It really isn't. He plays the same now as 2-3 seasons ago. Yours is a fake narrative that HF produces about top end guys being better than they are at defence, just because they are really good players. It was the same the season Ovy won the Cup, they magically said he was better at defence just cause he won. When I watch Ovy play then and now, he is exactly the same level of defence as he ever was.
I watch the oilers as much as the Red Wings. It's not a fake narrative.