The arrival of Connor McDavid to the Edmonton Oilers changes things for the old core group of Justin Schultz, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle.
This group of players has some offensive talent and Nugent-Hopkins is also rounding into a solid two-way NHLer, but the group were failing in their attempts to pull the Oilers franchise up and out of doldrums.
The four first played together in the fall of 2012 in Oklahoma City during the NHL lock-out. They ripped up that level of competition and played well in the NHL as well that year. They were identified as the so-called “core” by former Oilers GM Craig MacTavish in an April 2014 press conference, after one of the most disappointing seasons in Oilers history.