Evan Bouchard will finish the season with a .ppg and 82 points, +34

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Controllerless, batteryless, this dude just gets it done

Mans is a Mad Catz. Your buddies may snicker, but it does work.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

This is one of those cases where +/- needs context. Bouchard is a liability defensively He is a bad defensive mistake waiting to happen. He is a great offensive player but I would trade him if I was the Oilers. I don't think he will ever be good defensively and his cap hit is going to be bad for an offense only guy. If I was the Oilers, I would trade Bouchard, lower Nurse's 5 on 5 minutes and use him as their powerplay quarterback to maximize the value for his cap hit. Nurse could likely score 50-60 points a season in that role. Use the cap space from Bouchard to get a better defensive d-man. I like Bouchard but with the cap situation the Oilers are in, I don't think he is the right player to commit a large cap hit to. They will though, but I wouldn't.

This narrative needs to die...Quinn Hughes makes mistakes, Erik Karlsson makes mistakes, Makar isn't amazing defensively

Bouchard has been on the ice for less ES GA than Josi and Hedman

 

[nturn06]

This is one of those cases where +/- needs context. Bouchard is a liability defensively He is a bad defensive mistake waiting to happen. I don't think he will ever be good defensively and his cap hit is likely going to be a lot for an offense only guy. I like Bouchard but just not sure how much I value him for winning games.

Yet somehow he is +34 with only 47 ESP. By what I read here he should had been onice for 100 GA+.

While I agree that sometimes he makes dumb choices, and can be a liability, every single msitake he does seems to be posted on the boards.

 

[oXo Cube]

Someone should tell the players Bouchard matches up against that he's a defensive tire fire so that they can start scoring goals on him.

 

[Cup or Bust]

This narrative needs to die...Quinn Hughes makes mistakes, Erik Karlsson makes mistakes, Makar isn't amazing defensively

Bouchard has been on the ice for less ES GA than Josi and Hedman

Not a narrative at all, I am an Oilers fan and I watch every Oilers game. He is very soft defensively and makes lots of mistakes.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Yet somehow he is +34 with only 47 ESP. By what I read here he should had been onice for 100 GA+.

While I agree that sometimes he makes dumb choices, and can be a liability, every single msitake he does seems to be posted on the boards.

I like Bouchard but he is bad defensively. Being good defensively is based on how reliable you are defensively in different situations on the ice, not just advanced stats. He is not reliable. In any given situation he has shown to be a potential risk defensively. It doesn't mean he is a bad player, obviously he is great offensively but I am not going to be so biased as an Oilers fan and claim he is good defensively.

 

[Madap]

I showed his other 2 full seasons and the short one. And said what he his best one was in his career. I also said I was a Barrie fan.

If your conclusion is that this is becuase of McD then you really aren't reading the info in front of you.

I actually can’t believe I have to explain to a moderator on a hockey forum that you can’t compare 56 games to 82…

Whatever man, enjoy your biased and misleading thread. I’m sure Bouchard is truly an elite defenceman and you guys will love his massive contract he’s about to get. No way this will turn out bad for you. Not a chance.

 

[tfwnogf]

I actually can’t believe I have to explain to a moderator on a hockey forum that you can’t compare 56 games to 82…

Whatever man, enjoy your biased and misleading thread. I’m sure Bouchard is truly an elite defenceman and you guys will love his massive contract he’s about to get. No way this will turn out bad for you. Not a chance.

Is this Tyson Barrie's mom or something?

 

[OilWagon]

Okay but how can you compare a short season to this one? Barrie would have had 70 points, on a worse Oilers team, in the lowest scoring NHL season in the last 5 years at least.

They are comparable seasons yet you’re throwing shade at Barrie. Either Barrie is a lot better than you think or Bouchard isn’t as good as you think and benefits a lot from McDavid. I think the later is more likely to be true given Barrie’s success with other teams, as you point out.

They're not remotely close seasons. Barrie played sheltered minutes and had terrible metrics. Bouchard plays over 4 minutes more a game against top competition while having elite metrics.

 

[M88K]

EVB is more or less perceived as Phil Housley.

In actuality I think hes closer to Sergei Zubov.

HAHAHA. Yeah right.

 

[Oddbob]

Obviously nice to play with McDavid. Bouchard is good offensively, but nowhere near these totals without McDavid.

 

[OilWagon]

I like Bouchard but he is bad defensively. Being good defensively is based on how reliable you are defensively in different situations on the ice, not just advanced stats. He is not reliable. In any given situation he has shown to be a potential risk defensively. It doesn't mean he is a bad player, obviously he is great offensively but I am not going to be so biased as an Oilers fan and claim he is good defensively, he definitely is not.

He's prone to some brainfarts and can look silly, I'm not going to claim he's elite defensively but clearly his offense outweighs his defense. He has the highest xgf% out of any defenseman in the league with over 1000 minutes. So clearly his defense isn't as bad as people claim or else he's the best offensive d man in the league.

Also his ga/60 and xga/60 aren't bad at all.

 

[Connor McConnor]

Tyson Barrie’s best season was 48 points, in how many games? Think you conveniently left that out.

What’s with Oilers fans obsession with pumping this guy up so much? Great season for sure, but numerous defencemen have had better seasons than him this year without the benefit of playing McDavid. Probably could have been kept on the Oilers board.

Crazy how we still get idiotic takes like this from people who don’t watch him play at all. What are his numbers like without McDavid? Oh weird, still good. It’s almost like he might be one of the reasons McDavid is putting up historic numbers?

Is he ever going to be good defensively? Probably not. But he is positionally sound, has high iq, and a good frame. He was probably average this year while being a top 5 offensive d man with one of the best breakout passes and shots in the league.

 

[Madap]

Is this Tyson Barrie's mom or something?

Just a concerned citizen trying to get Oilers fans to pump the brakes on hyping Bouchard, because this is going to turn into another overpaid contract which looks horrible for you. And Oilers fans will be embarrassed, yet again.

I’m really just looking out for you guys. You’re welcome, by the way.

 

[Cup or Bust]

He's prone to some brainfarts and can look silly, I'm not going to claim he's elite defensively but clearly his offense outweighs his defense. He has the highest xgf% out of any defenseman in the league with over 1000 minutes. So clearly his defense isn't as bad as people claim or else he's the best offensive d man in the league.

It might outweigh his defense, that is the question. It depends how often he can be relied upon when on the ice against top players and not be a liability in crucial game situations. In the regular season it is one thing when you are playing good and bad teams throughout the season but I am concerned if they plan to play him the type of minutes they are game after game in the playoffs against hungry top teams with the intensity level turned up. The margin for error gets lower come playoff time and I think the Oilers play him too much and in 5 on 5 situations he does not belong in, so I don't necessarily blame him. Bouchard plays with the intensity level of Grandpa falling asleep in lazy boy chair after a hearty Christmas dinner. He had a great offensive playoff last season, we will see.

 

[Madap]

Crazy how we still get idiotic takes like this from people who don’t watch him play at all. What are his numbers like without McDavid? Oh weird, still good. It’s almost like he might be one of the reasons McDavid is putting up historic numbers?

Is he ever going to be good defensively? Probably not. But he is positionally sound, has high iq, and a good frame. He was probably average this year while being a top 5 offensive d man with one of the best breakout passes and shots in the league.

Ahh, yes. Bouchard is the reason McDavid is putting up a good season. I’d have trouble explaining why Bouchard put up 40+ nore points this year and yet McDavid had a worse season than last year, but I’m sure Connor McConnor knows a lot better than I do the reason for McDavids success.

10/10 analysis.

 

[Szechwan]

Pay him 9.5m I dare u

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Tyson Barrie’s best season was 48 points, in how many games? Think you conveniently left that out.

What’s with Oilers fans obsession with pumping this guy up so much? Great season for sure, but numerous defencemen have had better seasons than him this year without the benefit of playing McDavid. Probably could have been kept on the Oilers board.

What does McDavid matter, he wasn't even the best player in the league this year.

 

[Madap]

They're not remotely close seasons. Barrie played sheltered minutes and had terrible metrics. Bouchard plays over 4 minutes more a game against top competition while having elite metrics.

One plays with Ekholm on a much better Oilers team, and has 4 more minutes a game to put up similar offensive numbers.

They’re more similar than you think.

 

[OilWagon]

One plays with Ekholm on a much better Oilers team, and has 4 more minutes a game to put up similar offensive numbers.

They’re more similar than you think.

Damn so Barrie just needed Ekholm and his xgf% goes from 49 to 60, against harder competition! You're voting for Ekholm for Norris and Hart right?

BTW the two teams in question will finish with similar p%.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

HAHAHA. Yeah right.

How would you describe EVB's game?

Cannon for a shot, and fires passes like darts to streaking forwards tape to tape?
Able to find seams in the defense, and shoot pucks that can find the net through screens?

That all sound relatively familiar?


I mean, as an Oiler fan who saw how Zubov absolutely carved our asses in like 5 straight playoffs, I see way more similarities between how Bouchard plays like Zubov than almost any other Dman in the last 30 years.

Obviously Bouchard is a far ways away from a Hall of Fame career, but I most definitely see the stylistic similarities.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I like Bouchard but he is bad defensively. Being good defensively is based on how reliable you are defensively in different situations on the ice, not just advanced stats. He is not reliable. In any given situation he has shown to be a potential risk defensively. It doesn't mean he is a bad player, obviously he is great offensively but I am not going to be so biased as an Oilers fan and claim he is good defensively.

Lots of Oiler fans don't understand what they're watching either.

He ain't Pronger in his own zone, but he mitigates that by keeping the puck away from his zone as much as possible. That's the best way to play defence.

Pay him 9.5m I dare u

I'd rather have him at 9.5 than Nurse at 9.25. Want Nurse?

 

[tfwnogf]

Just a concerned citizen trying to get Oilers fans to pump the brakes on hyping Bouchard, because this is going to turn into another overpaid contract which looks horrible for you. And Oilers fans will be embarrassed, yet again.

I’m really just looking out for you guys. You’re welcome, by the way.

I mean ppg defensemen don't grow on trees...can you blame Oilers fans for being hyped about that? he can learn to be better defensively but the offense is something that seems to be ingrained within him. It's exciting.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I think people that say "he's great offensively BUT" truly don't really understand exactly how good he is offensively.

Want to know how many defencemen in the history of the league have had 82 points in a season?

23.

And most of em are current or future hall of famers.

 

[Bank Shot]

One plays with Ekholm on a much better Oilers team, and has 4 more minutes a game to put up similar offensive numbers.

They’re more similar than you think.

Bouchard makes some mistakes, but at least he's not Morgan Rielly bad defensively, and he's at an age where he still has development ahead of him.

This year out of the 93 defencemen that have played 1200+ minutes 5v5, Bouchard sits 36th in GAA/60.

Hardly the defensive trainwreck rival fans try to make him out to be. We keep getting told he's terrible defensively, but the terrible defense never seems to show up in more goals against than an average defenceman.

Weird.