This year I have the Gordon-Hendricks duo listed as the bulk of the 4th line. This is in many ways misleading, as is the entire idea of designating a line by a number. Now don't get me wrong, I'll still continue to call them lines 1-4, but NHL coaches hate it for good reason. That reason being that no matter the role, all 4 lines are going to be important to the team.
When one, in Edmonton especially, thinks of "The 4th Line" the image of knuckle draggers and AHL tweeners comes to mind, not capable NHL players. More often than not these are players that are played almost begrudgingly or, to many onlookers, bewilderingly.
Quite arbitrarily I have assigned the other line combinations numbers 1-3 based on offensive expectations. RNH centers the top line, Arco and Draisaitl in no particular order take lines 2-3. It is just the way my mind makes order of things but it plays out that way largely because of the depth on the wing.
On the Left it's:
Hall Yak Pouliot Hendricks
On the Right it's:
Eberle Perron Purcell Joensuu (?)
There is no doubt in my mind that those are accurate depth charts for the wings with only Yakupov and Pouliot potentially trading places. That places Hendricks and whomever wins the day as the last RW on the 4th.
But there is another issue at play with the number scheme. The biggest problem in calling this line the 4th is going to be usage. For more than a few 4th lines across the league they are going to be used in sheltered situations. They will be played against other 4th lines or coaches will try to start them out of their own zone. The Gordon line will not. In fact they won't even get average zone starts.
Last year Gordon started in the Defensive Zone an NHL high 59.6% of the time. Hendricks was lower at 46.6% but that was still good for 2nd highest on the Oilers. Barring a massive step forward from RNH and miraculous efforts from Rookie Leon Draisaitl and Lollipop Guild Representative Mark Arcobello the zone start hell should continue for this line.
And it's not as if the line went up against a steady stream of soft match ups either. Their work ethic, physical play, and ability to win on the draw means they see some tough opponents. For example, the most common opponent for Gordon was heartless leader void (and amazing hockey player) Joe Thornton and for Hendricks it was Ryan Suter.
So when this duo plays this coming year there is every possibility that they do it while being "The 4th Line" but they will have a massive role on the club. They are going to be tasked with absorbing the pressure put on the Oilers by some of the opposition's best and they'll be doing it in their own zone.
It's that fact that also means whoever wins the job as the 4RW is going to have to be someone with some defensive acumen and maturity to their game.
This is isn't going to be a "Traditional" 4th line. It's going to have a very crucial role on the team.
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