Assessing The Rubble – Part Two

Late last week, we looked into the Oilers’ coaching situation in part one of my series that is assessing the rubble of what remains of the Edmonton Oilers franchise. I gave my vote of confidence to coach Dallas Eakins, while also advocating for changes within the ranks of the assistants, specifically looking at Steve Smith and Kelly Buchberger. Tonight, we look at the back-end of the Oilers roster.

Goaltending:

The Oilers entered this season with Devan Dubnyk and Jason Labarbera, but both goalies imploded and cost the Oilers big time at the start of the season. Neither was playing at an NHL level, and they cost the team somewhere around five wins. It was a beyond bad stretch of goaltending, and what was thought to be an area of strength became an area of weakness quickly.

Credit to Craig MacTavish, because he moved three draft picks for two NHL level goalies that gave the team a chance to win every night. Ben Scrivens has been terrific in Edmonton, while Viktor Fasth has been more than a formidable back-up. Factor in that Richard Bachman likely returns to OKC, while prospects Tyler Bunz, Laurent Brossoit and Frans Tuohimaa man the other spots in the organization, and things look good in between the pipes.

Goaltending is a strong suit for this organization right now, and likely won’t need to be touched this off-season. Both Fasth and Scrivens are on reasonable deals and are playing very good hockey.

Defense:

The Edmonton Oilers defense is, by far, the weakest area of the roster. With that being said, there are some good pieces here. The team will likely carry seven defenders during the season next year, and will need to have depth options in case of injury in Oklahoma City. The team has four defenders right now that are NHL level and can play in this league. Two of them are legit top-four guys.

Veteran Andrew Ference provides the team with leadership, proven top-four play, and a solid stay-at-home player, while defender Jeff Petry gives the team a decent puck-mover that is good at a lot of things but not great at one particular thing. Ference is a good number four, while Petry likely a three. Young puck-mover Justin Schultz is more of a number five defender, while Martin Marincin showed well in top-four minutes this year, but is far from proven.

With those four on the roster, the Oilers will need three new faces next season. One must be, as Craig MacTavish mentioned last week, a high-end defender. That guy will be tough to come by, but MacT seems to think he can obtain that piece without giving up part of his core.

If you ask me, it sounds like he has a plan already in place that he is working on, and that will be interesting to watch during the course of the summer.

The Oilers have two top-four guys, but if they want any chance to make the playoffs next year they have to add that defender MacT talked about. Some players that fit the mold will be on the market this summer. Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Edler, Dustin Byfuglien, and possibly guys like Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Myers, and Mike Green could be had for the right price.

I’d look to Phaneuf in Toronto, Ehrhoff in Buffalo, Edler in Vancouver and even Brian Campbell in Florida if I were MacT, and I’d be offering up a package that featured one of the young defensive prospects, forward Sam Gagner and a third piece. I’m not sure it would be enough, but it would be my starting point.

The team will need another veteran defender to fill the Mark Fraser role next year. The Oilers love to have those big boys that can hit a little lower on the depth chart, and that could be addressed via free agency this summer.

Ex-Oiler Matt Greene, a favorite of Craig MacTavish’s, will be on the market, and has been linked to the team by Jim Matheson. Mark Fayne from New Jersey would be a greatly underrated addition as well via free agency, although he isn’t the tough-guy that Greene is.

The last spot, the seventh defenders spot, could be filled from within. Oscar Klefbom looked good in his recent call-up, and could be eased into the NHL roster next fall. He was brought in as a lower-depth chart option after the deadline, and he held his own for the most part. He isn’t ready for a big time role, but being the six/seven seems like a good starting point.

For Edmonton to have success next year, they have to improve the blue-line. That means getting a player that can play 20-25 minutes a night and let players like Petry and Ference slide down the depth chart to play the appropriate roles.

Adding a sexy name is great, but guys like Campbell, Edler and Ehrhoff are the best bets for a team like Edmonton. They can play top-pairing minutes, and fit in with the team’s style.

The Verdict:

Ference, Petry, Schultz and Marincin are locks for the NHL roster in my mind, while Fraser and Larsen are locks to be let go. The team needs to add two out of organization players, one being of the higher-end variety, and one being a competent veteran that plays the Peckham/Sutton/Fraser role. Matt Greene makes the most sense there, while a guy like Campbell makes the most sense for the other spot.

Lastly, the team will either need to promote a guy like Klefbom to the six/seven role, or add another veteran on a one-year deal. That means three new faces from this past season.

At the AHL level, the team will likely have Marty Gernat, Dillon Simpson, Taylor Fedun, David Musil and Brad Hunt for possible NHL employment if injury strikes. Fedun is likely the most ready, but it certainly seems like Simpson is not far behind.

Defense is by far the area of most need, and three new faces likely improves the unit enough to fight for a playoff spot next year. Can MacT get it done? We’ll see. Tomorrow we look at the forwards.