I don’t think the Oilers D is as big a catastrophe as many are thinking. This team is going to have the puck a lot and overall they’ve greatly improved their team D that’s produced good results with a better then sum of its parts defensive unit which makes switching out some of the lower end pieces easier. I was confused about why they would trade a well liked guy in Ceci who they still could use, if they weren’t going to match the players, they could of made the cap work without trading Ceci or traded him after (though we found out the cap was also used to leverage more out of Stl) but I think it’s possible there were a few voices in the committee who wanted to target Emberson. Something that stood out to me was, I believe it was Curlock who called Emberson a modern day defenseman. Skates well, uses good position and a good stick to defend well. Uses a good gap to defend the rush and get possession going back the other way. Wouldn’t be surprises if he was more specifically targeted than just a throw in because they think his tools could fit that needed role if he can continue to trend how he did last season. Stetcher brings a little more experience and puck moving ability, he’s capable of playing elevated minutes if needed. Brown is huge, he’s not fun to play against in front of the net and corners, he hits, he blocks shots, he fights, he pk’s. He’s definitely limited but he’s a team guy through and through. He’s not a problem in a 6/7 role, he’ll fill Vinny’s shoes pretty well.
I think people are going to be surprised by what this group brings, of course an upgrade has to be the focus but they have time to see what they’ve got here.