Sooooo how about Evan Bouchard's defense last night

[Czechboy]

Bouchard is garbage in his own zone, and Ekholm is the legitimate 1D for that pairing.

They're both legitimate 1D. Very different styles.

 

[kerrabria]

They're both legitimate 1D. Very different styles.

I reject the idea that you can be unreliable in your own zone (let alone as bad as Bouchard) and be considered a 1D.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

And he wants, what, $9M? Lol Edmonton is screwed

I believe his ask was $11M.

 

[Czechboy]

I reject the idea that you can be unreliable in your own zone (let alone as bad as Bouchard) and be considered a 1D.

You can reject it all you want but if he gets traded he'll be on first pair there too. He has been first pair his entire career. For the Knights when he won Dman of the year for the OHL. For the AHL team. For Team Canada at the Jr's. For the SEL team during lockout. And now on the AHL team. That's why he was a first rounder.

He has over 100 points in his last 100 games and is over .ppg in playoffs. He's a RHD that hovers at 1 .ppg. His hilariously bad gaffes are funny but they happen far less than people think.

So I'm happy to agree to disagree.

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

Nothing abnormal this season or from last season. The guy just doesn't care defensively.

He's regressed back to beginning of last season. He at least had this happen fewer games in the 2nd half of last season but he's not building off of anything. The guy is horrific to watch in his own end.

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

The saddest part is he has half a zone's worth of jump on McCann and somehow ends up ten feet behind him because he just gives up.

 

[DearDiary]

Not sure we needed a thread to announce that Bouchard had a rough gane. This just in: It happens to all players, including hall of famers.

By the aggregate of stats, Bouchard is a top-20 defenceman in the League this year, and I don't think he's been nearly as good as last year. His upside is huge.

As with all high-risk, high-reward players, there are going to be nights when he looks bad. It's just the nature of it.

Except Bouchards poor play isn't due to high risk plays, it's poor reads and just being lazy. If you look at the other video where he ducks Matthews, right afterwards he isn't even in a position to defend. He's gliding while upright and his stick is nowhere near in a position to do anything. Meanwhile, other offensive Dmen like Karlsson or Makar would have panicked over their mistake and chased after the play. Not put a lawn chair down to admire the puck.

 

[The Panther]

Except Bouchards poor play isn't due to high risk plays, it's poor reads and just being lazy. If you look at the other video where he ducks Matthews, right afterwards he isn't even in a position to defend. He's gliding while upright and his stick is nowhere near in a position to do anything. Meanwhile, other offensive Dmen like Karlsson or Makar would have panicked over their mistake and chased after the play. Not put a lawn chair down to admire the puck.

Bouchard is often accused of "looking" (or being) lazy on the ice. He just has a nonchalant way of dealing with certain situations, which is kind of unusual. It's just the way he is.

Yes, he makes mistakes sometimes. He's also quite good most of the time, and is massively improved, defensively, from a couple of years ago. He works very well in pairing with Ekholm.

Makar is currently -6 and Karlsson -8 (Bouchard is +2), so I don't know if they're the current gold standard. Anyway, panicking isn't really an impressive reaction on the ice.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Eh, bad days, bad seasons, bad careers happen. He's still totally worthy 11M a year.

Frankly, the Oilers should get him signed asap before that number rises even higher