Better D: Oilers vs. Canucks

[Lavar Ball]

Canucks. Oilers have no comparable to Hughes or even OEL tbh.

Horrible take. HFBoards Nurse slander has gone too far. He is so much better than OEL, as is Bouchard

 

[GreeningOil]

Canucks. Oilers have no comparable to Hughes or even OEL tbh.

I’m glad the Oilers don’t have a comparable to OEL. Overpaid past his prime defenders are good to not have.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Hughes >>>
Nurse >= OEL >
Ceci/Myers/Barrie/Bouchard >
The rest

Canucks have a better top end but then it falls off after 2. Oilers have a couple more quality defenders.

 

[Haatley]

Both are quite bad.

 

[Gurglesons]

I’m glad the Oilers don’t have a comparable to OEL. Overpaid past his prime defenders are good to not have.

I mean. They essentially have a shittier OEL at 9+ mil.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I always miss the “neither” option in these polls.

 

[biturbo19]

Truly a clash of the titans here. Two pretty abysmal defence corps.

I kind of lean toward the Canucks group because they have the two best players here. But the Canucks depth beyond Hughes and OEL is absolutely laughable. And Edmonton have Bouchard as a bit of an x-factor who could really make a difference.

Both just really brutal, for teams that are ostensibly in "competing" mode. Two of the worst defences in the league. Fortunately, Canucks have a trump card in Demko to cover up some of the problems, and probably have the better "team defence" including the forwards. And Edmonton have McDavey and Drats to just score their way out of problems to an extent.

If you combined these two teams D-Corps, you might end up with a serviceable group. Ooof.

Hughes-Bouchard
OEL-Barrie
Nurse-Myers

Insanely expensive, and still really kind of a mess. Yikes.

 

[North Cole]

I mean. They essentially have a shittier OEL at 9+ mil.

I mean. The only shitty thing in this equation is the take itself tbh, and it came in at a whopping $0.

 

[Coffey]

Do people actually believe that OEL is better than Nurse in any facet of the game?

 

[bobbyb2009]

I would place them as:

Hughes

Nurse
Bouchard
OEL

Meyers Ceci
Schenn
Barrie
Poolman Kulak
Dermot
Rathbone Murray
Broberg

Burroughs

They are both ugly, but because of Hughes, Vancouver. If Hughes is hurt, it is not close in factor of Edmonton.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

Do people actually believe that OEL is better than Nurse in any facet of the game?

That was coming from a poster that was pumping up the 449th best offensive performance in NHL playoff history like it was a definitive statement on Ryan Getzlaf's primacy. He edged out the incomparable Teddy Purcell!

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

I'm curious where the top-end rankings would settle if Nurse's zone starts took a 20% swing to the good to match that of Hughes. That's not a knock on Hughes nor a suggestion that it would entirely bridge the gap, but man, there are some disingenuous assessments in here.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

What happened to OEL?

Is he a case of HF overrating someone on a team barely anyone watches but his warts are on display when he's on a team with a wider audience? Or did injuries derail him?

He seems to have gone from HF's darling who always ends up in top 10 lists ahead of perennial Norris trophy guys, to someone who is kind of scoffed at now.

 

[Rowlet]

What happened to OEL?

Is he a case of HF overrating someone on a team barely anyone watches but his warts are on display when he's on a team with a wider audience? Or did injuries derail him?

He seems to have gone from HF's darling who always ends up in top 10 lists ahead of perennial Norris trophy guys, to someone who is kind of scoffed at now.

Injuries, but he had a pretty good year last year. He just won't surpass Hughes on 1LD and doesn't get any PP time. He's certainly overpaid by 1.5m~ but it's not like he's a bottom pairing D out there.

 

[Czechboy]

I think Oilers but I'd say both are around 16th best.

I do think Bouch is taking a step forward this season and some may be undervaluing Nurse a bit.

 

[Three On Zero]

Canucks have the better top end D, Oilers have the better bottom 4 ( I really wanted Kulak this off season )

What happened to OEL?

Is he a case of HF overrating someone on a team barely anyone watches but his warts are on display when he's on a team with a wider audience? Or did injuries derail him?

He seems to have gone from HF's darling who always ends up in top 10 lists ahead of perennial Norris trophy guys, to someone who is kind of scoffed at now.

OEL was actually serviceable in a more defensive role last season, but like Nurse he’s over paid

 

[Three On Zero]

I think Oilers but I'd say both are around 16th best.

I do think Bouch is taking a step forward this season and some may be undervaluing Nurse a bit.

Bouchard taking a step and Broberg being serviceable is what would really swing this.

 

[M2Beezy]

This OEL Nurse discussion has gotten way too ridiculous with mud flying both ways. They are both fine #4 dmen who are asked to do too much for their teams poorly constructed defence while receiving far too much of their teams salary caps at the same time

 

[PuckG]

This OEL Nurse discussion has gotten way too ridiculous with mud flying both ways. They are both fine #4 dmen who are asked to do too much for their teams poorly constructed defence while receiving far too much of their teams salary caps at the same time

How do you go about having "neutral fan and commentator" in your bio all while being anything but neutral...

 

[M2Beezy]

How do you go about having "neutral fan and commentator" in your bio all while being anything but neutral...

Im just stating facts, if the facts upset you maybe reflect on your own biases bub

 

[PuckG]

Im just stating facts, if the facts upset you maybe reflect on your own biases bub

Not quite. Stating Nurse is a #4 defensemen makes you more delusional than it does factual.

 

[Gurglesons]

What happened to OEL?

Is he a case of HF overrating someone on a team barely anyone watches but his warts are on display when he's on a team with a wider audience? Or did injuries derail him?

He seems to have gone from HF's darling who always ends up in top 10 lists ahead of perennial Norris trophy guys, to someone who is kind of scoffed at now.

Skating fell apart over the last four to five years.

Do people actually believe that OEL is better than Nurse in any facet of the game?

Yes. Nurse is not a top pairing D. He just plays top pairing minutes.

 

[wetcoast]

Not quite. Stating Nurse is a #4 defensemen makes you more delusional than it does factual.

Exactly as he should ask himself how many #4 Dmen play 25 MPG this season or last?

 

[Three On Zero]

Skating fell apart over the last four to five years.



Yes. Nurse is not a top pairing D. He just plays top pairing minutes.

Both are middle of the pack defensive groups. Sadly even if you combined the two it’s still a terrible defensive group

 

[Breakers]

Evan Bouchard had 1 less point at ES than Quinn Hughes, actually has an NHL shot.... and isn't tiny

And yet Hughes is still better