Hunting For Defense?

Things have gone south for Edmonton in a hurry, and quite frankly I’m tired of writing pieces on what is going on with the team. There is a divide among the fan base as to whether or not this team is actually going in the right direction. It’s a good debate, and one I plan on weighing in on soon. That said, everyone agrees on one thing, and that is the Oilers are lacking on the blue-line in a big way.

Jeff Petry is a very good number three defender who can move the puck well, has the ability to play a solid defensive game, and can chip in on the PP and PK when the need arises. Andrew Ference is a decent shut-down number four option, and served that role well on a Boston team that nearly won a title a year ago. These are two good pieces in place.

Justin Schultz is a great puck-mover and knows how to create offense, but his defensive game is brutal and is costing the team in a big way right now. He’s got a lot of potential, but at this moment I don’t think we can all Schultz anything more than a number five with a lot of upside.

Ladi Smid? He’s a guy I’d consider a solid three, but the shut-down defender has played more like a five this season. Anton Belov has been pretty good to this point, and I’m thinking he might be able to stick around for a while, preferably as a four/five guy. Nick Schultz? He’s been having a tough time this year.

Denis Grebeshkov has played himself out of the picture, while Corey Potter was tossed to the waiver wire. Those guys are both out of the long, and short, term plans for the Oilers. Grebeshkov being a case of a low-risk/high-reward signing that didn’t pay off.

The Oilers lack a number one and number two defender, and not many people will question that statement. So what will the Oilers do to fill those holes? The easy answer is to wait, wait until Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, Martin Marincin and even Justin Schultz develop into those kinds of defenders.

Problem with that is it will warrant patience, patience this Oilers fan base no longer has. The team is going to have to add one of these top end defenders from outside, and according to some reports they are looking to do just that.

The Fourth Period, a very reputable hockey website with some VERY good connections, posted something on Saturday saying as much. The exact report said that Oilers GM Craig MacTavish was looking, and still is, for a top-tier defender and a two-way forward, with more emphasis on the defender.

The article went on to talk about how MacT has been on the search for defensive help since the NHL draft when he tried to get Braydon Coburn out of Philly, and that he is still searching high and low for a player that will help the Oilers in their biggest area of need. The report also had a juicy rumor, talking about how the Oilers and Jets had discussions on a Yakupov for Bogosian type deal just last week.

Clearly nothing came of it, but is goes to show the Oilers are willing to pay a big price for some defensive help. The report also talks about Edmonton possibly re-opening talks with Philly for Braydon Coburn, or possibly turning to the Leafs for defender Carl Gunnarson.

Meanwhile, hockeybuzz mentioned the Oilers looking at defender Christian Ehrhoff, who I think would be an awesome add to the team. He’s a good puck mover and plays a really well rounded game, and in my mind is a decent number two option on most NHL rosters. That said, I think a move for him is unlikely right now.

All of the players above are solid NHL defenders, but none of them really stick out as top pairing guys to me outside of Ehrhoff. I think both Bogosian and Coburn are low-level number two guys, but more likely high-level number three guys, while I feel Gunnarson is a number five defender.

That said, it is clear that Craig MacTavish is hunting for some kind of help on the blue-line. The Oilers are 3-9-2 and need something back there, and something quick. The unit was one that many thought would be improved over last season, but in reality it might be worse. It’s time to inject some life into the Oilers blue-line, and it looks like Craig MacTavish is trying.