Oilers insider Jason Gregor recently spoke of one of the team's star forwards who is having some pretty bad struggles this season, which is causing concerns. Insider Jason Gregor projects this to be the Oilers forward's worst five-on-five season of his career, despite the fact that he did get two points <a href='https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/edmontonoilers-beat-canucks-6-2-player-grades1822957' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>during the team's last game against the Canucks</a>. <h3>Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' game has completely fallen off the wagon</h3> <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/JasonGregor/status/1882529021113856046'> </a></blockquote></div> Gregor also infers that 31-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkin's game has fallen off and could/should fall out of Edmonton's top-six group of forwards. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is on pace for the least productive 5 on 5 season of his career. He is currently averaging 0.98 points/60. His previous low was 1.12 in 2013. He is on pace for 18 points at 5 on 5. He had 30 and 39 the past two seasons. He has played 62% of his 613 minutes with McDavid (349 minutes) or Draisaitl (30). Points aren't the only tool to evaluate players, but they need more output from him at 5 on 5. He's never been highly productive at 5 on 5, but being on pace for the worst season offensive season of his career 5 on 5 is disappointing when you factor in he has eight points with McDavid, but only two points in 262 minutes away from him. - Jason Gregor Since his breakout 2022-2023 campaign in which he played 82 games, 37 goals, 67 assists, and 104 points with a +12, Nugent-Hopkin's statistics have taken a nose dive off a cliff. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff/status/1866860503601123392'> </a></blockquote></div> In 47 games this year, he's only accumulated 13 goals, 16 assists, and 29 points with a +2. An important fact, though, is that his ice time isn't taking a hit, with him averaging 19:10 TOI per contest. A 2011 NHL Entry Draft product, during the Taylor Hall era, <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/ryan-nugent-hopkins-8476454' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Nugent-Hopkins</a> is one of two current players in Edmonton, with Connor McDavid being the other, that still remained with the team since that time period. Needless to say, the Taylor Hall group was ultimately torn apart in part through several years of disappointment. Of course, with Nugent-Hopkins' struggles, perhaps it's time Edmonton shuffles its forward groupings, and hopes that this shake-up helps him regain form. Hopefully, he regains those touches, with the team looking to transition into a true Stanley Cup contender, and ultimately take home the coveted trophy.