You can't seriously put Stetcher in your top 4 and then say the defense is good enough. That's as bad or worst as the Wings playing Petry in their top 4. Both are bottom pairing guys at best.
- dcz28

Petry would probably be an upgrade. I will reserve judgement on Emberson until I see him play, his numbers look surprisingly good for the 30 games he played with SJ.

But, let's be honest. Ceci is not a 2ND pair D either, Desharnais played 2ND line for a while last year too, also just a bottom pair D. D is not as deep as last year, but it is a stretch to say it is much worse overall. Not good, but not much different that what went to the SCF.

So tiresome

Crucify Bowman, but let Teows, Kane, Keith off the hook?
They knew, don't kid yourself. They all did what they thought was enough.
Look up the meaning of hindsight. Cancel culture operates on the basis of hindsight.

As for hockey,
Edm D is good enough to start the season.
Have Kane on the roster for season start, then accrue cap space.
100% guarantee this is not the d corps that will be starting the playoffs.

A disgusting organization led by Stan Bowman, who was complicit in the Kyle Beach sexual assault and assaults of a high school and university student.
- Marwood

Go cry in your corner, anyone that matters, doesn't care about your opinion.
Have yourself a good cry, then move on.

Ekholm is a weak first pairing or a strong second pairing D.
Bouchard is a very solid second pairing D and good on the PP.
Nurse I guess is a good 2nd pairing D.
The rest are AHLers.
This is a disaster on D! Combine that with fwds that aren't responsible on D...oh man.

And as I said earlier, everyone will blame it on the goalie.
- JLO961

I still don't understand this take. The only reason that Bouchard looks good out there is because of Ekholm. Since he has arrived in EDM, in the regular season he's 100GP / 15G / 44A / 59P / +59 as a PK regular with limited PP time. What the heck does he have to do to be a considered a strong first pair D, or even an average one?

I still don't understand this take. The only reason that Bouchard looks good out there is because of Ekholm. Since he has arrived in EDM, in the regular season he's 100GP / 15G / 44A / 59P / +59 as a PK regular with limited PP time. What the heck does he have to do to be a considered a strong first pair D, or even an average one?
- Beergu

Yeah...I realized that as I was typing it. Ekholm is the second most important part of this team, he is amazing and he plays not only his position but half of Bouchard's position as well.
He is 100% a first pairing D, just maybe not that Stanley Cup winning team's #1 Dman... that was my logic.
I think a cup winning team has a "true" #1 dman, Ekholm paired with him, and Bouchard in the second pairing and PP1.
After Ekholm and Bouch (assuming Nurse plays okay), our defense isn't nearly good enough.
They will also get exposed by the Oilers' fwds that are not so responsible defensively.

Petry would probably be an upgrade. I will reserve judgement on Emberson until I see him play, his numbers look surprisingly good for the 30 games he played with SJ.

But, let's be honest. Ceci is not a 2ND pair D either, Desharnais played 2ND line for a while last year too, also just a bottom pair D. D is not as deep as last year, but it is a stretch to say it is much worse overall. Not good, but not much different that what went to the SCF.
- Beergu

Petry might be ok playing 3rd pair and probably better than Stetcher in that role but not by that much at this stage of his career. Problem is the Wings used him in the top 4 last season and because of Yzerman wasting his time with Trouba, he didn't upgrade that position this summer either. Wings have 1 top 4 defenseman on the roster with Seider. Edvinsson might be one but he needs to prove it this season. Chiarot might be ok in the top 4 with the right partner and if he stopped trying to be an offensive defenseman (that doesn't bring any offense) and focused on defense first.

Yeah Ceci is not a top 4 guy. If he's playing top 4, your team lacks good defensemen or they better have a couple of injuries. Problem with not having a solid top 4 on defense is it puts a lot of pressure on the goalie and if they lose their confidence, it's an uphill battle for the team (seen that enough with Detroit with people always thinking they need a better goalie). Good thing for the Oilers is they have the offense to outscore some of those problems but it will need to be fixed to win a cup because they don't have an elite goalie to make up for that defense.

I have no words when Evan Bouchard is evaluated as a true number 1 defenseman.

I see the Oilers offense holding for next season. Though not sure anyone will play D.

Tyson Barrie in talks to sign a PTO with the Oilers.

Tyson Barrie in talks to sign a PTO with the Oilers.
- Oildrum

Tyson Barrie in talks to sign a PTO with the Oilers.
- Oildrum

Oh that will work out lol

Oil missed another chance to secure a top goalie not trading for Askorov. Oh well all offense with no elite tender is a recipe for disaster.

Oil missed another chance to secure a top goalie not trading for Askorov. Oh well all offense with no elite tender is a recipe for disaster.
- Quinn's Quest

Yes what a disaster it was being one game from winning the Stanley cup.

Oil missed another chance to secure a top goalie not trading for Askorov. Oh well all offense with no elite tender is a recipe for disaster.
- Quinn's Quest

Skinner was great in the SCF. I'm comfortable with him as our #1.

Oil missed another chance to secure a top goalie not trading for Askorov. Oh well all offense with no elite tender is a recipe for disaster.
- Quinn's Quest

I think Skinner is fine and I'm even relatively confident in Pickard.

It's the defense that needs THREE upgrades ( a true first pair to push Bouchard to second, and 2 more bottom 4 dmen to replace the current AHL caliber dmen we have there).

Yeah Ceci is not a top 4 guy. If he's playing top 4, your team lacks good defensemen or they better have a couple of injuries. Problem with not having a solid top 4 on defense is it puts a lot of pressure on the goalie and if they lose their confidence, it's an uphill battle for the team (seen that enough with Detroit with people always thinking they need a better goalie). Good thing for the Oilers is they have the offense to outscore some of those problems but it will need to be fixed to win a cup because they don't have an elite goalie to make up for that defense.
- dcz28

Ceci may not be a top 4 dman but 10 different nhl coaches played him in their top 4 in the regular season and playoffs and as a top 4 dman he's made the finals and 3 conference finals.

I think Skinner is fine and I'm even relatively confident in Pickard.

It's the defense that needs THREE upgrades ( a true first pair to push Bouchard to second, and 2 more bottom 4 dmen to replace the current AHL caliber dmen we have there).
- JLO961

Skinner is over .900 in his 2yrs as a starter. He's only gonna get better, last year being his sophomore.
I don't get how people act like he's been in the league 4-5yrs and hasn't improved. Not many goalies become starters as a rookie. Only the really elite.

A disgusting organization led by Stan Bowman, who was complicit in the Kyle Beach sexual assault and assaults of a high school and university student.
- Marwood

This is my first time hearing about this.

Crucify Bowman, but let Teows, Kane, Keith off the hook?
They knew, don't kid yourself. They all did what they thought was enough.
Look up the meaning of hindsight. Cancel culture operates on the basis of hindsight.
- ifiwasgm

Cancel culture is toxic. People can grow