While hosting a recent episode of The Jason Gregor Show, the analyst spoke passionately as he criticized anyone who said the bench players in Edmonton aren’t being allowed to play.
Mangiapane compared to Corey Perry
Do you know how many minutes Andrew Mangiapane has played this season with McDavid and Draisaitl during even-strength? Two hundred and forty. And the season isn’t even three-quarters finished yet, so he’s likely to play a lot more.
I thought that should help him feel confident enough to score. But it hasn’t worked, right? Because he hasn’t been playing better. He’s not performing like Corey Perry did. Corey Perry scored goals no matter what line he was on.
– Jason Gregor
“The most bogus argument going in Edmonton right now is the coach needs to play the other guys more minutes. They’ve got 11 forwards averaging 12 minutes a night no one else in the West has more”. – @JasonGregor #LetsGoOilers @OilersNation pic.twitter.com/mWG3n3UlL7
— Sports 1440 (@Sports1440) February 11, 2026
To make his point clearer, Gregor looked at forwards who have played at least 19 games in Western Conference teams that have at least 60 points.
Among these teams – Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Utah, Vegas, Seattle, Anaheim, LA Kings – Edmonton had the fewest total points from their lower lines, even when they had similar ice time.
However, the Oilers’ top two lines scored more than all these teams, except for Colorado, getting 125 goals compared to the Avalanche’s 129.
Whether you agree with Gregor or not, the lack of goals from Edmonton’s lower lines is clear.
Like with Derek Ryan last week, many believe it’s because Kris Knoblauch is not giving his depth players enough ice time, but Gregor disagrees. He argues that Edmonton’s ice time is similar to other teams; they just aren’t getting results. “To me, it’s the most ridiculous excuse in Edmonton right now,” Gregor said. “Edmonton has 11 forwards averaging 12 minutes a game. No other team in the West has that many players getting that much ice time. ”
Of course, stats can be twisted and used to back up any argument, so take these numbers lightly.
What really matters are how players look during games and their actual results. In my view, the lower lines aren’t playing well enough as they are, but there is also a problem with how they are being managed.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch has 24 games to sort things out.
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