I guess I'm just getting myself riled up because we don't think the same way. I'm looking at this as a problem that needs solving.
For me, trying to solve a problem, asking questions, planning and researching who is available is due diligence and isn't considered negative. The Oilers have realistic hurdles that they need to overcome. On the flip side, not having plan isn't optimistic, its negligence.
I would categorize myself as cautiously optimistic. I think there is a solution here, I just don't know what it is. Jackson and Bowman are smarter than I am and have said that they have gone through various scenarios. So obviously they have someone or a group of players in mind that they are targeting, with a plan in place.
If the plan is to see if Emberson can fill that role, that just means we need to make a new plan when that plan fails. Maybe I'm just not that high on Emberson but expecting him to be a top 4 defenseman when he's never proven it, to be unrealistic.
If that fails, we will need to make another plan.
Nurse when healthy and confident can be a positive player for the team. I think that's why he's so frustrating. He will be +4 one night and the -4 the next game.