When will Bouchard be considered elite?

[ChaoticOrange]

Bouchard got thrashed early season about how soft and shit he was and he magically turned into a defensive stalwart? LOL. You better hope he is Becuase he is going to be pressured HARD all game.


No you just don’t realize how elite defensively Forsling is. Bouchard is not.

LA tried, Vancouver tried, Dallas tried. They all failed.

Bouchard having a top 10 playoffs in NHL history isn't an accident and it's not smoke and mirrors either. He's legitimately been that damned good. He's been that damned good for quite a while now.

 

[KevinFinnerty]

best defenseman of all time!

 

[FinlandPanther]

LA tried, Vancouver tried, Dallas tried. They all failed.

Bouchard having a top 10 playoffs in NHL history isn't an accident and it's not smoke and mirrors either. He's legitimately been that damned good. He's been that damned good for quite a while now.

None of those teams hit or are as aggressive on the forecheck as we are. Like I said you can think this series is some cake walk and you’re guaranteed the cup but it’s going to be a good series.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

None of those teams hit or are as aggressive on the forecheck as we are. Like I said you can think this series is some cake walk and you’re guaranteed the cup but it’s going to be a good series.

The more miles you skate trying to thump Bouchard, the faster he can get the puck going the other direction into the hands of the forwards that can do damage.

It absolutely won't be a cakewalk... either way. Downplay Bouchard's ability at your own peril.

 

[Fishy McScales]

Bouchard got thrashed early season about how soft and shit he was and he magically turned into a defensive stalwart? LOL. You better hope he is Becuase he is going to be pressured HARD all game.


No you just don’t realize how elite defensively Forsling is. Bouchard is not.

Stick to the topic and elaborate on your assessment please.

None of those teams hit or are as aggressive on the forecheck as we are. Like I said you can think this series is some cake walk and you’re guaranteed the cup but it’s going to be a good series.

You made a pretty bold claim, and when people question it you claim we're saying the series is gonna be a cakewalk?

Can you point me to some of these claims? Can you defend your own position instead of deflecting?

 

[FinlandPanther]

Stick to the topic and elaborate on your assessment please.


You made a pretty bold claim, and when people question it you claim we're saying the series is gonna be a cakewalk?

Can you point me to some of these claims? Can you defend your own position instead of deflecting?

You guys think you shouldn’t even have to play this series. It’s fine we’ll see how the games play out. You do have the best player in the world so it wouldn’t be shocking if you win. That being said if you think you’ve faced any team like the Panthers yet, you’re just wrong lol

The more miles you skate trying to thump Bouchard, the faster he can get the puck going the other direction into the hands of the forwards that can do damage.

It absolutely won't be a cakewalk... either way. Downplay Bouchard's ability at your own peril.

Everyone has a game plan until they get hit 42 times in the same game. The panthers know how important Bouchard is so they’re going to go after him every chance they get.

 

[Fishy McScales]

You guys think you shouldn’t even have to play this series. It’s fine we’ll see how the games play out. You do have the best player in the world so it wouldn’t be shocking if you win. That being said if you think you’ve faced any team like the Panthers yet, you’re just wrong lol


Everyone has a game plan until they get hit 42 times in the same game. The panthers know how important Bouchard is so they’re going to go after him every chance they get.

I am still waiting for you to defend your assessment. Please stop changing the subject.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

You guys think you shouldn’t even have to play this series. It’s fine we’ll see how the games play out. You do have the best player in the world so it wouldn’t be shocking if you win. That being said if you think you’ve faced any team like the Panthers yet, you’re just wrong lol


Everyone has a game plan until they get hit 42 times in the same game. The panthers know how important Bouchard is so they’re going to go after him every chance they get.

If winning the cup was decided on you making stuff up and putting words in peoples mouths, you’d be a slam dunk.

Oiler fans know this is gonna be a hard series, Bouchard being better than forsling doesn’t mean we’re thinking it’s a cake walk.

 

[TheSuperElite]

You guys think you shouldn’t even have to play this series. It’s fine we’ll see how the games play out. You do have the best player in the world so it wouldn’t be shocking if you win. That being said if you think you’ve faced any team like the Panthers yet, you’re just wrong lol

 

[TheNumber4]

Bouchard got thrashed early season about how soft and shit he was and he magically turned into a defensive stalwart? LOL. You better hope he is Becuase he is going to be pressured HARD all game.


No you just don’t realize how elite defensively Forsling is. Bouchard is not.

Sooooooooooo harddddddddddddddd

Bouchard is going to single handedly stifle the Cats forecheck. Now I know you’ve never seen him play.

And yes, he’s a defensive stalwart, every analytic in the world will back this statement. Since oilers games are passed your bedtime and you don’t watch him, that’s what you’d need to refute any claims on his defensive abilities.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

Dakota Joshua is still leading all players in hits (by 16% over 2nd place), but Bouchard won't be able to handle a forecheck.

If you say it's just one player, then the Kings hits/60 is 16% ahead of the Panthers.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

“But we’re gonna check him!”

Yeah, good luck. This is pro hockey, players get checked all the time.

 

[drktmplr12]

October 27, 2024 when @HockeyVirus creates a thread about his success being unsustainable after starting the first 4 games with no points.

 

[HairyKneel]

When did he get all tough……. throwing punches around the linesman? We all know he can’t fight. Might want to tone that shit down a bit. I’ve watched him glovehand three or four guys in these playoffs when he had a zebra in front of him. Would he do that to Jamie Benn or Joshua if he wasn’t protected by the officials. Good player but a paper tiger unless the stripes are in between.

2017/2018 a few teams got their franchise D.

Heiskanen, Makar, Dahlin, Hughes, Bouchard, Dobson. I’m sure i’m missing a few but all these guys are massive to their squads.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

When did he get all tough……. throwing punches around the linesman? We all know he can’t fight. Might want to tone that shit down a bit. I’ve watched him glovehand three or four guys in these playoffs when he had a zebra in front of him. Would he do that to Jamie Benn or Joshua if he wasn’t protected by the officials. Good player but a paper tiger unless the stripes are in between.

2017/2018 a few teams got their franchise D.

Heiskanen, Makar, Dahlin, Hughes, Bouchard, Dobson. I’m sure i’m missing a few but all these guys are massive to their squads.

No ones scared of Joshua.

 

[HairyKneel]

No ones scared of Joshua.

Joshua isn’t especially tough but he’d beat the wheels off of Bouchard. Benn would obliterate him.

 

[HairyKneel]

LA tried, Vancouver tried, Dallas tried. They all failed.

Bouchard having a top 10 playoffs in NHL history isn't an accident and it's not smoke and mirrors either. He's legitimately been that damned good. He's been that damned good for quite a while now.

When will oobga and Mats stray out of the pen? Still scar tissue from mckeens maybe

 

[Macheteops]

You guys think you shouldn’t even have to play this series. It’s fine we’ll see how the games play out. You do have the best player in the world so it wouldn’t be shocking if you win. That being said if you think you’ve faced any team like the Panthers yet, you’re just wrong lol


Everyone has a game plan until they get hit 42 times in the same game. The panthers know how important Bouchard is so they’re going to go after him every chance they get.

Where is this nonsense coming from? I doubt any legit Oiler fan thinks this is a cake walk. From what I’ve been gathering most think this will be an extremely tough series to win

Not everyone that are making predictions are Edmonton fans btw. Some of these guys are trolls believing in jinx posts like little children

 

[Mike C]

Dakota Joshua is still leading all players in hits (by 16% over 2nd place), but Bouchard won't be able to handle a forecheck.

If you say it's just one player, then the Kings hits/60 is 16% ahead of the Panthers.

Bouchard moves the puck well, seems to have good hockey IQ. As long as he doesn't panic, he'll be fine

I'd be wary of stretch passes vs the forecheck. One area I think Edmonton excels in vs Fla is team speed

That said, I think Maurice will adjust accordingly

Great contrast in styles this series. Gonna be fun!

 

[bobbythebrain]

None of those teams hit or are as aggressive on the forecheck as we are. Like I said you can think this series is some cake walk and you’re guaranteed the cup but it’s going to be a good series.

I can't wait to see how many times McDavid makes Forsling look like a chump. Dude is sooo overated b/c of Barkov

 

[bobbythebrain]

You guys think you shouldn’t even have to play this series. It’s fine we’ll see how the games play out. You do have the best player in the world so it wouldn’t be shocking if you win. That being said if you think you’ve faced any team like the Panthers yet, you’re just wrong lol


Everyone has a game plan until they get hit 42 times in the same game. The panthers know how important Bouchard is so they’re going to go after him every chance they get.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I can't wait to see how many times McDavid makes Forsling look like a chump. Dude is sooo overated b/c of Barkov

The irony of an Oilers fan *in a Bouchard thread* saying another teams C makes one of their top D look better.

Lol

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I mean, they are objective, and based on statistics. There's nothing subjective going on there. No opinions, either. It's just a model, whose aim is to gauge player performance. It's not perfect, but. But.

xGF? Bouchard has done better. Plus-minus? Bouchard has done better. Goal differential? Bouchard has done better. Relative corsi? Bouchard has done better. Impact in relation to rest of the team? Bouchard has done better.

If we go to relative stats, then Bouchard has done far, far, far better in comparison. Because the other defensive pairings of the Oilers have been train wrecks.

Essentially, the only way to argue that Bouchard is not elite is to discount statistics. For which there just is no basis.

And, by the way, keep in mind that the model predicted Oiler as the cup favorites before the season started, and Oilers are now in the finals. What did you predict as the team in finals out of west?


These are more accurate and granular ways to measure player performance. But fortunately, Bouchard will do better than Forsling in those as well.

Someone came at me with advanced stats that said the Rangers were a bottom 3rd 5v5 team in the league, yet Carolina who was better in that stat & also finished ahead of them on both special teams units didn't beat them out for the presidents trophy & went behind 0-3 when they faced in the second round.

Not trying to take a shot at Carolina, but these stats can be flawed.

Funny how Stars before facing Oilers were said to be the heavy favorite because their road there had been far tougher, the toughest in the entire playoffs in fact, and that Oilers were going to be their easiest matchup.

Then after they lost to Oilers, the revisionists are now building this narrative that Stars never was that good anyway and that they only defeated weak, flawed teams, because otherwise they'd have to give Oilers credit.

No one is saying the Stars weren't actually good in the aftermath, they clearly ran out of gas. Going through Vegas/Colorado isn't easy. Vancouver was a tough series for EDM but LA was basically a cakewalk, and they've stayed pretty healthy (which I dont mean as a knock on EDM).





Ultimately Forsling is a better defensive player than Bouchard, Bouchard is clearly better offensively, imo.

 

[Buck Naked]

No one is saying the Stars weren't actually good in the aftermath, they clearly ran out of gas. Going through Vegas/Colorado isn't easy. Vancouver was a tough series for EDM but LA was basically a cakewalk, and they've stayed pretty healthy (which I dont mean as a knock on EDM).

Basically posted four knocks on Edmonton and ended with "don't mean as a knock on EDM"...

 

[TheNumber4]

Someone came at me with advanced stats that said the Rangers were a bottom 3rd 5v5 team in the league, yet Carolina who was better in that stat & also finished ahead of them on both special teams units didn't beat them out for the presidents trophy & went behind 0-3 when they faced in the second round.

Not trying to take a shot at Carolina, but these stats can be flawed.



No one is saying the Stars weren't actually good in the aftermath, they clearly ran out of gas. Going through Vegas/Colorado isn't easy. Vancouver was a tough series for EDM but LA was basically a cakewalk, and they've stayed pretty healthy (which I dont mean as a knock on EDM).





Ultimately Forsling is a better defensive player than Bouchard, Bouchard is clearly better offensively, imo.

Hah Cake Walk. So were the regressed Bolts. A team so bad the Leaf’s could actually beat them in the playoffs. We took out LA in 5 as we should have. Same with Van who in all honesty would have taken out that wussy NYR team you played.