Jekyll and Hyde- What should Edmonton do with Evan Bouchard?

[Gary Bets Man]

Can he really be considered a ppg defenseman? Aside from these first 17 games, he’s a been a 40pt player his short short NHL career.

That said, I think most D only start hitting their “defensive” stride around mid-twenties and I personally liked what I saw of him last year in the playoffs.

While Edmonton probably isn’t the right place to learn how to play solid defense, put him on a team like Boston or Vegas-like and I bet he becomes a real ppg star player or close to it, and nobody says boo about his defensive play.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Lots of talent but low IQ in the defensive zone, no serious contender will have a player like that on their roster come playoffs.

 

[BrendanGaunce4Selke]

9 mill per season x forever

 

[Craft Beer Lover]

Shelter the hell out of him. What else can they do?

Personally, I have no use for defensemen who can't defend.

I take it you’re not an Erik Karlsson fan.

 

[Leafshater67]

Keep him. Not many dmen have that kind of talent. Run him as a PP specialist with a babysitter on his line. Once Ekholm gets healthy, it’ll be back to business.

He’s a flawed player but he can score 70p on the blue line so you let him do that but shelter his minutes and run him on O zone starts while trying to coach him to improve D.

 

[Craft Beer Lover]

Trade for a better right shot defenseman and limit the amount of responsibilities he has a 5v5.

Sadly for Edmonton, there was a better right shot defender in that same draft, whom they passed up to select Bouchard...Noah Dobson.

 

[PWJunior]

That type of defenseman can still work in the NHL. I think John Carlson is a better example of what the Oilers were hoping Bouchard can become.

The problem is, even if Carlson's only "meh" defensively, that's still a couple of tiers above what Bouchard seems to be in his own zone.

Bouchard's seemingly low give-a-shit meter on defense is what would irk me most if I was an Oilers fan, his indifference to playing defense is just a terrible optic and just exacerbates his defensive shortcomings. While I agree Carlson was the best case scenario, I've always used Shattenkirk 2.0 as his comparable. Bouchard is essentially the same exact player he was in the OHL and has had very little progression in his game overall, he is a defensive liability and it limits his potential role as a PP specialist and at best as a 2nd pair RD at ES requiring insulation of a defensive beast like an Adam Pelech as a partner.

Now the Bouchard vs. Dobson debate has been going on since pre-draft and Dobson is thriving right now, but I think you really have to factor in the teams and development circumstances between the two players so far in their careers in their current diverging paths.

Dobson had Trotz handling his early development. His regular defense partners were highly regarded mentors in Boychuk, Chara, and now Adam Pelech as a security blanket. Dobson has been allowed to develop while insulated by a strong defense group including Pelech, Pulock (who did a lot of heavy lifting while Dobson developed), and Mayfield. You really couldn't script a better development path and situation for a highly regarded young defenseman. Now Dobson is emerging as the alpha of the Isles defense and doesn't turn 24 until January.

Bouchard's development path and circumstances has been the complete opposite. Edmonton has long had defensive issues and goaltending issues, revolving door of coaches, etc. Bouchard is offensively talented and putting up points as he was always expected to do, but he has had many obstacles in his way.

While I think Dobson has always been the the superior prospect and player, you have to wonder how things would look now between the 2 players if Edmonton had taken Dobson and the Isles got Bouchard.

 

[belair]

Sadly for Edmonton, there was a better right shot defender in that same draft, whom they passed up to select Bouchard...Noah Dobson.

Why are the Oilers sad with Evan Bouchard. He's absolutely fine for where they took him. But realistically he's not a top pairing defenseman they should be throwing out there against other teams' top forwards.

Bouchard is high event. Time to prioritize a defenseman that can settle things down. Nurse's game would benefit substantially, too.

 

[Sugi21]

He’s basically Marc-Andre Bergeron 2.0 elite on the PP, below average 5 on 5 and ass defensively!

 

[boogeybendo]

Lol? He's a point per game defenseman on a 3.9mil contract. That's great value. What do you mean they can't afford to pay him to score a point per game as a defenseman? Yes they can.

What they cannot afford is stuff like paying 5mil to Campbell to be a sieve in AHL. Or 3mil for Kulak to be a replacement level player at best. Or paying Nurse 9mil for reasons.

It's hilarious you're singling out one of their best, most successful players, who's on a steal of a contract to boot.

67 HDCF 46 HDCA. 6 HDGF 12 HDGA

That's the issue. His analytics are great. His PDO is terrible. His 5on5 on-ice save percentage is 86%. Skinner's save% is 87%.

He's a defenseman, not a goaltender. Sorry.

have you watched him play? I would suggest doing that.

 

[Brookbank]

Should they continue trusting him, bench him? trade him?

Bouchard is a point per game D-man but has become an absolute defensive liability for Edmonton. Edmonton is tight as it is against the cap and cant afford a 4mil Powerplay Specialist.

Even Ekholm cant carry him anymore. What has happened to Bouchard?

Pros:
Bomb for a Slapshot

Cons:
Defensive Awareness
Lack of Motor
No Physical battle

He should be traded for a more complete defensman. He's exactly what the Oilers dont need right now

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Get a goalie.

Filip Hronek leads the league in high danger chances against - by a lot - with 85. Of those 85, only 7 have been goals against.

Evan Bouchard has been on the ice for nearly half of that amount (46) but 12 of them have been goals against.

He's made some defensive errors to be sure and he needs to clean those up, but getting someone who can actually stop a puck back there would help an awful lot.

One of the main problems with the Oilers roster isn't that Bouchard is there, it's that the Oilers don't have a RD better than Bouchard to take some of the tougher minutes away.

 

[Three On Zero]

He’s a PPQB but also a 3rd pairing kind of defenceman. He makes 2nd pairing guys like Hronek look like perennial Norris candidates

 

[Tairy Greene]

He's a valuable asset to have but he's young and probably needs to be sheltered a bit more. Might as well hang onto him and try to improve the rest of the roster.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

The great Sandis Ozolinsh once said, “there’s a fine line between being a good offensive defenseman and a bad defenseman.” Bouchard appears to be walking directly on that line right now.

 

[TheRumble]

He should be traded for a more complete defensman. He's exactly what the Oilers dont need right now

So your suggestion is that Edmonton trade a worse defenseman for a better defenseman.

It's kind of how if I don't like my Honda Civic, I should trade it for a Porsche.

 

[Some Other Flame]

He’s a PPQB but also a 3rd pairing kind of defenceman. He makes 2nd pairing guys like Hronek look like perennial Norris candidates

So literally Marc Andre Bergeron then

It took Pronger to make MAB look decent, so all the Oilers really need is another player like that. Shouldn't be too hard right

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

His CA/60, xGA/60, HDCA/60 are top 2 or top 3 for defensemen on Oilers. He also clearly drives the play from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. In fact, his numbers are the best on the team on that front. Out of all defensemen and all forwards. All stats 5on5.

But he scores many points, so I guess he must be a disaster defensively.


"Seems to be" yes, if we ignore statistics. Carlson's 5on5 CA/60 is 68.94 while Bouchard's is 48.06. Bouchard xGA/60 2.32, Carlson 3.28. HDCA/60 Bouchard 10.0, Carlson 16.17.

Carlson one of the worst on his team in shot suppression, Bouchard one of the best on his team.

But hey. Because Stuart Skinner is at .873, I guess that's Bouchard's fault.


Sorry but he's not a superhuman who can mind control his goaltender to make a save.

Sorry, but these kinds of plays can’t be blamed on your goaltending

 

[phrenssoa]

Lol? He's a point per game defenseman on a 3.9mil contract. That's great value. What do you mean they can't afford to pay him to score a point per game as a defenseman? Yes they can.

What they cannot afford is stuff like paying 5mil to Campbell to be a sieve in AHL. Or 3mil for Kulak to be a replacement level player at best. Or paying Nurse 9mil for reasons.

It's hilarious you're singling out one of their best, most successful players, who's on a steal of a contract to boot.

67 HDCF 46 HDCA. 6 HDGF 12 HDGA

That's the issue. His analytics are great. His PDO is terrible. His 5on5 on-ice save percentage is 86%. Skinner's save% is 87%.

He's a defenseman, not a goaltender. Sorry.

The analytics don’t tell the whole story in this case. Yes the puck is generally moving in the right direction when Bouchard is on the ice (it helps that he’s always out there with McDavid and Draisaitl), but his mistakes are catastrophic. Anytime the opposition gets a hold of the puck with him on the ice, I EXPECT Bouchard to make the most dumbass play possible, giving up an A++ scoring chance resulting in an automatic goal against. His lack of awareness, poise and physicality in the defensive zone is second to none.

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

2024 Marc-André Bergeron.

 

[Three On Zero]

So literally Marc Andre Bergeron then

It took Pronger to make MAB look decent, so all the Oilers really need is another player like that. Shouldn't be too hard right

He needs a babysitter but the issue is that Nurse also requires a babysitter.

 

[DuklaNation]

One play on the weekend showed he has ZERO defensive awareness. And I mean ZERO. No exaggeration. Not sure that its fixable.

He should be a forward.

 

[McShogun99]

Oilers should shelter him but they have no one on the right side to do it. Play him on the PP and Ozone faceoffs. He has zero urgency on defence and doesn't recognize danger fast enough.

Can he really be considered a ppg defenseman? Aside from these first 17 games, he’s a been a 40pt player his short short NHL career.

That said, I think most D only start hitting their “defensive” stride around mid-twenties and I personally liked what I saw of him last year in the playoffs.

While Edmonton probably isn’t the right place to learn how to play solid defense, put him on a team like Boston or Vegas-like and I bet he becomes a real ppg star player or close to it, and nobody says boo about his defensive play.

He was a 40 point player when Barrie was on the 1st PP. Once Barrie got traded and he took the spot he's been close to a PPG. The problem is he gets a point per game but directly causes 2 goals against per game.

 

[Mrb1p]

My point is that if you switched out Bouchard for an above average Dman but not a top elite say too 50 it would have little to no impact on the team.

You're crazy. Swap him for say Zub and somehow everyone else is doing a lot less mistakes. We saw it last year with an healthy Ekholm. Now add in another one? He is absolutely that bad defensively and its not just defensively, its transition wise too.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

I think you can have a defenseman like this if the rest of your team is defensively responsible.

Obviously 17 points in 17 games is good production, regardless of what position they play.