After an eye-opening and somewhat contemptible road trip through the Eastern Conference, Oilers General Manager Peter Chiarelli has come under increasing scrutiny. The collective voice of Oil Country has spoken. They want moves to be made. Oilers fans and pundits have their fingers on the trigger, and the targets appear to be stapled to the posteriors of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle.

It is no secret that the pair of forwards have struggled mightily in recent outings. RNH has looked a shadow of his usual self since returning to the line-up on 18th November vs. Chicago. He missed one game with the flu. Eberle has been playing catch up, missing the first month of the regular season after sustaining a shoulder injury in preseason.

Whilst these may be suitable diagnoses for sub-par performances, at least initially, 8 and 13 games respectively is ample time for any lingering ailments to be flushed out. Both deserve criticism for recent performances, although the level of chastisement levelled since the shutout debacle in Toronto is unwarranted. This is especially true in the case of #93.

In his pre-match presser before Wednesday's home game against Boston, Coach Todd McLellan quite rightly fought RNH's corner.

Nuge is also the one that has been moved around. He had a line that was going real strong, we lose Connor, and Nuge has to come to the rescue, occupy a spot on a different line. So he's lost his line mates, he's been moved around to different power plays. So am I defending Nuge? Absolutely I am because I believe in him 100%

It should also be noted that he stated that Nuge's new line had underperformed on the Oilers Eastern trip, combining for 1G, 3A and -20. He acknowledged that perhaps he had whipped up the storm surrounding Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins, thus set about staunchly defending the latter.

Every player in every sport has bad stretches. Some bloke in Pittsburgh by the name of Crosby started the season at a substantially slower pace than we have become accustomed to. I don't remember Penguins fans trying to run him out of town.

If many Oilers fans got their wish and Nugent-Hopkins was traded for pennies on the pound, it wouldn't take long for regret to set in. Not only is he relatively experienced for a 22 year old centre, especially compared to his fellow centres in copper and blue, he is arguably the best two-way forward on the team. Solid on both sides of the puck, RNH is an important piece in Edmonton's quest for improved team defence; something that has severely lacked in their play for a number of years. A commodity as valuable as a high-end two-way centre is surely something you would do anything to keep, not look to cut loose frivolously at the earliest opportunity. Trading him away would make the Oilers worse, not better, especially long term.

Nugent-Hopkins leads all Oilers forwards in TOI per game, averaging 20:54, including time on the Penalty Kill as well as the power play. He is fast becoming McLellan's 'go to guy' much like Joe Pavelski was for him in San Jose, a comparison that was made in Wednesday's press conference. It won't be long before he plays his way out of his current funk and proves his worth once again.

It is clear to me that Jordan Eberle is markedly more expendable and if one of the so called core is to be moved on, it should be him over Nugent-Hopkins. If McDavid and Yakupov can reignite offensively upon their return from injury, there may only be 3rd line minutes available for Eberle. On a $6m contract that isn't ideal. Without doubt Eberle is an exceptional scorer, but he doesn't contribute in other areas anywhere near as effectively as RNH. Something that is compounded when mired in a scoring drought.

Both will regain something like their best form in the coming weeks, form is temporary, class is permanent. Quite rightly they have received criticism, but neither deserves to be lynched. Eventually, the Oilers will haul themselves out of the basement. Should they both be a part of that? Yes, to an extent. Nugent-Hopkins is most definitely part of the solution. Eberle? He is a valuable asset. Will he command that coveted #1 or #2 defenceman? No, and certainly not on current form, but he could be a key piece in a package deal going forward.

Scoring of any kind is a commodity in itself, but eminently more replaceable than an effective two-way centre. Sometimes, you should be careful what you wish for. Now would be a good time for many Oilers fans to be just that.