All offseason, we heard the same old story from the Oilers organization. “We learned lessons”. “Defence is a priority”. But after two embarrassing losses to the Vancouver Canucks, the Oilers are back at square one. What’s wrong? Let’s break it down. And offer a solution at the end, specifically meant for the ears of Ken Holland.
Systemic Failure
Jay Woodcroft stressed all offseason that he was making defensive adjustments and implementing them during training camp. So what has this system brought? So far, extra goals for their opponents. From watching them play, it seems like the Oilers want to play a zone defense. And that’s fine. If players have high enough hockey IQs, they can understand where to be in their zones and when to pick up a specific player. But the Oilers don’t have that luxury. Their players are simply too obsessed with offense. They consistently play the offensive side of the puck and look to break out before they even have possession. This leads to goals like Brock Boeser’s snapshot snipe in the season opener. The centre abandoned his zone to assist Cody Cecil in the corner. That’s okay if they play the defensive side. But they attack from behind, attempting to get a quick steal. Meanwhile, Darnell Nurse is puck-watching. He is waiting for the puck to squeak out so he can start the rush-up ice. However, he had wandered too close to the side of the net. This left a massive hole for Boeser to sneak into. And he made no mistake. Woodcroft has to drill this into his players. Defensive. Side. Of. The. Puck. Speaking of his players…
Personnel
Defensemen need to play defence. It’s that simple. But through his team building, Ken Holland has decided that his defensemen should be glorified forwards. Now, I’m not saying a team can’t benefit from some backend offence. But there should be one, maybe two, defensemen like that on a team. Defensemen are there to break the puck out and keep it out of the net. Nurse, Ceci, Evan Bouchard, and Philip Broberg are all offence first defensemen. They play on the offensive side of the puck more often than not and simply put pinch too much. How many times have you seen two defensemen down low in the O-zone in an Oilers game? I can tell you. Many times. This offseason needed another new face on the back end. But instead of clearing space for another Ekholm-style move, they signed Connor Brown. Another scoring forward. Edmonton simply doesn’t have a championship D-core. So what’s the fix?
A Solution
I have looked over the Oilers cap situation (which is a story for another time), and I have one solution. Ken Holland needs to come to terms with the fact that one of his star wingers needs to go. Edmonton simply has too much money invested in the top six. Personally, I would trade Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. His value is as high as it will ever be after a career year, so teams looking for that missing offensive piece will be eager to get in on a forward like that. I know he is a fan favourite, but hard decisions have to be made to win. After that trade, I would take whatever assets acquired from it and tack on some of their own. Maybe Xavier Bourgault and a first. Then I would call a team like Washington, who are frankly on the downturn, and give them a massive haul for a defence man like John Carlson. A true number one. A minute muncher who can break a puck out and play safe and secure on both ends of the ice. Other options to look at could include Adam Pelech and hometown kid Colton Parayko. Overall, there just needs to be a personnel change. Holland needs to accept that.
Could not agree more. Nothing gas changed from last season.