played all the tough minutes last season, Gordon doesn’t have to show up in these tables. The guy is awesome.
• Man, I cannot believe we’ll have McDavid, RNH and Draisaitl as our centermen in the near future. Good Lord.