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Here’s the news from TSN Insider Darren Dreger on The Neilson Show that Oilers GM Stan Bowman is getting more aggressive about acquiring another D-man for the Oilers.
Drager said: “Defensively, I think that’s probably going to be an area of concern for a good portion of this year. Stan Bowman probably spent the first five or six games of the year saying, ‘Okay, everybody’s just going to hit the brakes here.’ I think I said that. It’s not an issue with our 5, 6, 7 D-MEN, it’s actually our top guys not performing. In some cases, that’s still the case…but word on the street is that he’s more willing to seek help, right? And now other teams are being hit by injuries and other situations as well. I don’t think there’s anything magical coming out of the general manager’s office right now, but I think the ingredients are in place for this team to be much better than what we’ve seen here. think. ”
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my view
1. Edmonton has two good D-men, a top pairing in Evan Bouchard and Matthias Ekholm, and a third pairing in Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson, who are also doing well. . Darnell Nurse’s defensive mistakes, continuing a trend seen in the 2024 playoffs, are far too frequent and far from acceptable for a top-four D-man. Troy Stecher has done well alongside Nurse, at least for his own purposes, but Travis Dermott has struggled in a limited role.
2. The Oilers lack speed and aggression right now. Will they be able to find a D-man with these traits to pair with Nurse in the short term? Good luck getting a deal like that. A player like that would sacrifice the sun, the moon, and all the stars if he could at least pass the puck well. Perhaps a better bet would be to try Clack and Emberson at heavier minutes as the second pair. Either that, or they eventually commit to either Kulak or Nurse playing on the right side and pair Kulak and Nurse there. Nurse is a struggling guy, so as of now he’s not having the success he needs, so we might move him.
3. The good news is that if Edmonton is looking for a left-shooting D-man (which could be a possibility if either Kulak or Nurse can shoot on the right side), they might get one. There are a lot of decent players out there. will be available. In The Athletic’s latest list of trade targets, the top name is Columbus left-handed D-man Ivan Provorov, followed by Anaheim left-handed hitter Cam Fowler, followed by Toronto right-handed hitter Timothy Liljegren, right. Hitter Cody Ceci is seventh overall. Right-handed shooter Rasmus Ristolainen was ranked eighth overall. Some of these players have contracts that are too expensive for the Oilers, but they may also have contracts that allow other teams to eat some of that salary against their own cap. It might happen.
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