By this logic, there is not an elite defenseman in the league.
When will Bouchard be considered elite?
- Thread starter Tillain
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Foppberg
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He does some elite things and played elite this series
It's one series tho and Hughes was clearly not himself. We need a larger sample size.
Juxta Position
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- Jul 2, 2006
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what are you doing here? Matthews posted a picture of himself on a boat wearing a nice purse, shouldn't you be fawning over that right now?
I wont discredit you by saying Bouchard hasn't been good, but this +/- stat is not the way to prop up his play.
ChaoticOrange
Registered User
He is the only defenceman in the history of the league to have 20 points through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
well... yeah, that's kind of how it works. What a player did 8 years ago doesn't matter at all in current rankings.
This proves advanced stats are sus.
If you'd take Bouchard over every one else in the league you are high
How does it prove that? If the advanced stats predicted that Bouchard would perform great and he's performed great, wouldn't that be evidence that advanced stats are useful, rather than the opposite?
ChaoticOrange
Registered User
Bouchard vs Van
7GP, 4G 7A 11P +7. 8 points at even strength.
65% CF
62.7% XGF
67.29% SCF
67.39% HDCF
10-4 5v5 goals for/against
played 25:55 a night
If that's not a stomping, I don't know what is. Bouchard outperforming Hughes by a wide margin is one of the biggest reasons Edmonton took that series.
Hughes was wildly disappointing in that series, for all the Hype he garnered this year with the Norris nomination.
Dude is the American Erik Karlsson.
Who cares that without him the Oilers would had not won the series... He is an ECHL D-man at best, and the Oilers should not play him.... Eyetest or something
CantHaveTkachev
Cap Space > NHL players
you've migrated here to crap on him
I thought he costs the Oilers the series?
I can promise you that number is going to get destroyed in the WCF, Dallas might be the deepest team in the league. Going to be a nightmare trying to line match from Edmontons perspective, expecting this to be over in 5.
As for the thread title, when he stops being babysat on defence. Guy has an absolute rocket of a shot, the great thing about him as an Oilers fan is that all his flaws are coachable. I said the same thing about Hughes a year or two ago, so I fully expect these things to be sorted out in the near future for him.
ChaoticOrange
Registered User
To have a chance, our stars have to be better than theirs and we're going to need Skinner to be at least Oettinger's equal. A tall task, but not impossible.
Bouchard's been very good defensively these playoffs too. McDavid and Draisaitl both spoke about how good he's been on both sides of the puck.
He's also now the only defenceman in the history of the league to have 20+ points in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
thegazelle
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- Nov 11, 2019
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Been enjoying watching Bouchard contribute in these playoffs in a big way. For the longest time, Nurse seemed to be mentioned as a mainstay for the Oilers. I have never seen Nurse as elite and reliable when it really counts. Bouchard has been lights out. Regardless of regular season numbers, he has been a juggernault these players, when it really counts. He will get a well deserved nice extension when the time comes.
I have some hope as ottinger hasn't been superhuman this spring.
The fellas playing goal in the east though let's not talk about that
Here's the thing. If Bouchard(and the rest of the first unit) get outperformed by Dallas, Oilers have just about no hope of winning. In that case, Oilers' other units would need to be playing positive hockey. And the other two defensive pairings? They have been absolutely brutal in comparison to Bouchard+Ekholm. If not Bouchard+Ekholm, which of the two other pairings would be playing positive hockey in their stead?
And yes, if they get destroyed by a stronger opponent, then the team's players will likely have negative +/-. That's hardly a knock on an individual player.
Assuming the series is competitive, I'd expect Bouchard's +/- to go up, rather than down.
ManofSteel55
Registered User
A lot of people won't consider him elite as long as he plays with McDavid and Draisaitl. Heck, we see some still suggesting that Draisaitl is just a product of McDavid, so that should tell you what the haters are going to say.
The reality of it is, that Bouchard has become elite offensively at both 5 on 5 and the powerplay, and his defense has improved by leaps and bounds over the past two years. Is that because he is paired with Ekholm? It probably helps, having a steady defensive partner always helps the #1 defenseman out. Always. But he's still producing even with Ekholm being under the weather, and he was clutch in every game in the playoffs so far. He is an elite passer, has a cannon of a shot, and has realized that he doesn't have to shy away from getting hit by forecheckers coming in hard, which is something he could have been criticized for in his earlier years. The guy is a legit #1 - he has been playing like one for nearly 2 full seasons now, but he won't fully get the respect he deserves.
syz
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Hughes was at best the 3rd best defenseman in that series. I wouldn't put Zadorov over him just because of QoC but either way he was behind Bouchard and Ekholm.
EmptyNetAssassin
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ManofSteel55
Registered User
I would say that Dallas has a far better second defense pair than Edmonton does, but I also think that either Kulak and Ceci or Nurse and Desharnais match up very well to Dallas' bottom pair. Edmonton's blueline has looked a lot better the last couple of games, after they flipped up the pairs a bit. Ceci has been playing the best hockey of his life (thank the gods that we didn't flip him+ to Philly for Walker), and Desharnais has been far more reliable than he was a year ago. It isn't perfect back there, that's for sure, but if Nurse can figure his struggles out, then I really don't have any concerns on the Oilers blueline. It's Dallas' scoring depth that could be the biggest test for the Oilers. Even the fourth line could be problematic, Sam Steel always plays well against Edmonton unfortunately.
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